A terrified school goers hid in classrooms as a teenager reportedly fired multiple shots from his rifle at his former school in Perth’s north on Wednesday.
The incident, which happened at Atlantis Beach Baptist College, was the first instance of firearms being brought to a school in Western Australia.
The suspect, who was 15 years old at the time of the incident, was apprehended by police after he allegedly fired three shots.
When the first shot was fired, student Lacey was on her way to her math class. The school was placed on lockdown.
According to her, some students told her that there was an active shooter in the school’s parking lot.
She initially thought they were lying since it was a serious incident. After receiving a notification from the school, she was able to confirm that the reports were true.
Lacey said she was stunned by the incident, describing it as crazy. She and her classmates hid inside a storage room.
The other students were also scared and emotional.
She and her classmates were cramped inside the room, which had doors on either side.
They waited inside the area for around 30 minutes before learning that the suspect had been apprehended.
In response to the incident, Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan called it an “unthinkable” act that a school shooting would happen in the state.
He visited the school and praised the quick actions of the school’s staff and students.
Following the incident, Mr. McGowan said the government was already working on implementing various reforms to the state’s gun laws.
He noted that there were over 300,000 guns in the state. These will be subject to stricter controls.
According to Mr. McGowan, the country should not go down the same path as America, where thousands of people are killed by guns every year.
The suspect was apprehended without incident after his car was found at the scene with two rifles.
It’s believed that the guns were registered to the teen’s father.
No charges have been made yet. Mr. McGowan urged people to ensure that their firearms are kept in a secure location and that their keys are not easily accessible.
Atlantis Beach Baptist will reopen on Friday as the state government works on implementing new gun laws.