A student at Perry Hall High School was shot in the school's cafeteria this morning, the first day of the new academic year, Baltimore County Police say, and 15-year-old boy was taken into custody.
The injured student, whose identity was not revealed, was taken by a Medevac helicopter to University of Maryland's Shock Trauma Center, where he is in critical condition, authorities said.
Students are being escorted to the nearby Perry Hall Shopping Center at the corner of Ebenezer Road and Belair Road, where parents can meet them, police said. Hundreds of visibly shaken parents and others gathered at the shopping center as police helicopters hovered overhead.
Miranda Wienecke, a junior, said she saw the suspect with a "huge black thing," and soon realized that it was a weapon.
"I saw people getting under the table," Wienecke said. "Then I saw people running. We heard this huge boom, then there was another one, everything happened very fast."
Senior Arielle Brown said students were in the cafeteria for about 15 minutes when they heard a pop, a sound she compared to the opening of a bag of chips.
Both students said a guidance counselor and a teacher intervened, embracing the shooter in a bear hug and pinning him up against a nearby vending machine.
Police do not believe the victim was targeted.
Senior Mike Koogle, who was down the hall, said, "We thought it was someone slamming a door. Then people started yelling. A teacher ran in and said, 'lockdown'."
He said the secretary got on the PA system and said, "We are in code red. We are in code red."
"We are kids. We were terrified," Koogle said. He said they went into a classroom, turned out the lights and did their best to hide.
Freshman Victoria Cole was on her way to the cafeteria for first lunch period when she heard a bang. "The teacher said 'Get back. Get back,'" said Cole. Then the teacher pushed Cole's group into a nearby classroom. Cole said she heard four more bangs after the first sound, and heard a teacher say that he had pulled a kid away before he could hurt anyone.
Cole used her cell phone to keep her parents updated on the situation. Her mother was on the school premises, taking care of paperwork in the office. Cole's father, Christopher, a Baltimore City firefighter, said, "I was so upset [by the constant updates]. This can happen anywhere. No matter where you go to school."
Jennifer Short, who lives around the corner from the school, was standing in front of Perry Hall Middle School waiting for her daughter, senior Taylor Trayband. As she waited, Short said, "Why aren't all the kids out? Why is my daughter not allowed out?" Short got her daughter on the phone and broke into tears, "Oh my gosh, my baby." While they were still on the phone together, Trayband came walking up Ebemezer Road and her mother ran over to her and hugged her.
In early afternoon, some students were still being released from the school, after a lockdown. They walked out in an orderly fashion, some arm-in-arm toward Perry Hall Middle School. The mood was quiet and subdued.
Tammy Larkin was waiting outside school for her freshman daughter, Caroline. The two were in communication, but Caroline remained in the classroom in part of the school still locked down.
Larkin is "very thankful the school is keeping the kids calm and safe. They're doing everything they can. As soon as this happened they went right into lockdown mode"
Any students who were outside of the school were being taken to the shopping center, and those inside the school were directed to Perry Hall Middle and a nearby high school.
Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, who lives next door to Perry Hall High School, said he's received dozens of phone calls this morning from worried parents and residents.
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