By: Sarah Purtill
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
MARYLAND, U.S. – On Wednesday, March 21, a 17 year old male student opened fire in a Maryland high school. At 7:55AM, Austin Wyatt Rollins used a handgun to shoot two classmates, a male and a female. Less than a minute later, school resource officer Blaine Gaskill responded and fired a shot at Rollins, who fired a round of his own. Gaskill was unharmed and Rollins was later pronounced dead. The female victim, a 16 year old, is in critical condition fighting life threatening injuries atUniversity of Maryland Prince George’s Hospital Center. The 14 year old male student who was shot is in stable condition.
The female victim has been identified by family as Jaelynn Willey. According to the St. Mary County Sheriff’s office, it is believed Rollins had a prior relationship with the female student. Her family wrote a statement that was distributed on Facebook by family friend, Lucinda Avis. According to the statement, they were “devastated to learn that our beautiful Jaelynn was one of the victims in a school shooting.” They further said, “It is hard for us not to see her shining, smiling face right now, and to see her light up the room with her presence. We know that many of you are anxious to hear about her condition, and we will update you when we can.”
Classmate Isiah Tichenor, 18, was in the hallway when the shooting happened. He stepped out into the hallway and saw Rollins with a gun to his head when Gaskill rounded the corner. Gaskill and Rollins both fired shots. It is unclear at this time if Gaskill’s shot hit Rollins or if Rollins shot himself. Tichenor then ran away from the closed classroom door to a backroom area. There, he and about 20 other students waited for around 10 minutes until an officer knocked on the door and told them they could come out.
The shooting was notable because it followed a national debate over arming teachers and putting more officers in schools. Authorities credit Gaskill with possibly saving lives because of his quick response. While authorities are reviewing the tapes from the school to understand how the incident unfolded, St. Mary’s County Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron said there was “no question” that the situation would have been worse if Gaskill had not confronted the shooter as quickly as he did.
The shooting happened just days before a national protest scheduled for Saturday March 24 in Washington D.C. called the March for Our Lives. The march is a stand against gun violence and school shootings. This is the 17th school shooting in the United States in 2018.
On March 23, the family of Jaelynn Willey announced that Jaelynn was taken off life support and died on Thursday, March 22 after doctors pronounced the 16-year old brain dead.
For more information, please see:
NBC News – Maryland school shooting victim Jaelynn Willey dies after being taken off life support – 22 March 2018
Baltimore Sun – Maryland High School Shooting: 16-year-old Victim Remains in Critical Condition – 21 March 2018
CNN – Maryland School Officer Stops Student Who Shot Two Others – 20 March 2018
Washington Post – Student Gunman Dies After Maryland School Shooting; Two Other Students Injured – 20 March 2018
