Two people have been killed and 17 injured in a high school shooting in the US state of Kentucky.
A 15-year-old girl died at the scene at Marshall County High School in the town of Benton and a 15-year-old boy died in hospital, said Kentucky’s governor.
The unidentified attacker was a 15-year-old male student, who was arrested and is in custody.
State police said he was detained about 15 minutes after opening fire at 08:00 local time on Tuesday.
The lone attacker was a student at the school who opened fire in a common area before classes started, according to local media.
He will be charged with murder and attempted murder, said officials.
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“To walk in, the backpacks laying around, the phones laying around, going off, it’s indescribable,” said Marshall County Attorney Jeffery Edwards, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years. It’s not like anything I’ve experienced in my life.”
Mr Edwards told the newspaper that the shooter had appeared to open fire at random.
Governor Matt Bevin called the attack a “tremendous tragedy” in a statement posted on Twitter.
“It is unbelievable that this would happen in a small, close-knit community like Marshall County,” he said.
“As there is still much unknown, I encourage people to love on each other at this time.
“Do not speculate, but come alongside each other in support and allow the facts to come out.”
The school has 1,146 students. Benton is about 130 miles (210 km) north-west of Nashville, Tennessee.
It is the second fatal gun attack in an American school in as many days.
A 15-year-old girl was shot by a 16-year-old classmate in her high school cafeteria on Monday in the small Texas town of Italy.
The girl is recovering in hospital; her attacker fled but was later arrested.
