PARKLAND, Fla. – News 6 has obtained video from inside a South Florida school that shows the moment a gunman opened fire.
News 6 has decided to edit the video, removing the voices from those in the classroom but keeping the gunshots to display the situation with which they were dealing. It's not known if anyone in this room was injured in the shooting, which left a computer screen riddled with bulletholes.
Caution is urged before watching the video in the player above.
[***WARNING: Video above is graphic***]
Here's the latest on a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
THURSDAY
4 p.m.
A Broward County Sheriff's Office report says Nikolas Cruz confessed to being the shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
According to the report, he told interrogating officers that he "began shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on school grounds" on Wednesday afternoon.
The report adds that Cruz told officers he "brought additional loaded magazines to the school campus and kept them hidden in a backpack until he got on campus to begin his assault."
Cruz told investigators that as students began to flee, he decided to discard his AR-15 rifle and a vest he was wearing so he could blend in with the crowd. Police recovered the rifle and the vest.
The police report adds that Cruz purchased the rifle in February 2017, but does not say where it was purchased.
3:25 p.m.
An attorney for the 19-year-old Florida man accused of killing 17 people at a high school says her client is sad and remorseful.
Public defender Melisa McNeill told reporters Thursday that Nikolas Cruz is fully aware of what's going on but he's also just a "broken human being." McNeill spoke after a judge ordered Cruz held without bond. She had her arm around Cruz during the brief hearing.
She became emotional while speaking to reporters, saying she's fully aware of the impact the shooting has had on the community.
Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday afternoon at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
2:50 p.m.
Uber has confirmed that the suspect in the deadly shooting rampage at a Florida high school used the ridesharing service before the shooting.
The company says it's assisting law enforcement with the investigation.
The company wouldn't answer questions about whether the Uber driver noticed anything concerning about the suspect's behavior or if he was carrying a gun or a large case.
Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, killing 17 people. A judge Thursday afternoon ordered him to be held without bond on 17 counts of murder.
2:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump is postponing a campaign rally next week in Pennsylvania because of Wednesday's school shooting in Florida.
Trump's campaign says it put off the Feb. 21 rally in Ambridge, outside of Pittsburgh, "out of respect and sympathy for the victims and survivors."
Trump also cancelled an official trip Friday to Orlando, Florida, to highlight his infrastructure proposal. But he said Thursday he'll make a separate trip to Parkland, Florida, to meet with families and local officials in the coming days.
Trump is scheduled to spend the weekend at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida.
2:40 p.m.
The police officer who arrested the high school shooting suspect in Florida says the teen looked like a "typical high school student" when he spotted him walking away from the school.
Coconut Creek police officer Michael Leonard said his department was responding to the shooting Wednesday afternoon when he saw someone matching the description of the suspect. Leonard says he stopped him and he was taken into custody without incident.
Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, killing 17 people. A judge Thursday afternoon ordered him to be held without bond on 17 counts of murder.
2:25 p.m.
Two federal law enforcement officials say the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle used in the deadly rampage at a high school was purchased legally at Sunrise Tactical Supply in Florida.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were briefed on the investigation but not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, killing 17 people. A judge Thursday afternoon ordered him to be held without bond on 17 counts of murder.
2:05 p.m.
A Florida judge has ordered that the suspect in a deadly shooting rampage at a high school will be held without bond on 17 counts of murder.
Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz was wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hands cuffed at his waist during the Thursday afternoon hearing. His attorney did not contest the order and had her arm around Cruz during the brief court appearance.
Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday afternoon at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, killing 17 people.
1:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump is cancelling a planned trip to Orlando, Florida, on Friday after Thursday's deadly school shooting in Parkland.
Trump is still planning a separate trip to Florida to meet with families and local officials in Parkland.
White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters says Trump will not make the trip that had been meant to promote the president's infrastructure proposal.
He was scheduled to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
12:55 p.m.
A Mississippi bail bondsman named Benjamin Bennight says he alerted the FBI last September after someone using the screen name "Nikolas Cruz" posted a comment on his YouTube channel saying: "Im going to be a professional school shooter."
Bennight explains in a video post that he flagged it for YouTube and called an FBI office in Mississippi to report it. He says FBI agents visited him the next day.
Agent Rob Lasky says the agency did a database review but couldn't determine the time, location or true identity of the person making the comment.
Bennight says the FBI came calling again within hours of the shooting. He says "they're going to have to get with YouTube about where the comment originated, but I think they already know."
12:50 p.m.
