“Although our pain remains fresh and the facts remain uncertain, today’s horrible events should not be an excuse to pause our conversation about school safety,” Hogan said. “Instead, it must serve as a call to action.”
The shooting remains an active investigation, Hogan said.
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Earlier on Tuesday, St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said a male student fired a handgun at a female student at the Great Mills High School in the US state of Maryland. Another student was also wounded in the shooting, police added.
The shooting came to an end when a school resource officer arrived at the scene and exchanged gunfire with the gunman, Cameron said. Police later confirmed that the shooter died in hospital.
On March 14, the House of Representatives voted 407-10 in support of the STOP School Violence Act, which authorizes $500 million in federal grants over the next 10 years to improve coordination between schools and law enforcement agencies to enhance school safety.
The House measure came in response to the February 14 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz used an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle to kill 17 people. Local authorities said Cruz purchased the assault rifle legally around one year before the incident.