St. Louis shooting suspect had 600 rounds of ammunition

Oct. 25 (UPI) — Police have identified the deceased suspect in a school shooting in St. Louis, Mo., that left two people dead.

Authorities identified Orlando Harris, 19, on Tuesday as the suspect in the shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School.

“The threat here is over, however, we are going to continue to be vigilant in our schools and in our neighborhoods,” interim police chief Michel Sack told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday.

“We now know that he (Harris) had in his possession one rifle, an AR-15-style rifle, .223 caliber.”

Harris had around 600 rounds of ammunition with him when he managed to get through locked doors into the school on Monday, fatally shooting 61-year-old Jean Kuczka, and 16-year-old student Alexandria Bell.

Harris, who graduated from the school last year, died in an exchange of gunfire with police.

Six other people were taken to the hospital with varying degrees of injuries. Police did not update their status during Tuesday’s news conference.

Sack didn’t cite a specific motive, but offered some insight into the shooter’s mindset reading a passage from a notebook investigators located in his vehicle

“I don’t have any friends, I don’t have any family,” it read. “I’ve never had a girlfriend. I’ve never had a social life. I’ve been an isolated loner my entire life.”

Sack said the passage presented “the perfect storm for a mass shooter,”

“He feels isolated, he feels alone. Quite possibly angry and resentful of others who have, it appeared to him, to have healthy relationships, so a desire to lash out,” Sack told reporters.

Near the start of his briefing, Sack issued a plea for everyone to watch for warning signs.

“If you’re aware of an individual who appears to be suffering from some kind of mental illness or stress, and they begin speaking about purchasing firearms or causing harm to others, we encourage you to reach out to somebody and report that so that we can get help to that individual. It is important that all of us be engaged so that we can try to intercede as early as possible in a person’s life to try and prevent a tragedy from occurring”