Student texts family farewell during St. Louis school shooting

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Three people are dead after a shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School at the corner of Arsenal and Kingshighway in St. Louis. The people who died include a woman, a teen, and a man. The 20-year-old man was the shooter, and he was killed after police arrived.

Students and staff ran from the building with their hands up just after 9:00 am today. Some of them were bailing out of windows and climbing over fences.

Parents and students are reuniting at another school down the street. One student described what it was like to text his family goodbye.

“It was just terrifying. I had to text my parents, my grandparents, make sure my sibling is OK. I texted them, ‘Hey, this is a real school shooter event. I love you all. I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I’m sorry if I am gone.”

Several students and parents tell FOX 2 that they could not believe that this happened at their school. They are grateful to have made it out alive.

“You just don’t expect this to happen in your life, really. School is supposed to be a safe environment. You just don’t expect to text your grandfather at nine in the morning, ‘Hey, there’s gunshots at my school. I don’t know if I’m going to live’ It hurts, it really does. I’m just glad I’m here OK.”

His grandfather says that the police did a good job showing up to the scene quickly with such a large police presence. He says that there were around 40 to 50 police vehicles there. They did a good job communicating with the families and helping the students get off campus. Some officers helped kids get out of windows, over fences, and down from rooftops.

Crime scene tape is up around the school and investigators are still collecting evidence in this crime. The identities of the victims and suspect have not been released at this time.