Broward County officials have announced that there are 17 people dead after a shooter opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida.
The shooter has been identified as 19-year-old former student Nikolaus Cruz. Math teacher Jim Gard had Cruz in his class last year:
“We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him. There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus.”
One student told NBC6 in Miami:
“Yeah, he was on the third floor. He knows the school layout. He knows where everyone would be at as of right now. He’s been at the fire drills. He’s prepared for this stuff."
Police responded to the scene around 2:30pm ET. Reports are the shooter pulled a fire alarm, and started shooting people as they exited classrooms.