The leader of a white nationalist militia says Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was a member of his group and participated in paramilitary drills in Tallahassee.
Jordan Jereb told The Associated Press on Thursday that his group wants Florida to become its own white ethno-state. He said his group holds "spontaneous random demonstrations" and tries not to participate in the modern world.
Jereb said he didn't know Cruz personally and that "he acted on his own behalf of what he just did and he's solely responsible for what he just did."
He also said he had "trouble with a girl" and he believed the timing of the attack, carried out on Valentine's Day, wasn't a coincidence.
Nineteen-year-old Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the shooting.
12:35 p.m.
The Dollar Tree retail chain confirms that the Florida high school shooting suspect worked at their store in Parkland.
In a Thursday statement, the Dollar Tree says they'll share any information about 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz with local and federal officials that may help with the investigation. The retailer also expressed sympathy for the Parkland community and those affected by the Wednesday attack that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the shooting.
12:25 p.m.
A sheriff's deputy responding to a report of gunfire at a private school near the site of a mass shooting a Florida high school accidentally fired his gun, injuring his leg.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said in a news release that the deputy was among law enforcement officers responding to reports of shots being fired at North Broward Preparatory School on Thursday morning. He was treated for his injuries at the scene and no one else was injured.
The initial report was investigated and sheriff's officials said it was unfounded.
In the meantime, all Broward County high schools are on a "code yellow," which means students should remain in classrooms with doors locked. Officials said this is precautionary following the Wednesday afternoon shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which is a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the Wednesday afternoon shooting in Parkland, Florida.
11:36 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he'll visit Parkland, Florida, the site of Wednesday's shooting that killed 17 people.
Trump said from the White House he's making plans to meet with families and local officials, and to continue coordinating the federal response.
Trump called on Americans to "answer hate with love, answer cruelty with kindness," after a troubled 19-year-old former pupil gunned-down students and teachers at the school. He tweeted early Thursday that the suspect appeared to be "mentally disturbed," but he has not mentioned guns.
Trump said, "To law enforcement, first responders, and teachers who responded so bravely in the face of danger, we thank you for your courage."
Trump had been planning on spending the weekend in Florida. The White House says the timing of the visit has yet to be finalized.
11:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump says Wednesday's mass shooting turned a Florida school into a "scene of terrible violence, hatred and evil."
Trump is addressing the nation a day after the shooting that killed at least 17 people. The president was silent on the issue of gun control. Earlier Thursday, he suggested the suspect was "mentally disturbed."
Trump says the entire nation "with one heavy heart" is praying for the victims and their families.
An orphaned 19-year-old with a troubled past and his own AR-15 rifle was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder Thursday morning following the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in five years.
11:20 a.m.
A Florida sheriff says there was an armed officer on campus at the time of a deadly high school shooting.
But Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Thursday the officer never encountered the suspect during the Wednesday afternoon attack that killed 17 people.
Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the Wednesday afternoon shooting in Parkland, Florida.
10:55 a.m.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott says he'll sit down with state leaders and work on how they can make sure people with mental illness aren't able to get guns.
Scott spoke Thursday a day after a shooting left 17 people dead at a high school. He said leaders will look at how they can make sure something like that never happens again.
FBI agent Rob Lasky says the FBI investigated a 2017 YouTube comment that said "I'm going to be a professional school shooter"; but the agency couldn't identify the person making the comment.
Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the Wednesday afternoon shooting in Parkland, Florida.
10:10 a.m.
Kentucky's Republican governor says he's heartbroken over a school shooting in Florida that killed 17 just weeks after a similar shooting at a high school in his state.
Gov. Matt Bevin told talk radio hosts his heart is truly broken for the people of Florida and the community has been shattered in a similar way that Kentucky was in January. He said guns are not the reason for increase in school shootings, but blamed a culture that delegitimizes life through violent video games, TV shows and music lyrics.
Bevin called video games where people kill others "garbage" and said "it's the same as pornography." He said "freedom of speech" has been abused by allowing things that are "filthy and disgusting and have no redeemable value."
Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the Wednesday afternoon shooting in Parkland, Florida.
8:55 a.m.
A school district superintendent choked up during a television interview while discussing the scene at a Florida High School where 17 people were killed during a shooting rampage shortly before dismissal time.
Broward County school district Superintendent Robert Runcie told WSVN on Thursday morning that seeing the bodies strewn on floors inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School "was absolutely horrific."
A tearful Runcie said the scene was "nothing like I've ever seen in my entire life."
