WASHINGTON, October 24 (RIA Novosti) - A gunman has reportedly shot himself after opening fire inside a US school north of Seattle, in Washington state, local media said Friday.
The incident took place at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, the Seattle Times said. According to the daily, some students have been evacuated, while police are searching the school building.
Media reports indicate that at least two have been wounded in the shooting rampage. Some of them were rushed by ambulance to an Everett hospital. Yet some students have allegedly been bused to a nearby church. Parents have been asked not to come close to the targeted school.
Public mass shootings in the United States have been on the rise since 2011, according to Harvard researchers. Studies show that a public mass shooting occurred on average every 172 days since 1982, while in September 2011 this number spikes to some 14 public incidents in less than every 172 days. In the subsequent three-year phase they occurred every 64 days on average.
