Police: Md. School Shooter Was Lovesick Teen, Used Father's Gun

GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP/WJZ) — Tuesday's school shooting in southern Maryland that left the shooter dead and two students wounded increasingly appears to be the action of a lovesick teenager.

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Authorities on Wednesday released a few additional details into the shooting at Great Mills High School in St. Mary's County.

Austin Rollins, 17, was killed after shooting a schoolmate, 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey. A school resource officer got there within a minute and fired a shot at Willey, but it's not yet clear whether Rollins was killed by the officer's bullet or took his own life.

A 14-year-old boy who was shot in the thigh during the encounter was released Wednesday from a hospital.

The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that Rollins and the girl had been in a relationship that recently ended. Authorities had previously only said that the two had had a relationship of some sorts.

"All indications suggest the shooting was not a random act of violence," police said in a statement.

Investigators say they haven't found any threats that could have warned about a coming attack, like we've seen in other recent cases..

The shooting injured twoGreat Mills High School students before a resource officer shot and stopped Rollins.

 

The doors stay locked as investigators work to unravel what led up to gunfire in the hallways of the school.

 

A high stakes confrontation that senior Isaiah Tishner witnessed outside his first floor classroom.

"He's behind me, yelling at the boy. He's telling them put the gun down, put the gun down," he said. "'We know you don't want hurt anybody else, put the gun down.' Then, after the last time he said that, he shot him."

Stopping the shooter, who later died.

Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill is now being hailed as a hero.

"If he wasn't there, I don't know what he would have done. He had the gun to his head. I don't know if he would have shot more students or killed himself right there," the student said.

The school is closed until April 2.

In the meantime, a show of support across the country with other schools changing their signs to read: We are Great Mills.

Detectives say Rollins used a handgun legally owned by his father.

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(TM and Copyright 2017 CBS and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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