Three students are in custody after a shooting at a high school in Aurora, Colorado, Friday afternoon that left two people injured, police say.
An 18-year-old male and a 17-year-old female were hospitalized with serious injuries. The girl suffered a gunshot wound to the head and underwent surgery Friday night, according to police.
The two were the only two people injured, Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz said. The suspects are brothers, ages 15 and 17, he said.
The shooting was on the second floor of the school, Metz said.
“That would be somewhat connected to the gym, because there were areas where people were gathered.”
Security was already in place at Arapahoe High School, and students and staff evacuated the building as soon as they heard shots fired, Metz said. The students were not told what was happening until they were safe, he said.
The shooting — which happened at the east side of the building — was the first on campus in the school’s nine-year history, Metz said.
Aurora police later tweeted that classes would be canceled for the rest of the day.
The suspect was in custody, police say. “Some are asking why we waited 2day before naming suspects. Per procedure, updates as info is verified. Stay safe,” Aurora police tweeted late Friday afternoon.
A student who said she was at the school when the shooting happened told CNN affiliate KMGH she heard three shots and ran to a police barricade outside the school.
“They weren’t yelling. They were just like, ‘Run. Run. Get away from here,’ ” the student said.
The school of about 2,500 students is about a 15-minute drive from the site of a deadly 2012 mass shooting.
“Such a senseless act is close to home for many students, parents and teachers at this time,” the school’s principal, Anne Walton, said in a statement.