Police have released the 911 calls made moments after a teen gunman opened fire at an Ohio school, killing three students and injuring two others. NBC's KevinTibbles reports.
By msnbc.com and NBC News
Police have released 911 recordings from the shooting in Chardon, Ohio, revealing the chaos and fear from Monday’s incident that left three students dead and two others wounded.
"We just had a shooting at our school. We need to get out of here. Oh, my god," one crying female caller told a dispatcher.
"Everyone's running away," the caller added.
Another caller, a male student, instantly identified the gunman as Thomas Lane, a student, and said he appeared to be shooting at random.
"What was his beef with these kids? Do we know?" the dispatcher asked.
"I have no idea," he said, adding: "He's very quiet and he doesn't really talk to anyone."
In a separate call, an adult pleads with the dispatcher: “Chardon High School. We got shots fired. Gunshots. Multiple gunshots. We need help. We need help badly.”
By the time the 17-year-old shooter was in custody, he had fired at five teens in the close-knit community of 5,000 residents, located about 35 miles outside of Cleveland.
The calls, recorded by the Chardon Police Department and Geauga County Sheriff’s Office and released on Tuesday, describe a scene of panic as students ran for cover in the cafeteria, where Thomas, known as T.J., allegedly opened fire just after 7:30 a.m.
“We are in lockdown. We need assistance right now!” another female cries in a separate call.
NBC affiliate WKYC.com published a string of 911 calls, from the initial reports of a gunman on school property to the high school principal confirming T.J. Lane’s identity as the alleged shooter.
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“Hey, it’s the principal at Chardon again. The alleged shooter ran out the back door… past the pool, alright?”
The dispatcher asked for a description of what he’s wearing. The principal told her he has a white t-shirt on and then said, “We have a name, we think.”
“Is that Thomas?”
“Yup,” he responds.
Lane did not attend Chardon High, instead attending nearby Lake Academy, a school for students with academic or behavioral problems.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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