A student took his parents’ shotgun into Sparks Middle School in Nevada yesterday, killing a teacher and injuring others before taking his own life.
Emergency calls from students and staff came in around 7:15 a.m. Monday morning, panicking about an active shooter at the middle school. First responders arrived at the school three minutes after the first call.
Student witnesses say the gunman shot at 45-year-old math teacher Mike Landsberry, who was trying to talk the boy into putting down the gun, according to USA Today. Landsberry was killed by the gunshot. Some students also suffered gunshot wounds, one in the stomach and one in the shoulder, and are in critical care.
Fellow classmates described the shooter as a nice kid who was bullied.
"It's too early to say whether he was targeting specific people or just going on an indiscriminate shooting spree," deputy chief Tom Robinson, of the Reno Police Department said, according to CNN.
After the incident, students were taken to a nearby high school to meet their parents. School at Sparks has been canceled for the rest of the week to give the police time to investigate and students and faculty time to begin healing.
Landsberry’s brother, Reggae, said it was no surprise that he tried to talk the gunman down instead of running for cover. “He was the kind of person that if someone needed help he would be there. He loved teaching. He loved the kids. He loved coaching them. ... He was just a good all-around individual."