Police launched a manhunt on Wednesday for a shooter who opened fire at a high school in Florida, reportedly leaving between 20 and 50 people injured with fatalities confirmed.
The shooting took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, a city in the southern part of the state between Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale.
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie confirmed to reporters a number of fatalities in the shooting that occurred just before school was dismissed on Wednesday.
The Margate Fire Department told CBS Miami there were between 20 and 50 victims, but Broward Sheriff's Department has only confirmed at least 14 victims. The extent of the injuries was unclear.
The Broward Sherrif Department confirmed the shooter is now in police custody.
Live television showed dozens of students running and walking away from the school, weaving their way between large numbers of emergency vehicles including police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.
One injured victim was seen being placed into an ambulance on a stretcher.
Police officers in helmets, bulletproof vests and armed with automatic weapons could be seen stationed at several points around the school.
Police from neighboring Coral Springs advised teachers and students in the building to "remain barricaded inside until police reach you."
CBS News cited the sheriff's office as saying there were multiple people injured.
No child should 'feel unsafe'
US President Donald Trump tweeted his "prayers and condolences" to the victims.
"My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting," President Donald Trump said on Twitter.
"No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school."
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, part of the Broward County public school district, has nearly 3,000 students, according to 2014 figures.
The shooting, one of several since the start of the year, will once again throw the spotlight on America's epidemic of gun violence and the ready accessibility of weapons, with 33,000 gun-related deaths annually.
Since January 2013, "there have been at least 283 school shootings across the country -- which averages out to one school shooting a week," according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit group that advocates for gun control.
Since the 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were shot dead, warning procedures and emergency drills have multiplied at US schools.
The goal is to teach school children how to react to a shooter who opens fire at random.
