Two students and the attacker were shot dead and more than a dozen students were injured by gunfire Thursday morning at a high school in Northern New Mexico, the New York Times reports.
None of the students involved in the shooting, which occurred before 10 AM at Aztec High School in Aztec, New Mexico, were identified as of the day’s end.
Aztec High School in Northern #NewMexico 2 killed, 15 others injured according to Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President. Full press release below pic.twitter.com/Lyk5YZkXZ2
— srb news (@srbnews0) December 7, 2017
The school is near the Four Corners area, close to the state’s border with Colorado and to the territory of the Navajo Nation. About 900 students are enrolled at the high school, which was immediately placed on lockdown and evacuated. Several other schools in the area were also placed on a preventative lockdown as police secured the crime scene.
As the shooter had been killed and no further threats were present, the lockdowns were lifted around the area by about 11 AM.
Several “acts of bravery … saved lives” during the shooting, according to Gov Susana Martinez, ABC News reported.
Aztec police chief Mike Heal praised the first responders at the school, who he said were at the scene in less than a minute. He mentioned that stories would likely be told in the next few days, crediting those first responders with helping save lives.
“This is a horrific event that occurred within our city. It’s something we hoped would never occur,” CBS News quoted Mr Heal as saying. “Our love and thoughts and prayers go out to those families who lost two children. It’s a terrible day.”