PERRY HALL, Md. (WJZ) — Gunfire rocked Perry Hall High School on the first day of class. Police say a 15-year-old student started shooting in the cafeteria Monday morning. The suspect is in custody and the victim is in critical condition. 
 
 Mike Hellgren has the breaking details. 
 
 Police say a 17-year-old male student was shot and one suspect, a 15-year-old student, is in custody. It is not known whether he will be tried as an adult or as a juvenile. Police say the student brought the shotgun into school. 
 
 Police believe the shooter acted alone and did not target his victim. He is a student at Perry Hall High. 
 
 A posting on the suspected shooter’s personal Facebook page said, “First day of school, last day of my life. [expletive] the world.” 
 
 He is in custody and has not been charged. 
 
 The injured student was flown by Medevac to Shock Trauma. He is in critical condition. A Shock Trauma official said that status is not likely to change overnight. 
 
 “First, we heard a gunshot and everyone thought it was a chip bag popping or a water bottle. Then there was a second one and all of a sudden, I see everyone from behind me get up and start running away,” said a student. 
 
 For hours, students trickled out of the classrooms and had emotional reunions with their families. 
 
 Police have not commented on a possible motive. It’s not known how the suspect got the weapon. Several students have described the gun as a shotgun. 
 
 Police and county authorities don’t want to speculate on a motive or anything that may have led up to the shooting. 
 
 School officials say that the school will reopen Tuesday and that there will be enhanced security. 
 
 “I want to offer reassurance to everyone that the police department has the situation well under control,” said Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive. “It was a random act of shooting….It’s a difficult world we live in today. I kind of hoped Baltimore County would be immune, from this type of activity, but apparently we are not.” 
 
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 The shooting reportedly happened in the school cafeteria around 10:45 a.m. Police say the student removed from concealment a weapon he brought into the school. Police and students have also told Eyewitness News teachers tackled the suspect as he fired the first shot. 
 
 “As the individual began to pull back from that shooting several inches, an instructor grabbed him, grappled with him and a second shot was discharged,” said Chief Jim Johnson, Baltimore County Police. 
 
 A school resource officer was able to quickly subdue the teen. Police found the weapon he used but would not say what it was. 
 
 “I saw the kid shooting then the teacher tackled him and the first row started running, then the second run, then everyone was running,” said Gerald Roman, 11th grader. 
 
 Baltimore County Executive, Police Chief, Schools Chief Hold News Conference: 
 
 One student told WJZ’s Hellgren it was his first day of public school and he saw the shooting. He says there was a lot of blood and saw the student shot in the back. There are estimates there were about 200 students in the cafeteria at the time of the shooting. 
 
 Others told WJZ they heard a scuffle before the shooting. After the shooting, the school was put on lockdown for several hours. 
 
 “It sounded like a fight against the locker with all the banging. I heard screaming and the teachers told everybody to stay calm… it was crazy,” said Justin Spencer, tenth-grader. “When all the teachers started running to the classrooms and locking the doors, and then on the speaker we heard the teachers saying ‘Lockdown. Lockdown. This is not a drill. We need everyone to stay in the classrooms.'” 
 
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 “I heard two large bangs and I saw people running and it was chaos and everybody ran outside, and the principal told us to stay in the grass area and away from the cafeteria,” said a student witness. 
 
 Governor Martin O’Malley released the following statement: 
 
 “Today, on this first day of school for many students in our State, we’ve suffered a senseless act of violence. I’d like to thank the teachers and administrators for their courageous and life-saving actions. At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the injured student and his family. 
 
 “I’ve spoken with County Executive Kamenetz, and we will continue to support all of our local partners in Baltimore County. It takes all of us working together to make our schools safer for our children.” 
 
 Parents told WJZ they were getting calls and texts from their children when they were in lockdown. Students were dismissed classroom by classroom. 
 
 “This is the first time it’s happened at Perry Hall. We don’t have this happen out here. It happened during lunch, but not my child’s lunch. I’m just glad he’s OK,” said a parent. 
 
