A 14-year-old gunman has opened fire at an Ohio high school, wounding at least four people before killing himself in the latest school shooting to rock the United States.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said two students and two adults were wounded in the shooting at Success Tech Academy.
"The shooter is a 14-year-old student from the school. He has committed suicide," Jackson said at a press conference.
A 17-year-old student who was shot in the elbow was expected to be released from hospital in the evening while a 14-year-old who was shot in the side will likely be held overnight for observation, he said. The two adults aged 42 and 57 are in stable condition.
Local media reported the student, who was described as a loner, was frustrated after being suspended from school for getting into a fight on Tuesday.
He came to school early on Wednesday and roamed through the hallways with a gun in each hand. Shots were heard on two different floors.
Screams and panic filled the building, witnesses said. Some students and teachers rushed outside at the sound of gunfire while others hid in closets and under desks while police searched the multilevel building for the shooter.
"I know that dude was crazy. We just knew it. You know when people are crazy, come on, man," one student who fled at the sound of gunshots told CNN.
"He was in my class ... He always wore a trench coat."
The boy was described by other students as a loner and devil worshipper who had made jokes about shooting other students in front of teachers.
"I didn't think he meant it," another unidentified student told news station WKYC. "I thought he just said it because he wanted to be popular."
Frantic parents rushed to the school to get news of their children and many were told to wait until police had finished interviewing them. Several complained the school had recently denied requests to hire a security guard.
Cleveland school district head Eugene Sanders said counsellors were on hand to help students and administrators were working to reunite students with their parents. A decision had not yet been made on when classes would resume. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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