Police identify 2 students killed in deadly Kentucky high school shooting
BENTON, Ky. — Police have identified two teenagers who were killed Tuesday in a school shooting in rural Kentucky.
The suspect was taken into custody.
The shooting happened in the town of Benton, which is about two and half hours north of Jackson, in Marshall County, Kentucky. The shooting occurred just as the school day was set to begin.
Investigators combed through the crime scene where at least two students were killed and another dozen injured when police say a fellow student opened fire inside the school.
Police say it was three minutes before 8 a.m. Tuesday when the 15-year-old student entered Marshall County High School armed with a handgun and started shooting.
The first call to 911 came only two minutes later, and in just 7 minutes first responders had arrived. The most severely injured students were airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
“We received five patients, all males ranging in age from 15 to 18,” trauma leader at Vanderbilt Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui said. “We had three injuries — gunshot wounds to the head.”
In all, two students were killed and 19 were injured. Kentucky State Police said Bailey Holt, 15, was pronounced dead at the scene and Preston Cope, 15, died after being rushed to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
Students inside the school say they thought a fight had broken out in the halls and many did not take cover.
“I was sitting in the library and there is a Plexiglas wall behind me,” a Marshall County student said. “It sounded like there was a fight. I took off my headphones and turned around and everyone was running. I saw the flashes of the gunshot. By that time I was running.”
As word of the shooting spread, parents panicked about the fate of their children.
“The part that’s bad is because you don’t know,” a concerned parent said. “You have no idea, and that’s the worst, you know — not knowing is my child OK? And it’s bad. It’s horrible.”
The unidentified suspect, a 15-year-old male, is now in police custody. Investigators believe he acted alone.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the Kentucky State Police. Police say five of the shooting victims are still in critical condition as of Tuesday night.
The accused shooter has been charged with murder and attempted murder. There’s not yet word on a possible motive.
