Harrowing footage from inside a school in northern Mexico shows a teenage student opening fire in his classroom on Wednesday — wounding three students and his teacher before killing himself, authorities said.
A 75-second video circulating on social media shows a female teacher passing out materials to students at the bilingual American School of the Northeast in Monterrey when the student suddenly pulls out a gun and shoots a male classmate.
The 15-year-old gunman then shoots his teacher as she is turned away from him before calmly continuing to shoot his classmates. The rampage ends when the teen, after saying something to the class, shoots himself in the head — prompting the uninjured students to bolt out of the bloody classroom.
“We deeply regret the events that occurred this morning in our campus,” read a statement on the school’s website, translated from Spanish. “At this moment our priority is those affected and their families — with whom we maintain close communication to provide the support they require — as well as the rest of the College community. We are working with the authorities to clarify the facts and safeguard the integrity of our students, parents, teachers and staff.”
The student has been identified as Federico Guevara Elizondo, state security spokesman Aldo Fasci told the New York Times. His motive for the attack remains unclear, but Fasci said the teen had been receiving treatment for depression.
“The classes were going perfectly well, the student stands up from his desk and pulls out a gun,” Fasci told the Associated Press, attributing the shooting to the “situation that is happening everywhere.”
“The children have access to the internet,” Fasci said. “This has happened in other countries.”
Fasci said the teen brought the gun to school from home, but it’s unclear how he sneaked the .22-caliber pistol into the building. Fasci said the shooting may indicate that the country needs to restart a widespread program in which students’ bags were checked daily at school entrances.
“There was a reason why bookbags were checked,” Fasci said. “I think we are going to have to start doing it again.”
Nuevo Leon state Gov. Jaime Rodriguez said the teen gunman died at a hospital. Three other victims with head wounds, including the teacher — identified in reports as Cecilia Cristina Solis — were “fighting between life and death,” Rodriguez said Wednesday. Another victim shot in the arm is expected to survive.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez instructed the state attorney to find out who leaked the graphic video online, characterizing it as a “perverse and morbid action that shall be punished,” the New York Times reported.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto acknowledged the shooting on his Twitter account, saying he was hurt by the attack “as a family man and president.”
