One killed in shooting at US school

A shooting Monday at Chardon High School in Ohio has left one student dead and four wounded and the suspected shooter is in custody, authorities said.

Police confirmed that one of the five wounded had died, but they did not provide the name of the victim.

The shooting began about 7.40 a.m. in the school’s cafeteria, school board member Larry Reiter said.

The shooter is, apparently, a student at Chardon, which has 1,150 students, according to statements given to police by the youngsters who witnessed the gunfire.

The suspect fled after firing but he was captured nearby shortly thereafter.

FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson told reporters that the suspect is in custody and refused to provide more details.

Evan Erasmus, a student at the school, told WEWS-TV in Cleveland that the victims are students from a nearby school who were in the Chardon cafeteria waiting for the bus that was going to take them to their school.

Erasmus also said that the alleged shooter had posted a message on Twitter Sunday evening saying that he was thinking of taking a gun to school Monday.

Several students send text messages to their parents telling them of the shooting.

Authorities closed the school after the gunfire.

Police set up a cordon around the school while dozens of parents gathered in front of the building seeking news about their children.

As a precaution, the authorities also decided to close all the other schools in Chardon, a town of roughly 5,000 people about 56 km from Cleveland.