 Parents React: 
 
 “It’s a mother’s worst nightmare,” said one mother, whose son had not been released from Spanish class. “It’s horrifying. I got here and talked to parents. Every story is not the right story. You get different information. Until I got in touch with him, he texted me back and said ‘Mom, I’m OK. Don’t worry.’ I said ‘OK.’ I just want to get him out of the building and home with me, give him a big hug,” said Carol Hogenburgen, parent. 
 
 View Slideshow: 1 Student Shot At Perry Hall High School 
 
 “For something like this to happen it’s just tragic for everyone. It was wonderful to be able to see him walking up the street and give him a hug. I’m just thankful he’s OK,” said mother Doris of her son Tyler. 
 
 Students left the school in an orderly manner. They were originally being evacuated to Perry Hall Shopping Center across the street from the school at the corner of Ebenezer Road and Belair Road. But later, students were evacuated to the fields behind Perry Hall Middle School. Bus riding students were dismissed from that location. 
 
 Students Evacuated: 
 
 The Baltimore County Police Department is providing updates about the shooting at Perry Hall High School. You can follow them on Twitter at BACOemergency. 
 
 Spiritual workers and counselors are on scene helping students and parents. 
 
 Monday was the first day of school in Perry Hall. About 2,300 students attend the school. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited the school last week. 
 
 This is Baltimore County Schools’ Superintendent Dallas Dance’s first day in his new job. He assured parents his number one priority was student safety. 
 
 “First of all our thoughts and our prayers are with the student who was injured and his family. We pray for a speedy recovery. Second thing, we want to reassure our parents that student safety is our paramount priority. We will do everything in our rights and our way to make sure all of our students are safe. And last but not least I do want to make sure that the word gets out that we have some heroic and brave faculty members at Perry Hall High School. As the chief indicated, some faculty members actually responded quickly to get this individual to minimize damage. We really want to congratulate them and to let the public know the crisis plan in place at Perry Hall High School was actually in fact followed today,” said Dance. 
 
 Dance also issued a statement: “What happened earlier today is a shock and a tragedy. Speaking on behalf of the entire BCPS community, our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and his family. This school year, we expect to educate more than 106,000 students in our schools. The safety of students and staff is our paramount concern and priority. Schools must be safe to be conducive for teaching and learning. Our schools have emergency plans in place that are updated annually. Perry Hall High School followed its plan and cooperated with police. As challenging as today was, I am extremely proud of Principal George Roberts and the school community. Students responded maturely, and the faculty, through its quick intervention, saved lives and captured the assailant. We will work together to make this the best school year for Team BCPS.” 
 
 “The first day of school is supposed to be a day of reunion after a fun summer and anticipation for the year ahead. No parent should have to worry about the safety of their child at school. I appreciate the rapid response to the situation by the staff and administrators at Perry Hall High School as well as Baltimore County’s law enforcement and first responders, who quickly evacuated the victim and apprehended the suspect. My thoughts and prayers are with the students and staff of Perry Hall High School, as well as their families,” Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger said in a statement. 
 
 “My thoughts are with the Perry Hall High School community — students, families and faculty — in this difficult time. Gun violence has no place anywhere, least of all in our nation’s schools. I’d like to thank the local educators and law enforcement personnel who took action to help prevent additional students from getting hurt. I recently had the chance to visit with Principal George Roberts and the teachers at Perry Hall. I know that both he and Superintendent Dance are committed to keeping students safe and learning, and we stand ready to support them in that work,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan in a statement. 
 
