Google Street View of Taft Union High School, Taft, CA
Local news outlets in Southern California are reporting that two victims have been shot in a school shooting at Taft Union High School. Bakersfield Now reports that the incident took place on the second floor of the school's science building. No fatalities are reported. One shooting victim is in critical condition at a local hospital; the other "refused medical treatment." The injured victim and the shooter, according to early reports, are both students.
Taft HS teacher engaged suspect in conversation, campus supervisor also showed up. Both talked to suspect, who put shotgun down
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) January 10, 2013
Taft is a small town (about 9,000 residents) in largely agricultural and oil-producing Kern County, CA.
KABC-TV reports at least two victims shot; shooter in police custody; students are being evacuated.
From KERO-Bakersfield:
23ABC news received phone calls from people inside the school who were hiding in closets.
Kern County Sheriff's Department officials are going room-by-room to secure the school.
Reports indicate that the first person shot was airlifted to an area hospital and the second person denied medical treatment.
Parents need to pickup their students at the football field.
The incident is said to have occurred around 9am, with multiple ambulances and emergency medical crews dispatched.
A spokesman for the sheriff's department says it is believed a shotgun was used in the attack.
Confirmed. Taft High School does have a uniform deputy sheriff monitoring campus "before, during and after school"
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) January 10, 2013
There usually is Taft police officer at school every day, but today, he was snowed in, could not make it #LIVE bit.ly/U8u5ds
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) January 10, 2013
An internal document on the high school's website states:
Taft Union High School is a safe and secure campus. The open-campus is surrounded by
an exterior fence, which is locked at all times except during lunch when students are
allowed to leave campus for lunch break. In addition, a digital IP video surveillance
system consisting of 43 security cameras have been installed in common areas, such as
the cafeteria, hallways, and at entryways to several structures on the grounds in an effort
to monitor campus activity. An alarm system is activated in the evenings each day and
on weekends. In addition, a campus security guard monitors the school grounds. TUHS
employs two full-time campus supervisors who work in conjunction with our school
administrators to ensure the safety of all students and staff. Furthermore, TUHS
contracts with the Kern County Sheriff’s Department to employ a full-time school
resource officer to deal with truancies and disciplinary issues that are beyond the scope of
our administration.
And in a related internal document:
Two campus supervisors and a Kern County Sheriff
monitor the campus before, during, and after school. All visitors must register in the
principal’s office. In 2007, TUHS installed a Digital IP Video Surveillance System consisting
of 43 video surveillance cameras…
The California Department of Education website shows the public school serves students in grades 9 through 12, and currently has 935 students and 64 faculty members.
As news of the shooting first spread, Vice President Joe Biden was delivering a press conference on gun control and gun violence in America. Biden announced that he plans to send recommendations on gun control to President Obama by Tuesday, reports AP.
Greg Mitchell is maintaining a liveblog on the Taft story here, and KPCC radio in Los Angeles has one here.
(HT: @TheMatthewKeys)
