This story is breaking news and will be updated as more details are confirmed.
Update, October 26, 11:30 a.m.:
In a Wednesday update, St. Louis Interim Police Chief Michael Sack said that Orlando Harris, the accused gunman in Monday's deadly school shooting that left three dead including the shooter, clarified that Harris' family is "heartbroken" over the incident.
"I just want to make sure that the community is aware that the family is fully cooperative," Sack says. "They are also heartbroken over this incident. And the impression that I get from the investigators who spoke to the mother, is that they've done everything that they could possibly have done. But sometimes it's not enough."
The family, Sack said, was aware that Harris had mental health struggles and "were constantly in touch with the medical providers." The interim police chief said that the family was aware that Harris had a firearm and had contacted police, who removed the gun from the home and gave it to another party, "an adult who was lawfully able to possess it."
Sack was unsure how Harris obtained the weapon he used in the shooting as well as whether the gun used in the shooting was the same gun police removed from the home.
Sack said that the family was not aware that Harris owned ammunition.
Jay Greenberg, the special agent in charge of the St. Louis FBI field office, also gave an update on the threats of violence at schools following the shooting. The volume of threats has increased to the point where law enforcement is not able to identify and make contact with each person who has made a threat at this time. In response to the threats, police have decided to increase presence at schools across the metro area. "As parents, you should be aware that means that as your children are trying to process what has happened here on Monday in the school shooting, they are also seeing an increased armed presence every day in their school regardless of where they are across the metro region, which is leading to additional trauma for their students. We also have had schools on lockdown due to threats on Tuesday. Again, that's more trauma for our kids."
Greenberg stressed that the threats were hoaxes. The field office does not believe that there are any ongoing credible threats in the area.
Update, October 25, 4:35 p.m.:
Authorities have provided an update on the school shooting that took place Monday at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and three dead, including the gunman.
In a Tuesday press conference, St. Louis Interim Police Chief Michael Sack emphasized the importance of being vigilant in preventing school shootings. Sack encouraged St. Louisans to report anyone experiencing distress who also purchases a firearm and talks about hurting others.
“It’s important that all of us be engaged so we can intercede as early as possible in someone’s life to try and prevent a tragedy from occurring,” Sack said.
Sack said that Orlando Harris, whom authorities identified as the shooter, had one rifle, an AR-15–style weapon, and more than 600 rounds of ammunition. Sack said that there is an ongoing investigation on how Harris was able to purchase the weapon. Harris had no prior criminal record.
Sack also revealed that Harris, who parked his vehicle outside the school, left a handwritten letter that talked about his plan for the school shooting. Sack read aloud a portion of the note: “I don't have any friends. I don't have any family. I've never had a girlfriend. I've never had a social life. I've been an isolated loner my entire life,” Harris wrote.
Sack called it “the perfect storm for a mass shooter.”
“This goes back to what I spoke about earlier, the critical importance of all of us being engaged with our family members, with our peers at work or in school, or in our neighborhood,” Sack said. “Because when we're more engaged with one another, we're more aware of what each person is going through and we can do [to get] help for them. Even if that's just reporting to authorities.”
Update, October 24, 10 p.m.:
NBC News has learned that Jean Kuczka, a health teacher at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, was one of the victims in the school shooting that took place at the South St. Louis school on Monday. Kuczka's daughter, Abbey Kuczka, confirmed her death to the news outlet.
According to SLPS' website, Jean Kuczka was a 1979 graduate of Lindbergh High School and began teaching in the SLPS district in 2002, at Carr Lane. At the middle school, she developed a health program. She came to CVPA in 2008 and taught health, personal finance, and physical education.
"I cannot imagine myself in any other career but teaching," Jean Kuczka wrote in her teacher bio on CVPA's website.
The other victim has been identified as Alexandria "Alex" Bell, 15, a sophomore at the school. Bell was identified by her father.
In a second press conference late Monday afternoon, police identified the suspect, who was killed, as 19-year-old Orlando Harris. Harris graduated from the high school last year.
Police are asking anyone with information, photos, or video of the shooting at CVPA to submit them to the FBI using this link.
Update, October 24, 1 p.m.:
An update from Saint Louis Public Schools states that all SLPS schools are on "hard lockdown," meaning that there will be limited movement at the schools for the remainder of the day. The lockdown is in response to the school shooting that left three dead, including the suspected shooter, at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in South St. Louis on Monday morning.
SLPS parents who wish to pick up their students from school should call the school in advance with information on who will be picking up the student and at what time. Students will be escorted out to parents.
All after-school classes and activities are canceled for Monday evening.