 Stay with WJZ.COM for the latest on this developing story. ||||| With heightened security and trauma counselors on hand, Perry Hall High School will restart its school year Tuesday, the day after a student shot in the cafeteria was left in critical condition and another student was taken into custody as the suspected gunman.The shooting took place on the first day of classes Monday as several hundred students were in the cafeteria, where the sound of gunfire initially seemed like just another piece of the aural landscape. Students said it sounded like the pop of air that escapes when a bag of chips is opened, or the clap of a door slamming shut.Instead, it was gunfire, striking a 17-year-old student who was airlifted to Maryland Shock Trauma Center as classmates and strangers offered prayers for him at impromptu gatherings and across social media. Police said they do not believe the victim, who was not identified, was targeted by the shooter.Witnesses said a school counselor quickly grabbed the shooter and pinned him up against a vending machine. Police also declined to identify the 15-year-old suspect, who was taken into custody shortly after the 10:45 a.m. shooting, until they decide whether to charge him as a juvenile or an adult."He's in custody, our investigators are talking to him, he's cooperating, but he's not been formally charged yet," said Elise Armacost, a Baltimore County police spokeswoman, who noted that juveniles' records are not public. "Is he going to be charged as a juvenile, or is he going to be charged as an adult? I don't know the answer to those questions yet."Police said they cannot confirm information appearing on various social media networks. Several parents and students pointed to a Facebook posting by someone who said he attended Perry Hall High and spoke of the first day of school being the last day of his life.A man who identified himself as the suspect's father told the Associated Press that his son had been bullied but declined to give further details. A woman who said she was related to the father gave the following statement on the family's behalf: "We are horrified. We did not see this coming and our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and the victim's family."Students described a day that suddenly turned chaotic during an early lunch break in the cafeteria of the school, the county's largest with nearly 2,200 students. Rather than the festive atmosphere of a school community returning after summer break, police helicopters whirred overhead, students dove under cafeteria tables and, as the news spread quickly, distraught parents tried to reach their children, in person or by phone or text message.Throughout the day, a sense of disbelief pervaded.Jeremy Knavel, 16, said he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a student emerge from a bathroom Monday morning, taking a gun out from under his shirt."I thought it was a joke," he said. "Then when I heard the shot, I ran. I'm shaken still. I can't believe it actually happened."Sophomore Nick DiPaula, 15, said he and a friend were talking in the cafeteria when they heard a loud bang and turned to see what it was."We just see him with the gun, and he's aiming it at my table," DiPaula said.A school counselor he identified as Jesse Wasmer ran over and tackled the gunman as he and other students hit the floor and another teacher started yelling, "Get out of the building, get out of the building!" DiPaula said.Wasmer was hailed as a hero by colleagues and across the Internet, where a "Thanks Mr. Wasmer" Facebook page was created. He could not be reached to comment, and school officials declined to discuss details of the incident.The actions of Wasmer and other teachers in the cafeteria who intervened "were really beyond what anyone can be expected to do," and "made that situation the best it could have been in such a horrible time," said Matt Smoot, a science teacher in his fifth year at the school.Dennis Sullivan, the school's lacrosse coach until last year, whose son Aidan is a senior at the school, said he knows Wasmer well and was not surprised by his actions. "He's definitely a hero in my book. He saved a lot of people's lives today with what he did," Sullivan said Monday night.New Baltimore County schools Superintendent Dallas Dance, on his first day of classes after being hired this spring to head the school district, praised the school's "heroic, brave faculty."Dance said Perry Hall High will be open Tuesday with additional security at the school. The Police Department's Critical Incident Stress Debriefing team will provide support for students and faculty, Armacost said. ||||| Police say a suspect is in custody after the shooting of a student on the first day of classes at a high school near Baltimore. 
 
 Baltimore County police say the Perry Hall High School student was flown to a hospital after being shot Monday morning. Police say a suspect was taken into custody after the shooting but did not provide additional details. 
 
 WJZ-TV showed video of a shirtless male with his hands behind his back being put into a police cruiser. 
 
 The school was evacuated and students were taken to nearby Perry Hall Shopping Center. Parents can meet them there. 
 
 Monday is the first day of classes for Baltimore County public schools. 
 
 Perry Hall is a middle-class community along the Interstate 95 corridor, northeast of Baltimore city.
– A 17-year-old Baltimore high school student was shot today on the first day of school. Police tell the Baltimore Sun that the male Perry Hall High School student, whose condition was not available, was taken to a hospital. The suspect is in custody and the rest of the students have been evacuated. "It's horrifying," says a Baltimore County councilman who lives next to the school. "This is a very peaceful community." Parents tell WJZ-TV there may have been a Facebook threat against the school; there are also unconfirmed reports that the victim was shot in the back in the school cafeteria. The station has video of a shirtless young man in handcuffs, the AP notes.