CHARDON, Ohio - A gunman opened fire inside a high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, wounding five students, officials said. A suspect was in custody.
FBI agent Scott Wilson said there was one suspected shooter. He wouldn't discuss the extent of the students' injuries. The Geauga County Sheriff's Office told CBS News that the suspect turned himself in after being chased out of the school by a teacher.
FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson said Monday the shooter was taken into custody near his car about half a mile away from the high school.
The sheriff's office identified the victims as four male students and one female student.
Earlier, Civil Deputy Erin Knife of the sheriff's office said the shooting was reported around 7:30 a.m. at the 1,100-student Chardon High School about 30 miles east of Cleveland.
Television news footage showed anxious parents escorting children away from a school building, and ambulances could be seen outside.
"We don't have any status updates on the students," Chardon schools spokeswoman Ellen Ondrey told The Associated Press. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to them. We are very concerned."
A spokeswoman for Cleveland's MetroHealth System said a medical helicopter was dispatched to the high school. The sheriff's office told CBS News that two students were taken to the Cleveland Clinic's Hillcrest Hospital in suburban Cleveland and an additional three students were taken to Cleveland's MetroHealth Medical Center.
Bob Herp, a Chardon trauma nurse, was at a command scene at a local Wal-Mart store where he told WEWS-TV helicopters were on the ground.
Ondrey said all classes in the district were cancelled.
Students at the high school and middle school had already started their day when the shooting happened, but bus runs for elementary school children were stopped, Ondrey said.
Parents of high school students were told to go to Maple Elementary School to pick up their children.
"We want to make clear that the students are safe," she said, advising parents not to rush to pick up students because the area is "extremely congested. The lines are very long."
Chardon is a city of about 5,100 residents.
This is a every day occurrence in the United States but people have become numb to the horrors that go on around them so it will be'breaking news'for a few minutes until the next act of madness happens and we will all forget about this one.
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