Marshall County High School shooting

At 7:57 AM as students were gathering in an open area prior to the start of classes, 15-year-old student Gabriel Ross Parker, opened fire with a Ruger handgun, killing two 15 year olds at the scene.

Parker reportedly went to the school's band room to check with his friends before the shooting, to make sure they were not in the area before returning to the commons area and beginning his attack.[5] Witnesses stated that the gunman's eyes were "lifeless" and that he said nothing while he fired at students.[6]

After the shooting he discarded the weapon and ran to the weight room and hid with other students. Students, unaware he was the suspected shooter, motioned for him to join them in hiding.[5] Another student who was hiding in the location recognized Parker as the shooter and alerted a teacher in the room about the shooter's identity, the teacher then called law enforcement.[7]

A large number of students fled the schools campus to seek safety with local business owners attempting to aid the students.[8] Students running from the incident heard screams of "Get down!" but many fled, or attempted to evacuate the wounded from the school and drive them to the hospital. This created chaos as many dropped what they were carrying such as phones and bags and jumped fences or ran into the woods.[9] Many students also ran to the school's technical building on campus.

Eighteen other people were injured, by bullets and the chaos afterwards with three people critically injured.[3] Parker was taken into custody by the Marshall County Sheriff at 8:06 AM.[10]

The mother of the suspect reportedly received a phone call from her son that there had been a shooting and that he was scared. The revelation that her son was the suspected shooter caused her to be physically ill.[6]

Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope, both 15 years old, were killed. Holt died at the scene after reportedly calling her mother but "couldn't say anything".[11] Cope died later at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center due to a non-survivable gunshot wound.[12] Cope's parents reached the school before he passed and bypassed first responders to be by his side.[13]

Eighteen other students were injured, four by trying to escape,[14] injuries sustained ranged from head wounds, to injuries to arms, the chest and abdomen[8] from either the bullets or the chaos. Authorities reported that the wounded were five females and thirteen male students between the ages of 14 to 18 years old.[15] Some of the victims were pulled from the scene, by students and faculty and transported to the hospital for medical treatment.[9]

On January 27, one of the wounded was discharged from Vanderbilt Medical Center and one remained in stable condition.[16]

The perpetrator was a 15-year-old freshman at the school.[17] The Marshall County Sheriff from the Marshall County Sheriff's Department located the boy, identified as Gabriel Ross Parker,[18] and arrested him after the shooting. After his arrest a bag that Parker had on his person was searched by police, and held a copy of the Communist Manifesto and a large Winchester sheath knife. At his home he had a copy of Mein Kampf. Officers also seized the suspect's phone.[19]

A benefit concert at the Kentucky Opry in Benton was organized to raise donations for the families of shooting victims, with another concert organized three weeks after the first. The town also employed blue and orange ribbons, and the phrase "Marshall Strong".[21] In June 2018, students who had been wounded were given checks from donation campaigns.[34] Federal grants were announced in August 2018 by Governor Matt Bevin to support victims during the shooters trial, as well as for mental health professionals and a recovery plan coordinator at the high school.[35]

Some students have become involved with the March for Our Lives campaign and gun control rallies, which has caused them to be at odds with a majority of the area, which saw commentators in local news medias claiming the students were too young to know anything.[36] Survivors of the Heath High School Shooting, the Columbine High School Shooting, and the University of California at Santa Barbara Shooting reached out to survivors to encourage healing and discussion about the incident.[37]

The entire student body was awarded the 911 Hero Award in September 2018, in order to recognize the students' actions during the shooting.[7]

• Heath High School shooting, which occurred about 40 miles (65 km) away in 1997