Police announced that the 19-year-old gunman who killed two people at a St. Louis high school on Monday, October 24, was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and over 600 rounds of ammunition. He also left behind a note referring to the mass shootings, according to NBC News.
St. Louis cops on Tuesday revealed an image of the rifle used by Orlando Harris, who died after exchanging fire with authorities.
Police Chief Mike Sack told reporters that Harris had seven magazines of ammunition on a chest rig that he wore during the shooting. Sack added that the suspect also had an additional eight magazines of ammunition in a field bag that he had carried and this does not include the number of magazines that Harris left and dumped on the stairway in the corridors along the way.
St. Louis shooting could have been much worse
Sack said the shooting could have been much worse had police officers not gotten to Central Visual Performing Arts High School as quickly as they did. He said this could have been a horrific scene and it was not, by the grace of God. He paid tribute to the officers, who were as close as they were to the shooting, saying they responded in the manner that they did.
Sack, who did not clarify in the press briefing how the shooter got access to the gun, stressed the importance of checking in with those who are in distress. He encourages people to reach out to somebody and report individuals with mental health issues who are talking about purchasing firearms so that they can get help to them.
The Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience and the high school, which share a building, will be closed through Friday, October 28, according to ABC News. Kelvin R. Adams, who is the superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools, said that the schools will switch to virtual learning next week while repairs are being made.
Health teacher and teen student killed in high school shooting
According to police, the teen gunman also left a handwritten note in the vehicle he drove to the school. Sack read part of the gunman's note at the news conference, in which Harris described himself as a loner. He also referred to mass shootings in the note.
Sack said that in reading this, they could see some of what was going on inside his mind. He said that the suspect felt isolated, alone, and quite possibly angry and resentful of others who have what appeared to Harris to be healthy relationships, and so he decided to lash out.
Harris entered the high school with what police at the time categorized as a long gun at around 9 a.m. on Monday. A St. Louis police official told reporters that after a gunfight with authorities minutes later, Harris was taken into custody and pronounced dead later.
Officials said that 61-year-old health teacher Jean Kuczka and 15-year-old student Alexzandria Bell were killed in the shooting.
