A 14-year-old boy shot himself dead yesterday after opening fire at a school in Cleveland, Ohio, injuring two teachers and two students, writes Denis Staunton, Washington Correspondent.
The boy, who was apparently upset because he had been suspended earlier this week following a fight, entered the school after 1 p.m. carrying two handguns, and opened fire at random.
The school, SuccessTech Academy, is an alternative high school in downtown Cleveland that caters mostly to gifted black and Hispanic children from poor backgrounds.
Parents said the school laid off two security guards in recent years and that the only remaining guard was on holiday yesterday.
Cleveland's mayor Frank Jackson identified the shooting victims as 42 and 57-year-old males and 17- and 14-year-old males. The two adults were described by the mayor as in "more critical condition" than the two teenagerss.
Police were called to the school at 1.15pm and a SWAT team swept through the building to make sure it was cleared. Initial reports said police arrested the shooter on the fourth floor of the building, but police said later he had shot himself.
Ronnell Jackson (15) said he heard a bang and saw the shooter running down a corridor. "He was about to shoot me, but I got out just in time. He was aiming at me. I got out just in time."
Demar Tabb (15) told the Cleveland Plain Dealer he was filling his schoolbag between classes when he heard the sound of a single pop. "Then I heard a lady scream, 'he's got a gun'," he said.
He said he shared some classes with the shooter, whom he described as quiet, but confirmed that the boy was involved in a fight with another student on Monday and was suspended.
Tammy Mundy, who has a son and daughter at the school, said her daughter called when the shooting started.
"She said, 'Mom they're shooting in here, kids are running out, I'm hiding in the closet',".
Parents said they had petitioned the school in recent years to improve security by hiring more security staff and introducing metal detectors.
One of the most highly-regarded public schools in Cleveland, SuccessTech Academy describes itself as a "nontraditional" high school with an emphasis on technology. "Students will achieve their goals as they progress through our problem-based, technology-infused curriculum," the school's website says.
The incident was the latest in a string of school shootings in recent years in the United States. In April, a student at Virginia Tech college killed 32 students and staff, then himself, in the worst shooting rampage in modern US history.