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Journalist Covering School Shooting Finds Out Son Is The Alleged Gunman

Journalist Covering School Shooting Finds Out Son Is The Alleged Gunman

Two people were killed and 18 injured when the accused gunman opened fire on a school in rural Kentucky this week

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

A journalist reportedly rushed to the scene of a school shooting to cover the incident as it unfolded earlier this week. When the attack was brought to an end, two victims were dead and 18 students were injured.

However, upon their arrival, the journalist is reported to have realised the primary suspect was in fact their son. The alleged shooter has since been taken into custody.

Bailey Holt and Preston Ryan Cope were the two students killed in the attack. Bailey is reported to have died at the scene as a result of her gunshot wounds, while Ryan was pronounced dead after arriving at hospital.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin spoke about the terrible tragedy that has rocked the small county, telling the Associated Press: "We have become desensitised to death, we have become desensitised to killing, we have become desensitised to empathy for our fellow man and it's coming at an extraordinary price and we have got to look at the root causes of this.

"We can't celebrate death in video games, celebrate death in TV shows, celebrate death in movies, celebrate death in musical lyrics and remove any sense of morality and sense of higher authority and then expect that things like this are not going to happen."

Authorities have not yet named a suspect or released a motive for the shooting.

A 15-year-old male has been arrested, with prosecutors aiming to have him tried in an adult's court, facing two counts of murder and 12 counts of first degree assault.

The teen allegedly used a handgun to carry out the shooting, with student Taylor Droke telling WZTV: "You could see students dropping their bags and just start running, pushing past each other.

PA


PA

"Everyone in cars started turning around and driving away. Kids were jumping the fence around the school and running through the woods."

There have been several vigils and prayer circles since the shooting on Tuesday, with students and members of the wider community coming together to remember Bailey and Ryan, as well as the injured victims.

The region was struck with a similar incident nearly two decades ago when 14-year-old Michael Carneal opened fire on students at a school less than 40 miles from Marshall County, killing three people and injuring five others.

The Kentucky tragedy was America's 11th mass shooting of 2018 and roughly the 50th of the academic year according to the New York Times.

Sources: news.com.au, The Courier-Journal, Sun, WZTV, New York Times

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: School shooting, News, US News