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19 year-old kills 17 people in Florida school shooting

An expelled student went on a shooting rampage in a public high school on Wednesday, killing 17 and wounding a number of people, authorities said.

The suspect is 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz a former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that accommodates around 3,000 students.  Cruz was expelled from the school he attacked due to unspecified disciplinary reasons.

Investigators believe that the suspect possibly pulled the fire alarm to draw people out of classrooms to make targeting easier. However, the school conducted a fire drill earlier in the day, making some think that it was just a false alarm, the CNN report stated.

While some were able to escape from the school building, others sought cover in classrooms as the school went into lockdown. Then the gunman unleashed a shooting spree with an assault rifle.

Cruz attempted to get away from the scene by mixing in with crowds of students. But the authorities were able to track him down and arrested him in Coral Springs, a neighboring city a couple of miles from the school an hour later.

“This has been a day where we’ve seen the worst of humanity. Tomorrow is gonna bring out the best in humanity as we come together to move forward from this unspeakable tragedy,” said Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie. He added that the district will offer counseling to affected students and their families.

Following the tragedy, Florida Governor Rick Scott ordered government flags down at half-staff until Monday in honor of the shooting incident, which is among the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the modern history of the United States. The school has also been shut down for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump extended his sympathies to the victims’ families.

“My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone said. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school,” said Trump.

The shooting has revived the debate over gun control among the politicians in the country.

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