Central VPA School Shooting in St. Louis: Live Video, Photos

An active shooter shot and killed two people and wounded seven more in a school shooting at Central VPA High School in St. Louis, Missouri.

The gunman was named as Orlando Harris, 19, a former student. The motive is not clear. He had no criminal history.

YearbookOrlando Harris

Videos and photos emerged from the scene showing armed officers helping students down from rooftops. Audio captured the gunshots inside the school. A woman whispered, “Oh my God,” as the gunshots rang out:

Michael Sack, St. Louis police chief, said in a press conference on Monday, October 24, 2022, that officers “arrived within minutes of the call going out” and immediately made entry into the school.

Student witnesses told local journalists terrifying stories of hiding in classrooms, jumping out of windows, and hearing gunshots in the school.

The deceased victims are a teacher, Jean Kirk Kuczka, and a student named Alex, 16.

FacebookSt. Louis shooting victims

Here’s what you need to know:

1. ‘You Are All Going to (Expletive) Die,’ The Gunman Said, According to a Teacher

Math teacher David Williams told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the school principal used a “code phrase” over the loudspeaker around 9 a.m. that “indicates a school shooter in the building.”

Williams then heard gunfire outside his classroom, and a window on a classroom door was “shot out,” the newspaper reported.

“You are all going to (expletive) die,” a man’s voice said, he told the Post-Dispatch.

2. The Shooter Was Armed With a Long Gun & Banged on Doors

According to Sack, students who were fleeing the school shooting told arriving police officers that the shooter was armed with a long gun.

Officers heard gunfire and ran to it. They located the shooter and engaged the shooter with exchange of gunfire, Sack said. The suspect was struck and was later pronounced deceased. No officers were injured.

Eight people from the school were transported to local hospitals. An adult female shot to death. A teenage female at the scene was pronounced deceased from gunshots, according to Sack.

“Our department responded to an active shooting incident this morning at Central VP School. A suspect was taken into custody,” St. Louis police tweeted on October 24, 2022 before the shooter was pronounced dead. “WE ARE ASKING THE PUBLIC TO PLEASE AVOID THE AREA OF S. KINGSHIGHWAY FROM SOUTHWEST TO ARSENAL UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THIS INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING.”

Raymond J. Parks, a dance teacher at the school, the shooter was dressed all in black and pointed the gun at him but did not fire. He doesn’t know why, according to The Post-Dispatch.

The shooter banged on a classroom door but couldn’t get inside, a student witness told the Post Dispatch.

3. The Shooter’s Gun Jammed & He Proclaimed He Was ‘Sick of This Damn School,’ a Student Witness Said

It might have been even worse, but the shooter’s gun jammed, student Taniya Gholston, 16, told The Post-Dispatch.

He said he was “sick of this damn school.”

The school was locked. The suspect was 20 years old, according to KSDK News.

Journalist Alex Fees of KSDK interviewed three students and said in a live report that students heard Miles Davis music on the intercom.

Students had to jump from a third-story window. They heard some gunfire outside first before the shooter entered the school.

4. Students Heard Glass Breaking & Gunshots as a Teacher Asked for Help to Move Lockers to Barricade the Door

A student, Adrianne Bolden, told KSDK about the frightening moments as the shooter moved through the school.

“We just thought it was a regular intruder drill, but then we started hearing sirens outside and the teachers started getting scared,” he told the television station. The teacher crawled over asked for help to move lockers in front of the classroom door so the shooter couldn’t get in. Then, they started hearing gunfire and glass breaking outside the door.

The students tried to jump out of the window, but there was concrete at the bottom. They then jumped out the window.

5. A Recording captured Gunshots Inside the School

A recording captured gunshots going off inside the school, according to Fox 2 Now.