Conflicts & War

Shooting at US high school causes ‘multiple’ injuries, police say

Washington, Jan 4 (EFE).- Police in the United States confirmed that there were “multiple gunshot victims” in a shooting that occurred Thursday at a high school in the Midwestern state of Iowa but did not specify if there were deaths or the status of the wounded.

Police received the first calls alerting them to the shooting at 7:37 a.m. local time, Adam Infante, the sheriff of Dallas County, which includes the town of Perry, where the incident occurred, told a news conference.

Seven minutes after receiving the alert, the first officers arrived at the high school and found multiple gunshot victims, the sheriff said.

Authorities are still determining the number of people affected and their condition, as well as the possibility of fatalities among the victims.

The shooting occurred before the start of classes, so there were few students and teachers in the building.

“School didn’t start yet luckily, so there were very few students and faculty in the building, which I think contributed to a good outcome in that sense,” the sheriff said in his press conference.

The suspect in the attack has been identified, he said, but for now, authorities have declined to provide information about his identity or condition.

“There is no further danger to the public. The community is safe,” Infante emphasized.

According to security sources cited by NBC and CNN, the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and may have been a student at the school, according to NBC.

Although there is no official information about the victims, NBC stated that three people were injured, including two students and a staff member, and one of them may be in critical condition.

The shooting took place at Perry High School, about 40 kilometers from Des Moines, the capital of Iowa.

There is a heavy police presence around the high school and several streets are blocked off, according to US television networks.

The shooting took place just two weeks before the Republican Party begins its primary process in Iowa to choose its candidate for the November elections, in which former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) starts as the favorite.

One of Trump’s rivals, Vivek Ramaswamy, was scheduled to hold a campaign rally there on Thursday.

“Pray for the community in Perry, Iowa this morning,” he said in a message on X (formerly Twitter).

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has already been informed of the shooting, according to a senior official, who added that the White House staff is in contact with the Iowa governor’s office. EFE

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