CHARDON(Ohio), February28 2012(AP): A gunman opened fire inside a U.S. high school’s cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, wounding four students, officials said. A suspect was in custody.FBI agent Scott Wilson said there was one suspected shooter. He wouldn’t discuss the extent of the students’ injuries. The shooting was reported Monday morning at the 1,100-student Chardon High School about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Cleveland, said Civil Deputy Erin Knife. Television news footage showed anxious parents escorting children away from a school building, and ambulances could be seen outside. “We don’t have any status updates on the students,” Chardon schools spokeswoman Ellen Ondrey told The Associated Press. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to them. We are very concerned.” A spokeswoman for Cleveland’s MetroHealth System said a medical helicopter was dispatched to the high school. Angela Kiska, of the Cleveland Clinic, told WJW-TV in Cleveland that two of the victims were transported to Hillcrest Hospital. Bob Herp, a Chardon trauma nurse, was at a command scene at a local Wal-Mart store where he told WEWS-TV helicopters were on the ground. Ondrey said all classes in the district were cancelled. Students at the high school and middle school had already started their day when the shooting happened, but bus runs for elementary school children were stopped, Ondrey said. Parents of high school students were told to go to Maple Elementary School to pick up their children. “We want to make clear that the students are safe,” she said, advising parents not to rush to pick up students because the area is “extremely congested. The lines are very long.” Chardon is a city of about 5,100 residents. Associated Press reporters Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus and Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
