Sparks Middle School Shooting Leaves Administrator and Gunman Dead, 2 in Critical Condition
Two are dead and two are critically injured after a gunman opened fire at a middle school in Nevada on Monday.
Authorities revealed that the gunman opened fire at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nev. Sparks has a population just under 100,000 and is just east of Reno.
One of the dead was a staff member at the school. Their identity was being withheld until the family is notified. The other deceased was the alleged gunman and was killed due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Washoe County Emergency Manager Aaron Kenneston said during a press briefing.
A Sparks police dispatcher said reports of the shooting started coming in at 7:16 a.m. Monday. The shooting happened on the school's campus, but outside the school building itself, according to police.
"I can tell them to rest assured. The schools are safe. The rest of the city is safe," Reno deputy chief Tom Robinson told The Reno Gazette-Journal.
Angela Rambo, a spokeswoman for the Renown Regional Medical Center, said both of those injured were males.
"No words of condolence could possibly ease the pain, but I hope it is some small comfort that Nevada mourns with them. I stand by to be of any assistance if there is anything that can be done," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement.
The school has had a history with gang violence and serves roughly 700 students in 7th and 8th grades. The school has a strict uniform policy that prevents anyone wearing the colors red and blue – colors associated with rival gangs in the area. It is not yet clear if this incident is attributable to gang violence, though.
Washoe County School District spokesman Charles Rahn told the Associated Press that the middle school and the adjacent Agnes Risley Elementary School were evacuated to Sparks High School.
Here is a related video about this shooting:
