Police: 1 dead, 4 injured in Ohio high school shooting

CHARDON, Ohio - One student has died, four others are injured and a student gunman is in custody after a shooting at an Ohio high school Monday morning.

Chardon Police Chief Timothy McKenna said two students were taken by helicopter to Hillcrest Hospital and three were taken to MetroHealth Medical Center.

The two victims at Hillcrest Hospital are a 17-year-old boy who is in serious condition and an 18-year-old girl in stable condition, according to a hospital spokesperson.

McKenna said shots were fired at Chardon High School at 7:51 a.m. by a student gunman. He said the student was chased out of the building by a teacher and then turned himself in to two innocent bystanders in Chardon Township.

McKenna said the suspect is in custody and being held at the Geauga County Safety Center.

Geauga County Sheriff  Daniel McClelland said victims were shot in three different locations and a handgun was used in the shooting.

Chardon Local School District sent out the following message to parents Monday morning:

As of 9:00 AM the alleged sole CHS gunman is in custody and Chardon High School students are being moved by safety forces to Maple Elementary. Parents or legal guardians can pick up their students up any time. Chardon Middle School students are also being released to parents.

Please be advised that that campus and surrounding area is extremely congested and there is a long wait to sign out students. You may want to wait a bit before leaving home.

We will continue to update you using this communication system.

Teresa Hunt told NewsChannel5, our Cleveland affiliate, that her daughter said that she heard five shots fired in the cafeteria at about 7:30 a.m. Hunt has been texting with her daughter who said students are scared. She said her daughter told her four people were shot.

Chardon student Evan Erasmus told NewsChannel5 that a student tweeted that he was going to bring a gun to school but not one took him seriously.

Lake County Sheriff's Department said it sent SWAT unit and truck unit to Chardon.

A command scene was setup at a local Walmart where Bob Herp, a Chardon trauma nurse, said helicopters were on the ground.

Nicole Nichols told NewsChannel5 that her daughter goes to Chardon Middle School. They were told classes would be canceled today, and the high school students were being moved to the middle school.

Chardon School District sent a voicemail to parents that schools are closed and high school students were being moved to the middle school.

NewsChannel5 received a call from Elton Brooks who said his daughter, a teacher at Chardon High School told him the school was under lockdown. He said his daughter was safe but was hearing that a shooter was in the school.

Just before 9:30 a.m., Governor John Kasich tweeted: " Pls pray for wounded Chardon HS students, their families, and their community; appears things under control now"

Watch live streaming of NewsChannel5 coverage of the Chardon shooting here: http:// on.wews.com/ bBiFcv