At Least Two Dead as Gunman Engages with Officers During Attack at Central VPA High
Shocking footage from a high school shooting in St Louis shows police officers helping students flee the violence that erupted at Central VPA High School. The incident occurred just after 9 am, leaving at least six injured, according to reports. Among the victims, a female student and an adult woman were confirmed dead following the attack.
The shooter, a 20-year-old male, was fatally wounded after exchanging gunfire with law enforcement and later died in hospital, as confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Sack, the interim chief of the St Louis Police Department.
Disturbing videos from the scene show the police helping terrified students escape the school, with images of desperate parents rushing to the location to find their children.
A student, speaking to KMOV-TV, recalled how a male gunman with a “long gun” burst into their dance class and coldly asked, “Are you ready to die?” Many students initially mistook the incident for a drill until they heard the principal announce the code for an active shooter.
Once the severity of the situation became clear, some students took drastic action, jumping out of windows or barricading themselves in classrooms. Michael De Filippo, a teacher, described the moment, saying, “Once you heard the boom, all the chuckling and laughing in the back of the room stopped.”
Another student, Taniya Gholston, recalled, “All I heard was two shots and he came in there with a gun… I was trying to run but I couldn’t. We made eye contact, but I made it out because his gun jammed. We saw blood on the floor.”
David Williams, a math teacher at the school, heard multiple gunshots from outside his classroom, with one window on the door shattered. He recalled hearing a voice shouting, “You are all going to f***ing die.”
Following the attack, students were taken to Gateway STEM High School, where they were safely reunited with their families. In response to the violence, all schools in the St Louis public school district were placed on “hard lockdown,” and counsellors were made available to support students at every school.
