Florida: 17 dead after expelled student opens fire

17 people have died after a former student at a Florida high school opened fire in the school on Wednesday. The shooter has been arrested by the police. The expelled student has been identified as Nikolaus Cruz, 19.

The attack took place before dismissal at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The terrified students fled into the streets even as dozens of police and emergency service personnel swarmed the area.

It is a horrific situation, there are numerous fatalities, Broward Country Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie had told reporters. He said the school district had gotten no warning of a potential shooter and that there was no evidence of more than one shooter.

The gunman surrendered to the police quietly, Scot Israel, the Broward County Sherif said. The 14 persons who were wounded were taken to hospital.

On the shooter, Israel said that there was a time. When he did attend the school. I do not know why or when he let, he further said.

The students hid in the classrooms until they were rescued by the police. Live television showed dozens of students, weaving their way between law enforcement officers with heavy weapons and helmets, and large numbers of emergency vehicles including police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.

The shooting was the latest in a deadly series of attacks at U.S. schools. A 15-year-old gunman in January killed two students at a Benton, Kentucky, high school.

The school had recently held a meeting to discuss what to do in such an attack, Ryan Gott, a 15-year-old freshman told CNN.

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