CHICAGO: A teenage gunman killed himself Thursday at a school in Indiana, after being confronted by police officers who were alerted in advance of an armed suspect heading to campus, US media reported.
Police officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect around 8:00 a.m. at Dennis Intermediate School in the city of Richmond, according to reports.
It was not immediately known if the teenager was a student at the school.
No other students or staff were harmed, authorities said. Students were evacuated to another school campus where they were reunited with their parents.
The shooting “resulted in the death of a teenage suspect. No other students reported to be injured,” the Indiana state police said on its Twitter account.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing several gunshots and saw a heavy police presence as the school day was commencing.
Peggy Lewis, who lives across the street from the school campus, told local television station RTV6 that police shot out the glass of a side door into the school building and soon after rushed in.
“I heard, I want to say like three gunshots, and I look out my door, and the police were shooting at the door, and they shot the window out,” Lewis told the TV station.
The Richmond school district put all school buildings on lockdown, but later said classes at all schools other than Dennis Intermediate would resume on a regular schedule.
The Indianapolis Star newspaper reported that the teenage gunman arrived at the school at approximately the same time as officers, who had been alerted to an armed individual heading to campus.
After an exchange of gunfire outside, the suspect ran into the building and another exchange of gunfire occurred at a stairwell.
It was unclear if the teenager was struck by police bullets before taking his own life.-- AFP