Authorities conducting a press conference this afternoon in Urbana say if it were not for the actions of the West Liberty-Salem Schools staff, Friday’s shooting at the high school would’ve been much worse.
Updates will be posted as they become available.
UPDATE: Shooting victim ‘critically stable’
Ryan Cole of West Liberty has posted on Facebook that his son, Logan Cole, a junior, is listed in “critically stable” condition following the shooting incident Friday at West Liberty-Salem High School.
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1 injured; 1 in custody after shooting at WL-Salem
A 16-year-old male student reportedly was injured today when he was shot near a high school math classroom at West Liberty-Salem schools.
ABOVE: Law enforcement vehicles parked outside West Liberty-Salem High School this morning around 8 a.m. in connection with an active shooter incident. BELOW: Greg Johnson, principal of WL-S middle and high schools, addresses parents who arrived on the scene. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | MATT HAMMOND)
The victim was transported to Mary Rutan Hospital, according to emergency radio dispatches, and then transferred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.
A Logan County Sheriff’s Office detective assisted at MRH by gathering evidence from the victim before his medical transfer.
The shooter was quickly taken into custody by a deputy of the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office by 7:45 a.m. and there is no evidence of another shooter, Lt. Chris Copeland said.
There were no other victims, the lieutenant reported, and the shooter did not offer any resistance.
Superintendent Kraig Hissong confimed during a press conference Friday that the shooter is a student at the school.
Richard Godwin and Kohlton Myers, students in a neighboring classroom, said they had just settled into their math class when they heard two or three shots and “someone in the hallway, yelling, ‘intruder!’”
Both initially thought it was fake as if “it was some kind of drill or something,” they said.
The boys, along with some other male students, kicked out a window to the outside and the entire class escaped through the window.
Other area schools initiated security protocol after the first report of an active shooter.
Deputies remained on the scene conducting interviews and collecting any additional evidence.
A minimum of 14 deputies responded to the school along with Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers, Lt. Copeland said.
Highway Patrol officers and vehicles located at West Liberty-Salem School entrance. (PHOTO | MATT HAMMOND)
West Liberty Police Department officers also responded.
It was a chaotic atmosphere outside the school as parents converged to retrieve their children. Vehicles jammed the lots around the school which is in the midst of a multi-million dollar expansion and renovation.
Law enforcement and school officials directed parents off the school grounds to Thoman’s IGA at the south edge of West Liberty and later to Lions Park on the east side of the village for more room.
School officials later began transporting students to the pickup site for release to their parents.
Bellefontaine Police Department provided two officers to assist with traffic control there.
Ohio Department of Transportation crews assisted with traffic control blocking off U.S. Route 68 between Kanagy and Pimtown roads.
Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley said, “We are there for a support system as the scene is still investigated.
“We do have a presence at Mary Rutan Hospital. We are not participating in an investigative mode, but only to assist our local law enforcement agencies through a very challenging time.
“We pray for the West Liberty community today and will continue to support them and our local community to heal.”
Logan County Sheriff Randy Dodds said five to six of his deputies were assisting at the scene at the school. He also called in two additional deputies to work this morning and cover more routine calls in the Champaign County area.
He noted that deputies from Union, Clark and Shelby counties were assisting the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office.
Members of the West Liberty Fire Department await instructions outside of the school building (PHOTOS | MATT HAMMOND)
“My hat’s off to Sheriff (Matthew) Melvin for the way they’re handling this,” Sheriff Dodds said of the Champaign County sheriff. “We’ve told them that we’ll do anything we can to help. We know they’d certainly do the same if we were faced with this kind of situation.”
Sheriff Dodds also noted that the Logan County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center fielded a number of calls related to the school shooting incident for about 30 minutes this morning. He praised his staff’s efforts during the stressful scenario.
“They did a fantastic job and were absolute professionals during this time.”