St. Louis school shooting suspect had AR-15-style rifle, 600 rounds of ammunition: Police

A student and teacher were killed. The suspect also died.

October 25, 2022, 2:37 PM

A 19-year-old former student was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and more than 600 rounds of ammunition when he opened fire at a St. Louis, Missouri, high school on Monday morning, killing two and injuring several others, according to authorities.

The suspect, who also died during an exchange of gunfire at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, was identified by police as Orlando Harris, who graduated from the high school last year.

Harris, who had no criminal history, left a handwritten document in his car speaking about his desire to "conduct this school shooting," St. Louis Police Commissioner Michael Sack said at a news conference Tuesday.

Sack said Harris wrote: "I don't have any friends, I don't have any family, I've never had a girlfriend, I've never had a social life." Sack said Harris called himself an "isolated loner," which was a "perfect storm for a mass shooter."

Law enforcement investigate the scene of a shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, on Oct. 24, 2022, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson/AP
Law enforcement investigate the scene of a shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, on Oct. 24, 2022, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson/AP

Authorities said Monday there are "suspicions that there may be some mental illness that he was experiencing."

The two slain victims have been identified by the school district as 15-year-old student Alexzandria Bell and 61-year-old physical education teacher Jean Kuczka.

Student Alexandria Bell, 15, died in the shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, on Oct. 24, 2022.
Courtesy Saint Louis Public Schools
Physical education teacher Jean Kuczka, 61, died in the shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, on Oct. 24, 2022.
Courtesy Saint Louis Public Schools

Seven other victims, all 15 or 16 years old, were injured and hospitalized. All were listed in stable condition, according to St. Louis police.

Sack said Harris had seven magazines of ammunition on a chest rig and had eight magazines of ammunition in a bag.

"This doesn't include the number of magazines that he left dumped on the stairway in the corridors along the way," he added.

People gather outside after a shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts high school in St. Louis, on Oct. 24, 2022.
Jordan Opp/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP
Students stand in a parking lot near the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School after a reported shooting at the school in St. Louis, on Oct. 24, 2022.
David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

The shooting was reported at about 9:10 a.m. local time, police said.

Authorities did not say how the gunman entered the building but police stressed that the school's doors were locked. On Tuesday, an official said he did not enter the school through a checkpoint.

Seven security guards were in the school, according to St. Louis Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams. Officials said security staff identified the suspect’s efforts to enter the school and immediately notified other staff.

"This could've been a horrific scene -- it was not, by the grace of God," Sack said Tuesday.

Students and faculty gather with first responders outside the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, Oct. 24, 2022, following a shooting.
NewsNation
First responders on the scene of a shooting at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, Oct. 24, 2022.
NewsNation

"It's very easy to get guns," Sack said at a news conference Monday. "I've said it before -- the gun laws in Missouri [are] very broad ... they can carry them openly down any street, and there's really nothing we can do."

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said she had visited students when the school year started.

"They were bright eyed, bushy-tailed. We laughed, we sang, we danced. And now to be here for such a devastating and traumatic situation breaks my heart," she said. "I'm heartbroken for these families who send their children to our schools hoping that they will be safe. Our children shouldn't have to experience this."

PHOTO: Broken glass at the entrance on the north side of the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School after a shooting in St Louis, Missouri, Oct. 24, 2022.
Broken glass at the entrance on the north side of the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School after a shooting in St Louis, Missouri, Oct. 24, 2022. Two people were killed and several were injured by a gunman who opened fire at a high school.
Tim Vizer/AFP via Getty Images
Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms agents alongside a FBI agent and a St. Louis metropolitan police officer, walk outside the north side of the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School after a shooting, Oct. 24, 2022, in St. Louis.
Tim Vizer/AFP via Getty Images

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the shooting at Monday's press briefing, saying, "We need additional action to stop the scourge of gun violence."

"Every day that the Senate fails to send assault weapons ban to the president's desk, or waits to take ... other commonsense actions, is a day too late for our families and communities impacted by gun violence," she told reporters.

At Tuesday's news conference Sack encouraged anyone to notify police if they are "aware of an individual who appears to be suffering from some kind of mental illness or distress," and is talking about buying guns or causing harm.

ABC News' Ben Gittleson, Darren Reynolds, Matt Foster and Teddy Grant contributed to this report.