LECANTO, Fla (WFLA) — Students at Lecanto High School in Florida witnessed a horrific incident on Tuesday morning: A fellow student shot himself in the head during a class.
Lecanto High School was put on lockdown Tuesday morning after the 15-year-old student shot himself with a 9 mm automatic handgun. The student, who was not identified, is in critical condition, according to Citrus County Sheriff Jeffrey Dawsy.
“By the grace of God we only had one individual injured today” – Citrus County Sheriff
Other students were in the classroom and witnessed the shooting.
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said the situation is under control and no other injuries were reported.
A sheriff’s office spokesperson said that deputies responded to the school at 10:30 a.m. regarding a shots fired call from within the school.
The student suffered a head injury and was airlifted to a Tampa hospital. The student was alert and told deputies that he was the only person who had a gun.
PHOTOS: High school on lockdown, student shoots self in class
The students who witnessed the shooting are receiving counseling.
All other students and staff at the school are safe.
The sheriff said that the student was depressed.
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It was the first shooting in a Citrus County School’s campus. There were four SRO deputies on campus when the shooting happened. They put school on full lockdown. The lockdown was lifted early Tuesday afternoon.
The sheriff credits the quick response of all involved to active shooter training that deputies participated in.
“Our first goal was to eliminate the threat, and make sure the campus is secure, and that’s exactly what we did,” said Sheriff Dawsy.