Runcie said his thoughts are with the parents and families whose children didn't come home from school Wednesday.
Former student, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, was booked into jail early Thursday after being questioned by authorities through the night. He's charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
8:40 a.m.
An attorney representing the family who had taken in Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz says they're shocked by what happened and had no idea he was planning anything.
Jim Lewis told The Associated Press on Thursday that Cruz began living with the family after his mother died in November. He said Cruz was quiet and very respectful but also sad.
Lewis says Cruz had an AR-15 rifle in the home with them but it was kept in a locked cabinet.
Lewis says the family -- who he declined to identify -- has been cooperating with law enforcement, who have been searching their home. He also said the family's own son, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was at the school when the shooting happened and is shaken up by it.
Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the Wednesday afternoon shooting in Parkland, Florida.
8:40 a.m.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says it's time to keep mourning parents of the victims of the school shooting in Florida in "our thoughts and prayers," not to discuss how to deal with gun violence.
Tillerson, speaking during a visit to Lebanon during his Mideast tour, called it a "horrific school shooting." At least 17 children were shot at high school in Florida. The 19-year old suspect is custody.
Responding to a reporter's question about how the U.S. talks to foreign countries about reducing violence while it is grappling with school violence and other mass shootings at home, Tillerson said it was time to pray for the victims.
8:30 a.m.
A law enforcement official is telling The Associated Press that a former student who killed 17 people at a Florida school legally purchased his AR-15 rifle about a year ago.
The official is familiar with the investigation into the school shooting but not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Federal law allows people 18 and over to legally purchase long guns. At 21, people can legally buy handguns from a licensed dealer.
7:50 a.m.
President Donald Trump says it appears the suspect in Florida's deadly school shooting was "mentally disturbed."
Trump tweeted Thursday about the shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. A former student opened fire Wednesday with an AR-15 rifle, killing 17 people. The 19-year-old was charged Thursday morning.
Trump says: "So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!"
The president offered sympathy in another tweet Wednesday and said he spoke with Florida's governor, but he has not addressed the nation.
Trump has cited mental health before as a cause for mass shootings, dismissing questions about gun control.
7:30 a.m.
Grief counselors are being made available to students and staff after a mass shooting at their Florida high school killed 17 people and left 14 others hospitalized with wounds and injuries.
The Broward County school district says counseling will be offered at five locations for anyone affected by Wednesday afternoon's shooting. But Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, now a crime scene, will remain closed through the President's Day weekend.
The suspect, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. He was arrested about two miles from the school shortly after the shooting and initially taken to a hospital with breathing problems. Cruz was questioned overnight and booked into the Broward County Jail early Thursday.
7:10 a.m.
Pope Francis is sending his condolences to the victims of the school shooting in Florida and praying that "such senseless acts of violence may cease."
The Vatican says Francis sent a telegram Thursday to the archbishop of Miami saying he was "deeply saddened" to learn of the "devastating attack."
Francis said he was praying for the dead and wounded and those who are grieving.
A former student at the Parkland, Florida high school opened fire Wednesday with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 17 people.
Francis has frequently lashed out at gun manufacturers, calling them "merchants of death." During his 2015 speech to the U.S. Congress, he called for an end to the arms trade, which he said was fueled by a quest for "money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood."
7:05 a.m.
The 19-year-old suspect in a deadly school shooting in Florida has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
Nikolas Jacob Cruz was booked into the Broward County Jail early Thursday, still wearing the hospital gown he was given after being treated for labored breathing following his arrest. He was later questioned overnight before being booked into jail.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said Cruz was a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which is a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. He is accused of entering the campus just before school was dismissed on Wednesday afternoon and opening fire on students and teachers.
Officials said another 14 people have been treated at area hospitals.
Cruz, who is listed at 5-foot-7 and 131-pounds, is being held without bond. Jail records don't list an attorney for him.
6:55 a.m.
A sheriff said the bodies of 12 of the 17 victims in a mass shooting at a Florida high school were found inside the building.
A statement from Broward Sheriff Scott Israel says two other bodies were discovered outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, another was found a short distance away along a local road and two others died at a hospital.
Dr. Evan Boyer, the medical director at Broward Health North's Department of Emergency Medicine, told reporters that the suspect was among 17 patients taken to local hospitals after the shooting.
Shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was initially taken by ambulance to Broward North hospital for treatment for labored breathing after his arrest. Then he was taken to sheriff's headquarters for questioning overnight. He was still wearing a hospital gown when he was brought to the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale for booking Thursday.
6:15 a.m.
