Student shoots himself in Roman Catholic school in Cincinnati

A student at a Cincinnati parochial school was in critical condition after he pulled out a gun in a classroom and shot himself in an apparent suicide attempt, officials said.

The youth, who has not been named, was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where his condition was described as critical, officials said.

The incident, the latest involving a gun at a school, took place at La Salle High School in Cincinnati. About 700 students attend the all-male Roman Catholic school, which posted a message on the building’s announcement board: “Please Pray for the Students of La Salle.”

About 8 a.m., “a student produced a gun inside one of the classrooms and shot himself, and we’re dealing with that now,” Green Township Police Chief Bart West told reporters at a televised news conference at the school. West would not discuss what type of weapon was involved.

“We just ask that you pray for him and his family as he’s fighting for his life today,” Greg Tankersley, La Salle’s director of community development, told reporters at the news conference.

In a posting on the school’s website, officials said that all students were safe and are “being dismissed into the custody of their parents due to an attempted suicide involving one student.”

Among the incidents at schools were last year’s fatal shootings of three students in Chardon High School in northeast Ohio. Officials have expanded efforts on prevention and police response.

“We always have concerns about school security,” police chief West told reporters, adding that the school “did an excellent job” responding. He said police had met recently with school officials to review safety plans.

“We’re going to go back and look at everything,” the school’s Tankersley told reporters when asked about security.

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