PARKLAND – A gunman opened fire Wednesday at a Florida high school, anincident that officials said caused “numerous fatalities” and leftterrified students huddled in their classrooms, texting friends and familyfor help.

The Broward County Sheriff s Office said a suspect was in custody followingthe incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, a cityabout 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Miami.

The shooting, one of several in the United States since the start of theyear, will once again throw the spotlight on the country s epidemic of gunviolence and the ready accessibility of weapons, with 33,000 gun-relateddeaths annually.

The superintendent of the county s school district, Robert Runcie, said hebelieved there were “numerous fatalities,” and that the gunman may havebeen a former student.

“Just a horrible day for us,” Runcie said, adding that the incidentappeared to be over.

So far, 14 “victims” had been or were being taken to local hospital, thesheriff s office said. Earlier reports suggested that between 20 and 50people had been hurt.

“This is a very tragic situation for everybody involved,” Parkland MayorChristine Hunschofsky told CNN, adding that she had spoken to a number ofstudents.

“They were very scared,” she said. “And almost in shock when they came out.”

Asked about security, the mayor said a police officer is always stationedat the school and there was a “single point of entry.”

Television images showed students being led out of the school by heavilyarmed police officers and an armored vehicle filled with a SWAT teamarriving at the scene.

One injured victim was seen being placed into an ambulance on a stretcher.

Police officers in helmets, bulletproof vests and armed with automaticweapons could be seen stationed at several points around the sprawlingschool complex, which houses nearly 3,000 students.

Student Jeiella Dodoo told CBS News that she and her schoolmates hadevacuated their classroom calmly after hearing what they thought had been aroutine fire alarm.

“The alarm went off so we had to evacuate from our classes,” she said.”Then we heard gunshots.

“I heard about six gunshots,” she said, “and then some people startedrunning and then everyone started running because we were like If it sreal, then just run. ”

A math teacher at the school told CBS that he was hiding with six of hisstudents.

“We are fine. We are waiting,” he said.

Caesar Figueroa told CNN his daughter was hiding in a closet and textingher family.

“She s trapped with her 10 friends. She said she heard gunshots. A windowblew and everybody is screaming and running, and she said she ran in thecloset and she s still there,” Figueroa said.

“My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terribleFlorida shooting,” President Donald Trump said on Twitter.

“No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an Americanschool.”

Since January 2013, “there have been at least 283 school shootings acrossthe country — which averages out to one school shooting a week,” accordingto Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit group that advocates for guncontrol.

Since the 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were shot dead, warningprocedures and emergency drills have multiplied at US schools.

The goal is to teach school children how to react to a shooter who opensfire at random. – APP / AFP