Update, October 24, noon:
Two people are dead following a school shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in South St. Louis, said St. Louis Interim Police Commissioner Michael Sack during an update at 11 a.m. Monday. The victims have not yet been identified.
Sack said that the alleged shooter has also been pronounced dead. The suspect is about 20 years old, Sack said, and police have not identified him yet. Once they identify him, they will be able to trace any relationship between the suspect and the school.
Police said that they are not aware of any additional threats in the area. The Central VPA High School has been searched by the SWAT team. Police are now interviewing students. According to Saint Louis Public Schools, students are being taken to a reunification point. Parents can pick up their students north of the scene, at Gateway STEM, located at 5101 McRee.
At 9:10 a.m., police received a call of an active shooter at Kingshighway and Arsenal, where the high school is located. Sack said that the first officers arrived within a couple minutes of the call. They immediately entered the school, and students fleeing the school told them that a gunman inside the school was armed with a long gun. Officers ran toward the gunfire and engaged with the suspected shooter.
The doors to the school were locked, Sack said in his update. “The security staff did an outstanding job identifying the suspect’s efforts to enter and immediately notifying other staff and ensured that we were contacted,” Sack said. “The timely response by that security officer and the fact that the door did cause pause for that suspect, that bought us some time.”
Sack declined to say how the suspect gained entry to the school.
Eight people from the school were transported to local hospitals with injuries. One adult woman was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Sack said he believed it was due to gunshot wounds. Another teenager, a female, died of gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. There are no updates on the other people injured at this time.
“This is a heartbreaking day for all of us,” Sack said. “It's going to be tough. On paper, we might have nine victims… [but] we have hundreds of others. Everyone who survived here is going to take on trauma, even the officers responding here, and the firefighters and the paramedics who worked on people here, are going to experience some degree of trauma. It's terrible to think about: Here is a safe place for kids to learn, to grow, to develop, and something like this happens.”
Dan Isom, St. Louis’ director of public safety, echoed this sentiment while thanking officers for their quick response and engaging with the suspect immediately. “This is a community tragedy,” Isom said. “All of us are impacted by horrific incidents like this. We will continue to work with the school, with the family members to complete the investigation and help with the recovery from this trauma. We know that many people will never recover, but we will try to assist them as they deal with their grief.”
Dr. Kelvin Adams, superintendent of Saint Louis Public Schools, was on the scene to meet with families. He said the school would work with students to get back their belongings left inside; however, the building is currently a crime scene.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, also at the scene, recalled visiting Central VPA High School on the first day of school. “[I] talked to the students and how excited they were about their upcoming school year,” the mayor said. “They were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we laughed, we sang, we danced. And now to be here for such a devastating and traumatic situation breaks my heart especially as a mother.”
Congresswoman Cori Bush, who represents the 1st Congressional District, was at the school to express her thanks for the school administrators supporting students and families. “Today is one of those days that we pray never happens across this country, but parents wake up every day in this community praying that it's not their school, it’s not their child… Well, today was one of those days.”
She urged anyone seeking help or resources in the days to come to call her office at 314-955-9908.
Original story:
St. Louis Metropolitan Police are asking the public to avoid the area around Central VPA High School, a magnet school located at Kingshighway and Arsenal, after they responded to an active shooting incident Monday morning around 9:15.
According to Fox 2 News, police stopped the suspected shooter inside the building. Students and staff were evacuated from the building, and the active threat was declared over around 10 a.m. Monday.
According to Saint Louis Public Schools, students are being taken a reunification point. Parents can pick up their students north of the scene, at Gateway STEM, located at 5101 McRee.
Six people, including the suspected shooter, were taken to the hospital. Injuries included gunshot wounds, shrapnel wounds, and one person who suffered cardiac arrest. The conditions of the injured are unknown.
A briefing from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police is expected Monday morning.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch breaking news reporter Kim Bell was on the scene to talk to students. One young woman, 16-year-old Taniya Gholston, said she didn't recognize the suspected shooter. You can watch Bell's interview below:
A Central VPA freshman told 5 on Your Side that he thought the situation on Monday was an intruder drill. When he heard sirens from emergency vehicles and his teachers started to get scared, he said, he realized it was not a drill. A teacher asked him to help move lockers in front of a door so that an intruder couldn't enter. Then they were encouraged to jump out of a window to escape.
The nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety defines a mass shooting as "any incident in which four or more people are shot and killed, excluding the shooter." There have been no reports of deaths following Monday's shooting. If you would like information about talking to your child about school shootings, see our story from May here.
