Student shot and arrested after opening fire on school resource officer and principal in Kansas, police say
By Eliott C. McLaughlin, Hannah Sarisohn and Andy Rose, CNN
A Kansas high school principal and school resource officer were shot at Olathe East High School in Kansas Friday, and Olathe Police say a student was the shooter.
The school resource officer returned fire, wounding the suspect, who is expected to survive, according to Olathe Police Department spokesman Sgt. Joel Yeldell.
“We have no students injured at this time other than the suspect,” said Yeldell, adding there was no longer an active threat.
On Saturday, the student was identified as 18-year-old Jaylon Desean Elmore. He has been charged with attempted capital murder, according to a news release from Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe.
The school’s website lists Elmore as a player on the school football team. He remained hospitalized Saturday at Overland Park Regional Medical Center in critical condition. A judge set a $1,000,000 bond for Elmore. Court records do not list a defense attorney assigned to the case.
The officer and the principal were also taken to the hospital for treatment and were released Friday.
The Johnson County, Kansas, Sheriff’s Office identified the school resource officer as Erik Clark, with seven years of service as an SRO.
Information was thin Friday, but it appears school administration “contacted” the student in the school’s office area before the student shot the administrator, Yeldell said. Police received a report of shots fired around 10:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET).
Yeldell had no more information about what led to the shooting, what sort of firearm was used or how many shots were fired, he said.
“We had an SRO, it sounds like, that did his job, so that’s great news and the injuries are expected to be survivable,” Yeldell said.
Federal agents are assisting local law enforcement, Yeldell said. Gov. Laura Kelly’s office is in close contact with authorities and monitoring the situation.
“Our thoughts are with the entire Olathe East High School community today,” Kelly said in a tweet.
Hours after the incident, the Olathe Police Department tweeted investigators are aware of a video circulating on social media showing someone with a rifle “gaining access to the school.” The person in the video is a responding Olathe police officer, the tweet said.
The incident marks the 12th shooting at an American campus with K-12 students in 2022, according to a CNN tally.
Olathe East High, which has roughly 2,000 students, is located about a 30-minute drive southwest of Kansas City.
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CNN’s Kara Devlin contributed to this report.