The 19-year-old suspect in a deadly rampage at a Florida high school is being booked into jail after being questioned for hours by state and federal authorities.
Television footage showed Nikolas Cruz being escorted by sheriff's deputies from the Broward Sheriff's headquarters to the county jail in Fort Lauderdale early Thursday morning.
Seventeen people were killed as gunfire erupted at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School just before classes ended Wednesday afternoon.
Cruz was captured in a quiet neighborhood about two miles from the school. Sheriff's officials said in an email that Cruz was initially taken to a hospital for labored breathing before being questioned at sheriff's headquarters.
Counselors are being made available for students, teachers and staff, but the school will remain closed as an investigation continues.
1:01 a.m.
Just before the shooting broke out, some students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School thought they were having another fire drill.
Such an exercise had forced them to leave their classrooms hours earlier. So when the alarm went off Wednesday afternoon shortly before they were to be dismissed, they once again filed out into the hallways.
That's when police say 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, equipped with a gas mask, smoke grenades and multiple magazines of ammunition, opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 17 people and sending hundreds of students fleeing into the streets. It was the nation's deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, more than five years ago.
WEDNESDAY
9:55 p.m.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says the 19-year-old suspect in the deadly school shooting, Nikolas Cruz, had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for "disciplinary reasons."
Israel says he doesn't know the specifics of what happened.
But Victoria Olvera, a 17-year-old junior, says Cruz was expelled last school year after a fight with his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend.
School officials haven't confirmed such accounts, but say Cruz was attending another school in Florida's Broward County after his expulsion.
One 17-year-old junior, Dakota Mutchler, says he used to be friends with Cruz but hadn't seen him in more than a year after his expulsion. He says of Cruz: "He started progressively getting a little more weird."
___
This story has been corrected show that Dakota's last name is Mutchler, not Mentcher.
9:30 p.m.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has joined law enforcement agents near the site of the deadly school shooting and offered his condolences to the victims' families and survivors. He says the attack that claimed at least 17 lives "is just absolutely pure evil."
Scott told reporters Wednesday evening he can't imagine what the families of the victims are going through. He also said he would be visiting hospitalized survivors.
Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County also said at the news conference that 12 of the dead have been identified but some weren't carrying identification and that slowed confirmation efforts. The families are being notified.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says the state will cover funeral expenses for the victims and counseling for survivors.
9:15 p.m.
A law enforcement official says the former student suspected of killing at least 17 people at a South Florida high school posted highly disturbing material on social media before the shooting rampage.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Wednesday the 19-year-old suspect, Nikolas Cruz, had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for unspecified disciplinary reasons.
Israel says investigators are dissecting the suspect's social media posts and found material that is "very, very disturbing." He didn't elaborate.
An ex-schoolmate recalled Cruz posting on Instagram about killing animals and said he talked of doing target practice in his backyard with a pellet gun.
A school superintendent, Robert Runcie, told reporters he didn't know of any concerns raised about Cruz.
8:35 p.m.
A student who escaped the deadly shooting at a Florida high school says he knew the suspect when he attended the school, describing him as a "weird kid" and something of a "loner."
Authorities said 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz is in custody after the attack Wednesday that claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Officials say Cruz was a former student, having been expelled from the school.
Student Daniel Huerfano told The Associated Press he remembers seeing Cruz walking around the school with his lunch bag, adding, "He was that weird kid that you see ... like a loner."
8:15 p.m.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida says he is "devastated and saddened" by the deadly shooting attack on a high school in his state.
The Republican senator says he remains ready to assist state and local officials and "anyone impacted by this horrible tragedy." He also said in his statement Wednesday that he hopes authorities can find out in coming hours and days more about why and how the killer "carried out this carnage."
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of Florida has also issued condolences. She called the attack in Parkland, Florida, "another senseless school shooting ... this time in our community."
7:50 p.m.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords says the deadly school shooting in Florida should "strike fear into all Americans."
The Democrat from Arizona was shot in the head and survived a shooting attack in 2011.
She said in a statement Wednesday that her heart goes out to the victims and survivors of the school shooting that claimed 17 lives in Parkland, Florida. She called it the latest attack in an epidemic of gun violence that continues "days after deadly day."
She also says in a statement that the latest in a series of deadly U.S. shootings should stir fresh resolve in Congress to "find the courage to pass the laws we need to protect our children."
7:30 p.m.
Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida says the shooter in the attack on a high school in his state wore a gas mask and had smoke grenades.
