OXFORD, Mich. — Three people were killed and eight others were injured during a shooting at a Michigan high school Tuesday afternoon.
The three people who died in the Oxford High School shooting have been identified as 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin.
Myre played football for Oxford High School and had recently visited the University of Toledo, according to a tweet sent on Nov. 28.
Oxford Football paid tribute to Myre, writing, "It is with great grief that one of the victims of the tragic event at OHS today was one of our own, Tate Myre. Tate was on varsity since his freshman year and was an honor student. Tate was a great young man with a bright future and beloved by all. You will be missed, Tate. Tate was a wonderful young man who was tremendously hardworking and respectful. He was a tremendous football player with the brightest of futures and was an even better young man off the field as he was on it. We all loved Tate and he will so very much be missed."
There is also a 14-year-old female in critical condition with chest and neck gunshot wounds. She underwent surgery and is currently on a ventilator. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said it is "looking tough" for this girl.
Two other victims are in critical condition, a 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the head and a 17-year-old girl.
Other victims include:
- A 14-year-old boy in serious condition
- A 17-year-old girl in stable condition
- A 15-year-old boy in stable condition
- A 17-year-old boy in stable condition
- A 47-year-old teacher discharged with a graze wound
A 15-year-old student, a sophomore at the school, has been taken into custody. Police say he fired 15-20 shots at the school in the south end, and he was taken into custody within five minutes.
Police said the suspect's father purchased the gun that was used in the shooting four days ago. They found seven rounds in the 9mm pistol when they took him into custody.
“As they were coming down the hall, they saw him, he put his hands up, they took his gun and took him into custody," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said during an evening press conference.
He commended the hundreds of first responders that assisted at the scene.
“I’m extremely proud of the deputies, our partners, the fire departments, and EMS for their intervening actions,” Boucharad said. "I believe they literally saved lives having taken down the suspect with a loaded firearm still in the building.”
Dr. Tressa Gardner with McLaren Health Care spoke during the evening briefing and said their system initiated their incident command by shutting down surgeries and activating additional resources to prepare for victims that would need treatment.
“We’re in a partnership together (with the sheriff’s department),” Gardner said. “The quick notification from the sheriff’s department initiated the activation of our trauma team.”
According to police, the suspect's parents have been in contact with the suspect and told him not to talk to the police. Police say the parents have also hired a lawyer. He is currently being held at Children's Village. He could be charged as an adult, officials say.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald said they will review information from the investigation thoroughly and "issue appropriate charges quickly." The suspect, she said, will remain in custody pending those charges.
Authorities said they received over 100 calls to 911 about the shooting at the school shortly before 1 p.m.
Students have told WXYZ they heard an ALICE warning over the intercom as the shooting was happening.
“We kept hearing ALICE LOCKDOWN, ALICE LOCKDOWN ... I was just scared. I was praying for my safety, my friends' safety, everyone’s safety,” said one student.
“I just kept thinking it’s probably a suspicious person walking campus, they’ll get them in a minute and it’ll be over,“ said another student. “In various group chats, I start to get messages saying, ‘This person got shot, that person got shot,’ and immediately I was like OK this is real.”
A mother, who was reunited with her child at Meijer, said, “I was scared, I have never been so scared in my life, and when I came to Meijer, I ran to him and he picked me up and gave me the biggest hug of my life.”
School officials say all of the schools in the district, including OELC, will be closed for the rest of the week. A 24/7 Resource and Crisis Helpline/Text/Chat is available for anyone who would like to speak with someone about today's events. That number is 1-800-231-1127.
"As we face the unimaginable, we are grateful for the swift action of our first responders," a statement from Oxford Community Schools read.
The sheriff's office said that they are asking anyone who has seen something or hears something, to say something. People can submit a tip to 248-858-4911 or email OCSO@oakgov.com.
This story was originally published by staff at WXYZ.
