Colorado searches for motive after latest fatal school shooting
Colorado teen who shot girl, then killed himself, had reportedly been kicked off debate team
Police were yesterday looking into the motive of a student who opened fire at a Colorado high school, severely wounding a teenager before apparently killing himself, as the US state sought to understand the latest in a series of shootings.
Karl Pierson, 18, entered Arapahoe High School in a Denver suburb around midday on Friday brandishing a shotgun and asked fellow students about the location of a teacher. He then shot a 15-year-old girl who was nearby, a county official said.
He was later found inside a classroom with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. The teacher, who quickly fled the school, was unharmed.
Fellow students said Pierson was a likeable member of the athletics team and debate club.
The local ABC News affiliate in Denver reported the suspected gunman was upset after being kicked off the debate squad.
Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said detectives were investigating "revenge" as a possible motive, but did not elaborate, though believed the youth acted alone.
The shooting in the Denver suburb of Centennial took place just 12 kilometres from Columbine High School, where two students shot 13 classmates and staff before killing themselves in 1999.