A 17-year-old shooter has died and two other students are wounded, including one in critical condition, in a shooting at Great Mills High School, in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, Tuesday morning.
WASHINGTON – A 17-year-old shooter has died and two other students were wounded in a shooting at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, Tuesday morning.
St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said Tuesday that Austin Wyatt Rollins, a student at the school, fired a Glock semiautomatic handgun at a girl in a hallway at about 7:45 a.m., at the beginning of the school day. The girl and another student, a boy, were wounded.
The school resource officer, who was alerted to the shooting by students and staff, then engaged the shooter in about a minute, Cameron said; the officer and Rollins each fired a shot “almost simultaneously.” He was pronounced dead at about 10:40 a.m., Cameron said.
It’s not known whether Rollins was killed by the resource officer’s gun, or whether he took his own life, Cameron said.
MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital said in a statement that a 14-year-old boy was in good condition with a gunshot wound to the thigh, and that they stabilized a 16-year-old girl and transferred her to UM Prince George’s Hospital Center. Cameron said she was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
Cameron said they were investigating Rollins’ devices and social media and are at his home, and said that there were indications of a “prior relationship” between the shooter and the girl. He added that authorities have surveillance video, but that he hasn’t seen it yet.
Still, as to the ultimate motive or Rollins’ ultimate plan, Cameron said, “We don’t know, and we may never know.”
Crime scene tape is used around Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills. A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside the school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Deputies, federal agents and rescue personnel, converge on Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. The shooting left at least three people injured including the shooter.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Sheriff Tim Cameron addresses the media after the shooting at Great Mills High School.
(WTOP/Michelle Basch)
WTOP/Michelle Basch
“Our hearts are broken,” said Gov. Larry Hogan after the shooting at Great Mills High School.
(WTOP/Michelle Basch)
WTOP/Michelle Basch
Deputies, federal agents and rescue personnel, converge on Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Deputies and federal agents converge on Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. The shooting left at least three people injured including the shooter. Authorities said the situation is “contained.”
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Two students and a mother leave Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. The shooting left at least three people injured including the shooter.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Teachers and school employees depart Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before an armed school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition. He said the officer was not harmed.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Teachers and school employees depart Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before an armed school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition. He said the officer was not harmed.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A car is towed away on a flatbed tow-truck away from Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A bag is removed and taken to the crime scene van at Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills. A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside the school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A law enforcement officer walks in front of Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills. A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside the school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Crime scene tape is used around Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills. A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside the school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A man checks a locked gate to the parking lot of Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills. A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside the school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Crime scene tape is used around Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills.A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside the school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan walks out of Loffler Senior Center, in Great Mills., Md., following a news conference, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, on the shooting at Great Mills High School.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
A policeman gives a thumbs-up after moving students into a different area of Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Police move students into a different area of Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Teachers and school employees depart Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before an armed school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition. He said the officer was not harmed.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Teachers and school employees depart Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before an armed school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition. He said the officer was not harmed.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Teachers and school employees depart Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before an armed school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition. He said the officer was not harmed.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A mother walks her daughter, a student from Great Mills High School, to the car as she picks her up from Leonardtown High School in Leonardtown, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before a school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Parents arrive to pick up their children, students from Great Mills High School, at Leonardtown High School in Leonardtown, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before a school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Parents walks their children, students from Great Mills High School, after picking them up from Leonardtown High School in Leonardtown, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before a school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
A mother walks her daughter, a student from Great Mills High School, to the car as she picks her up from Leonardtown High School in Leonardtown, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before a school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Parents walk with their children, students from Great Mills High School, as they pick them up from Leonardtown High School in Leonardtown, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before a school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Teachers and school employees depart Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. A teenager wounded a girl and a boy inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before an armed school resource officer was able to intervene, and each of them fired one more round as the shooter was fatally wounded, a sheriff said. St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the student with the handgun was declared dead at a hospital, and the other two students were in critical condition. He said the officer was not harmed.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Deputies, federal agents and rescue personnel, converge on Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Police move students into a different area of Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks about the shooting at Great Mills High School during a news conference in Great Mills, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron speaks about the shooting at Great Mills High School during a news conference in Great Mills, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron, right, steps aside as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, left, begins to speak about the shooting at Great Mills High School during a news conference in Great Mills, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., left, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., center, and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., right, listen during a news conference about the shooting at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Two students and a mother leave Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday morning, March 20, 2018 in Great Mills, Md. The shooting left at least three people injured including the shooter.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Law enforcement officers stand near the entrance to Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills. A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside the high school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A father shelters his daughter, a student from Great Mills High School, from the rain as they picks her up from Leonardtown High School in Leonardtown, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside his Maryland high school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Vehicles of first responders and school buses are parked at the entrance to Great Mills High School Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills. A student with a handgun shot two classmates inside the high school before he was fatally wounded during a confrontation with a school resource officer, a sheriff said.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron, third from right, speaks about the shooting at Great Mills High School during a news conference in Great Mills, Md., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Cameron is joined by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, fourth from right.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Superintendent James Scott Smith said the school would be closed Wednesday; he wouldn’t say for sure when it would reopen. He wouldn’t discuss whether Rollins had a disciplinary history, and said there are no metal detectors at the county’s schools.