The Florida Democrat said in an interview with CNN that he was briefed on the attack by the FBI.
Nelson says the attacker "set off the fire alarm so the kids would come pouring out of the classrooms into the hall. And there the carnage began."
Nelson says he did not know if the gunman had used the smoke grenades but he assumed that's why he had a gas mask on.
7:15 p.m.
Doctors say 16 people wounded in a deadly shooting at a Florida high school are being treated at area hospitals.
Dr. Evan Boyar at Broward Health North told reporters Wednesday that eight victims and the suspect had been brought to his hospital. Boyar says two victims died, three were in critical condition and three were in stable condition. He says three patients were still in the operating room Wednesday evening. The suspect was treated and released to police.
Boyar says all the victims were shot but declined to comment on their ages or the extent of their wounds.
Eight other victims were taken to other hospitals, but he did not have information on their conditions.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says a 19-year-old former student has been arrested in the shooting that killed 17 people.
6:35 p.m.
Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida says lawmakers have offered their condolences after the latest school shooting, this one in his district.
Deutch says he found his colleagues' outreach — in his words — both "heartwarming and obscene." Authorities say 17 people died in Wednesday's attack in Parkland, Florida, and the suspect, a 19-year-old former student, is in custody.
The congressman says he uses the word "obscene" because school shootings have become so commonplace that lawmakers were offering him guidance on what to expect in coming days as constituents grapple with the tragedy.
Deutch says it's time to find ways to save lives. He says he wants President Donald Trump to call those concerned to the White House to "do something" about gun violence.
6:30 p.m.
A Florida sheriff says that 12 of the 17 confirmed deaths in Wednesday's shooting attack on a high school were found in the school.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says the attack began outside the school Wednesday afternoon.
He told reporters that authorities subsequently found 12 people dead in the building and two more dead just outside the school and one more in a nearby street. Israel says two other people died later under medical treatment.
Israel says the suspect, a 19-year-old former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is in custody. He says the male suspect was checked out at a hospital after his arrest and is now being held at a secure location in a public building.
6:05 p.m.
A sheriff says 17 people have died in the shooting attack on a South Florida high school.
Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County says the 19-year-old suspect is in custody and that investigators are beginning to "dissect" what happened in the attack Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
He says the suspect, a former student, was previously expelled for disciplinary reasons.
Israel says the man had at least one rifle and multiple magazines.
He says most of the fatalities were inside the building though some were found fatally shot outside.
5:40 p.m.
A man says he watched as officers arrested the suspect in the shooting at a Florida high school, where authorities are reporting numerous deaths.
Michael Nembhard told The Associated Press he was in his garage watching TV news coverage of the shooting when he heard a police officer repeatedly yelling, "get on the ground!"
Nembhard says he looked up to see a teenage boy on the ground about 150 yards (meters) away with an officer pointing a gun at him. The officer stood over the boy until other officers arrived, handcuffed him and led him away.
A federal official who spoke on condition of anonymity identified the suspect as Nicolas Cruz. The official says he wasn't authorized to discuss it publicly.
Authorities say the suspect is a former student about 18 years old.
5:20 p.m.
A federal official has identified the Florida school shooting suspect as Nicolas Cruz.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official says he had been briefed on the investigation into the shooting at the South Florida high school, but was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Authorities in Florida say the shooter opened fire at the school Wednesday afternoon, killing "numerous" people. The shooting sent frightened students running out into the streets and SWAT team members swarming the building.
Authorities later announced that they had taken a former student, about 18 years old, into custody after locating him off the school grounds.
5 p.m.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says the shooting suspect is an 18-year-old former student at the South Florida school where the shooting erupted.
He says the teen was arrested without incident after he was located off the school grounds in a nearby community. He didn't give details of when the suspect had attended the school. But the sheriffs says the suspect wasn't currently enrolled.
"I don't know why he left," Israel said, briefing reporters Wednesday afternoon.
He also says the shooter was outside and inside the school at points during the attack. He didn't elaborate.
The sheriff says several SWAT teams have gone in during the afternoon and are clearing every building at the Parkland high school complex to ensure no other threat remains.
He also says the FBI has stepped in and will begin processing what he describes as "horrific scene."
Said the sheriff: "This is a terrible day ... This is catastrophic."
4:40 p.m.
Parents described a chaotic and frightening situation as they rushed to find their children in the frantic minutes after reports of a shooting at a South Florida high school began to spread.
Caesar Figueroa says he was one of the first parents to arrive at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. He says he saw police officers bringing out big weapons as they approached the school.
