El Cajon, Calif. — An 18-year-old student opened fire at his high school Thursday, wounding three classmates and two teachers before he was shot by a police officer who engaged him in a running gun battle, authorities said.
There was no immediate indication what triggered the violence at Granite Hills High School, which came less than three weeks after two students were killed at a nearby school in Santee. The suspect, identified by authorities as Jason Hoffman, was shot in the jaw and buttocks, the most serious injuries stemming from the violence. Police said the attacker used a shotgun and also had a pistol, but it was unclear whether he fired the handgun in the attack.
Shotgun pellet wounds suffered by the students and teachers were not life-threatening, hospital and police officials said. Five other students and adults were treated for other injuries, none of them serious. A 51-year-old man, who had chest pains while running to the scene to find his child, was in critical condition.
"There were no warning signs," said senior Travis Peters, who had an algebra class with Hoffman. "He wasn't an outcast, no one made fun of him. ... As far as I know, he was like every other kid."
The midday shooting sparked a confusing scene, with officers scrambling across the campus as many of the 2,900 students fled to a nearby park. It also sent a new jolt of fear through communities still shaken by a March 5 rampage seven miles away at Santana High School, where a 15-year-old student allegedly killed two classmates and injured 13 others. Both schools are in the same district east of San Diego.
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