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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Ryan Fahey

Perth shooting: Boy, 15, opens fire in school car park as bullet seen lodged in wall

A gun-wielding former student has been arrested after three bullets were fired at a school.

A 15-year-old boy is now in police custody after he shot three times into a school car park, with one of the bullets becoming lodged in the walls of the Atlantis Beach Baptist College in Two Rocks, in northern Perth, Australia.

The teen is thought to be a former student of the school and was arrested before anyone was injured.

Teachers and students have been hailed for their quick thinking after they immediately contacted police when they heard gunfire.

Some of the students were said to be "very young".

Images from the scene showed visibly distressed children racing to their parents arms after hiding in storeroom cupboards and under their classroom desks.

Tearful children are reunited with their parents after A school shooting in Perth, Australia (9News)

West Australia's Commissioner of Police, Col Branch, said the teen was found with two rifles. One was a .243 calibre and the other a .22 calibre. Both are thought to have been owned by his dad.

The deadly weapons were found in the car he was said to have arrived in.

Three bullets were found on the scene but cops have only outlined the flight trajectory of one of the projectiles.

Cops found three bullets at the scene (7News)

Commissioner Branch said shortly after the shooting: "When I heard the reports of what had happened today, it really shocked me it really shocked me that this has occurred in Western Australia.

"But what I am very pleased about is the response of the community, the teachers, the students and the police.

"We responded quickly and thankfully, no one has been taught that."

Parents gather outside the school (9News)

After the gunshots rang out, terrified students rushed to hide underneath anything that could shield them, including desks and piles of jackets.

Speaking with 9News, one girl said: "We heard police sirens, then we heard shouting.

"Then we heard footsteps on the deck, which really scared me because I thought it was the guy coming.

"Then we heard the police knock on the door saying 'police' and we were all relieved. We were making prayers as it's a Christian school.

The Atlantis Beach Baptist College (Google Maps)

"We were hugging each other and I was comforting my friend next to me."

Another recalled how the children were playing on their laptops before the shots were heard.

They said: "We were playing on our laptops doing some work and I heard, like a big bang. Then my teacher said, 'Get under your desks'."

One dad said he saw the student being arrested as he arrived to collect his petrified child.

He said: "They blocked off the road and we saw the young guy get arrested and be put in the back of the paddy wagon. He was calm and didn't seem to be unfazed."

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