Smith called the events “truly our worst fear,” and added that anyone who thinks it can’t happen at their school is “sadly mistaken.”
“Our hearts are broken,” said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan at an afternoon news conference. “… Our thoughts and prayers are always with the victims and their families,” Hogan said, but he added, “we need more than prayers.”
He had scathing criticism for the state legislature, saying that an emergency bill written after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting was “one of the most aggressive school safety plans in America … and the legislature has failed to take action.”
With three weeks left in the session, Hogan said, “It’s outrageous that we haven’t taken action yet on something as important as school safety.”
He added, “I wish I could tell you that it’s not going to happen again.”
On Monday, Maryland’s Senate voted to pass a bill that would ban bump stocks. The bill is similar to one passed by the House last week; Hogan supports it.
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller issued a statement after the shooting: “While we grieve, we must not lose focus on the need for increased school safety.”
Referencing Hogan’s school safety legislation filed two weeks ago, Miller said, “In addition to a bill introduced by the governor, we have four emergency measures championed by Senator Waugh.” Maryland Sen. Stephen Waugh, a Republican, represents Calvert and St. Mary’s counties.
Hogan’s initiatives put aside $125 million in capital improvements for schools for such things as reinforced doors and windows, and metal detectors at entrances. The governor has also called for dedicating another $50 million in grant money for school resource officers and additional counseling at schools.
Hogan canceled his scheduled appearance on WTOP Tuesday morning.
‘A tough guy’
Cameron identified the resource officer as Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill.
St. Mary’s County Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill, the student resource officer at Great Mills High School, who fired a shot at the shooter March 20, 2018. (Courtesy St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office)
Gaskill is a SWAT team member, and Hogan described him as “a tough guy,” but Cameron said, “These are children, and I’m sure that weighs on his mind.”
Cameron said every school resource officer has had at least 12 hours of training in dealing with shooting situations, including team and individual response, as well as “combat medical training.”
Students were evacuated from the school and bused to Leonardtown High School, where they were reunited with their parents in a process that took until about mid-afternoon. Some students who saw the shooting were kept at Great Mills to be interviewed by investigators.
The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation.
‘I thought it was a drill’
Michael Forn, a 10th-grader at Great Mills High School, said, “I thought it was a drill, but it wasn’t. It was an actual, real, active shooter at the school.”
He said his classmate was shot. “He didn’t know what was happening,” Forn said. “He just sat there frozen; he was in shock.”
Forn said he couldn’t believe it was happening. “They told us to run out the school, so we ran out the school.”
“I felt kind of scared,” he added. “It was good I didn’t get hurt.”
Outside Leonardtown High School, Sherita Gray said news of the shooting brought her husband to tears. Moments later, she got the call from her son. “Once I heard from him, I was OK,” she said.
Calling Great Mills a “tight-knit community,” Cameron said, “The notion of ‘It can’t happen here’ is no longer a notion.”
Great Mills High School has about 1,600 students.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan and Melissa Howard contributed to this report.
Rick Massimo came to WTOP, and to Washington, in 2013 after having lived in Providence, R.I., since he was a child. He's the author of "A Walking Tour of the Georgetown Set" and "I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival."
