A former student killed two people and wounded seven others in a St Louis high school before police fatally shot him in a gunfire exchange Monday, authorities said.
The big picture: The Central Visual and Performing Arts High School tragedy in the Missouri city was one of 581 mass shootings in 2022 where at least four people have been shot, not including the shooter, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Details: St. Louis Police Chief Michael Sack identified the suspect at a news conference as 19-year-old Orlando Harris, who graduated from the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School last year.
- The suspect fatally shot a teacher and a 16-year-old girl and wounded four teenage boys and three girls before witnesses said his gun became jammed, per AP.
- All schools in the district were placed on lockdown for the rest of the day and after-school activities were canceled following the shooting.
What we're watching: Sack said authorities were investigating the motive, but mental illness may be a factor.
What they're saying: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a news conference Monday condemned the "senseless violence" and called for "additional action to stop the scourge of gun violence."
- "Every day that the Senate fails to send an assault weapons ban to the president’s desk or waits to take another common sense action is a day too late for families and communities impacted by gun violence," Jean-Pierre said.
Context: President Biden laid out his gun safety agenda, which included a call to ban assault weapons, earlier this year after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.
- The House passed a ban on assault weapons in July, but the measure has stalled in the Senate.