Figueroa's office is only five minutes from the school where he sends his 16-year-old daughter.
"My wife called me that there was an active shooter and the school was on lockdown. I got on the road and saw helicopters, police with machine guns. It was crazy and my daughter wasn't answering her phone."
According to Figueroa, she texted him that she was hidden inside a closet at school with friends: "She was in a classroom and she heard gunshots by the window. She and her friends ran into the closet."
Another parent, Beth Feingold, says her daughter sent a text at 2:32 p.m. saying "We're on code red. I'm fine." But she then sent another text soon afterward saying, "Mom, I'm so scared." The girl was later able to escape the school unharmed.
4:25 p.m.
A school official says there are numerous fatalities from the high school shooting in South Florida.
Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie sayid Wednesday afternoon: "There are numerous fatalities. It is a horrific situation." He added, "It is a horrible day for us."
The Broward County Sheriff's Office tweeted Wednesday afternoon that "so far we have at least 14 victims." The tweet added: "Victims have been and continue to be transported to Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health North hospital."
The sheriff's statement didn't elaborate on the victims or the extent of their injuries.
4:15 p.m.
The White House has canceled its daily press briefing after a Florida high school shooting that sent students rushing into the streets.
President Donald Trump has spoken with Florida Gov. Rick Scott about the shooting. He says in a tweet that the White House is "working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting."
He earlier tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump has offered Florida federal assistance, if needed. The homeland security secretary has also been in touch with state and local officials.
Sanders says, "We continue to keep the victims, and their friends and family, in our thoughts and prayers."
4:10 p.m.
Authorities say the shooter at a South Florida high school is now in custody.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office gave no details in briefly tweeting that development. It did not identify the shooting suspect nor say how the person was taken into custody.
Television footage showed police putting a person in the back of a police car outside the high school.
4 p.m.
Parent John Obin says his son, a freshman at the South Florida high school where the shooting erupted, was in class when he heard several shots. The father says his son advised that teachers quickly rushed students out of the school. He adds the boy told his father that he walked by two people on the ground motionless -- and apparently dead -- as students rushed outside.
"This is a really good school, and now it's like a war zone," Obin said
Coral Springs Police said on their Twitter account Wednesday that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was locked down and that students and teachers inside should remain barricaded until police reach them.
Outside, televised news footage showed two people on stretchers and another person being treated on the ground at an intersection near the scene of the school. Paramedics were treating those who appeared to be students with injuries, but it wasn't clear how they were hurt. A few students were loaded into ambulances.
One unidentified student told a reporter at the scene that at first students thought it was a fire drill because they had heard fire alarms going off.
3:55 p.m.
The shooting at a South Florida high school sent students rushing into the streets as SWAT team members swarmed in and locked down the building. Police were warning that the shooter was still at large even as ambulances converged on the scene and emergency workers appeared to be treating those possibly wounded.
Aerial television news footage showed police in olive fatigues, with weapons drawn, entering the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Then dozens of students could be seen frantically running and others quickly walking out. A police officer waved the students on, urging them to quickly evacuate the school.
Some students exited the building in single-file rows with hands raised overhead to show they carried no weapons. Others held onto other students as they made their way out past helmeted police in camouflage with weapons drawn.
Emergency medical personnel pulled stretchers from the backs of ambulances as police cars surrounded the parking lot. At least one person was seen being wheeled to the ambulance on a gurney. It wasn't immediately clear how many people were wounded.
3:45 p.m.
Len Murray's 17-year-old son, a junior at the South Florida high school where shooting was reported, sent his parents a chilling text: "Mom and Dad, there have been shots fired on campus at school. There are police sirens outside. I'm in the auditorium and the doors are locked."
Those words came at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. A few minutes later, he texted again: "I'm fine."
Murray raced to the school only to be stopped by authorities under a highway overpass within view of the school buildings in Parkland.
No information was immediately given to parents, Len Murray says. And he says he remained worried for all those inside.
"I'm scared for the other parents here. You can see the concern in everybody's faces. Everybody is asking, `Have you hard from your child yet?"'
3:15 p.m.
Authorities say a shooter at a Florida high school is still at large.
The Broward Sheriff's Office shared the information on its Twitter account after Wednesday afternoon's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
It wasn't immediately clear how many people were wounded.
2:30 p.m.
Authorities say they're responding to a shooting at a Florida high school.
The Broward Sheriff's Office has told news outlets the shooting occurred Wednesday afternoon at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
It wasn't immediately clear how many people were wounded.