A gunman who killed a student and a teacher at a Missouri high school was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and more than 600 rounds of ammunition.
Orlando Harris, 19, had magazines strapped to his chest, some in bags, and police found other ammunition thrown in a stairwell near Central High School for Visual and Performing Arts in St. Louis.
On Monday, 15-year-old student Alexander Bell and 61-year-old PE teacher Jean Kutzka were killed in the shooting and seven other students were injured.
Harris, who graduated from school last year, was eventually killed in a firefight with police.
He left a handwritten note explaining his reasons for the attack.
In the message, he complained that he had no friends, no family, no girlfriend, and lived in isolation, in what he called a “perfect storm of mass shooters.”
The attack forced students to block doors, crowd classroom corners, jump from windows and run out of the building to seek safety.
Several people on campus said they heard Harris shout, “You’re all going to die!”
Police Chief Michael Sack urged people to come forward when people who appear to be mentally ill or in distress start “talking about buying guns or causing harm to others”.
The student’s father, Andre Bell, described his daughter as “everything” to him.
“She was happy, great, just a great person,” he said.
“She’s the girl I love to see and hear.
“No matter how I feel, I can always talk to her, that’s fine. That’s my baby.”
‘It could be worse’
Abbey Kuczka said her mother, Jean, was killed when the gunman burst into her classroom and she moved between him and her students.
“My mom loves kids,” Ms. Kuchka said. “She loves her students. I know her students look at her like she’s their mom.”
The seven injured students, aged 15 or 16, are said to be in stable condition.
Police said four people were shot or bruised, two suffered bruises and one suffered a broken ankle – apparently caused by jumping from three floors.
Mr Sack said Harris was armed with nearly a dozen 30-round high-capacity magazines.
“It could be worse,” he said.
The school shooting was the 40th to cause casualties this year and the most in any year since tracking shootings began in 2018, Education Week reported.
Deadly attacks include shooting at Rob Primary School UwaldTexas, in May, 19 children and two teachers died.