2 students killed in shooting at Phoenix-area high school

Two female students were found dead on a high school campus in Glendale, Arizona after people reported hearing gunshots this morning. Two female, 15-year-old sophomores were fatally shot, and a firearm was found near their bodies.

Breeden said the teens had been positively identified, but their names were not being released by police because they were juveniles.

The campus was intially put on lockdown, but police said the school is now secured and there was never an active shooter.

“Children are safe and it’s not a risky situation”, Breeden said.

The Glendale school district set up a staging area where parents could pick up their students, officials announced. The school remains on lockdown while authorities investigate, and so far, they haven’t determined the motive for the incident.

“We sent out an automated dialer, email blast and then on social media”, School Superintendent Brian Capistran said. The school is planning to bus parents to the school for the students’ release.

Parents were directed to locations near the school.

“Our prayers are with the students, educators & families at Independence High School & all the first responders on the scene”, read a post on Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s Twitter account.

Cheryl Rice said she went to a store after a friend called about the shooting and asked after her daughter.

Social workers and counsellors will be available to students and staff when school resumes Tuesday, Capistran said.

A father and daughter reunite in a vacant field, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz., after two students were shot and killed at Independence High School in the Phoenix suburb.

Meanwhile, Arizona Mayor Jerry Weiers stated that the tragic incident touched him deeply, as he has close ties with Independent High School. She didn’t discuss the conditions of the teens.

Numerous police and fire units descended on the school, and streets were closed to traffic in the residential area around the campus.