>> reporter: teachers are only students? >> i have no idea. >> reporter: injuries, approximately how many? >> injuries, i don't know how many. 14 people were transported to area hospitals. we will wait for the school to be cleared through google go onto the next phase. we will release information about our county. >> reporter: there are a lot of rumors. at one point there were firecrackers. >> he was outside and inside at varian times. >> scott is real speaking live. a little bit of new information. he says it's a former student who knew the lay of the land. this former student, was inside and outside the school.

we don't know whether he shot at people inside and outside but we know there are multiple fatalities. the sheriff repeating what we've been told earlier by the school superintendent and senator bill nelson. a horrible and tragic day in south florida. he was found off-campus, the suspect, and we saw that happen live here on fox news through the facilities of wsvn 7. there are new stations joining us. we are live on fox news channel. another tragic school shooting. 2:30 this afternoon. we know the suspect is in custody, taken into custody not far from school, less than a mile. there sheriff says he's an 18-year-old who was at a local hospital being treated for we

don't know. will be taken for processing. we note multiple people have died. we do not know how many. we are beginning to get accounts from teachers inside the school. one of them, a man named jim gardner, a math teacher. they have had a drill in the morning and now they are hearing those same noises again. he tells the "miami herald" six kids ran back into my room and i locked the door and turned out the lights and had the kids go into the back of the room, he said. within a minute of this code red being announced, something for which they had had a drill earlier in the day, we are told, i told the kids to hang in there. this may be a drill. the "miami herald" reports the students remain calm. one high school senior elsewhere told the herald there were s.w.a.t. teams everywhere with big guns. cops, helicopters. she said the parents trying to reach their children have been unable to make it to the school.

because the streets were blocked off. that was at 2:40 this afternoon. it's a couple minutes after 5:00 and a live witness is with us. >> on the third floor, he ran to the staircase but then everyone kind of paused and we all started running back. i was being pushed and pulled through the hallway. the minute i got to my classroom, i heard gunshots, multiple rounds from i'm not sure what gone. we stayed in there, i don't even remember how long. the police came to the hallway to get us. there was a big pile of blood. i saw two girls probably dead in the hallway. coming down the stairs, there was some more blood. outside the building, was another guy. a teacher i'm pretty sure was dead outside. >> you said you were inside -- >> multiple, really loud.

my teacher didn't let us out even when the fire alarms did go off. it was lucky because we could have really gotten hurt. i saw basically the same thing as her. there was a lot of blood everywhere and there was bodies kind of everywhere. >> you saw a lot of bodies? >> i think there was four of them. >> your thoughts when you were getting out of there. >> i kept saying we are going to get out. it was scary and i didn't want to look at anything. >> your parents are here now? >> yes. >> i'm sure you're going to give them a big hug. >> yeah. >> to students, the first telling us of a pile of blood in the hallway and the police coming to get us. on a wednesday afternoon, valentine's day in south florida. we know very little about what

is happening in this kids mind. 18-year-old described by the sheriff is a former student who is now in custody and at a hospital. we have some live pictures in front of that hospital where the authorities are outside guarding the doors, and there it is. it says parkland this is actually in broward county. broward health north. pompano beach police. they are covering this across south florida as we wait to learn. she said i thought i saw four bodies in there. one teacher who appeared to be a victim. wsvn with a witness. >> they pulled the fire alarm and went on the intercom and told everyone to evacuate. when we were down by the portables, we finally got word from the students. we walked all the way across from the canal and we ended up

right over there. i heard a lot of gunshots. right after when the police left us out, there was dead bodies everywhere. there was two there and when i kept walking, there was more. it was scary. >> we were in class talking about project. the fire alarm goes for the second time in the same day which is weird. we go out to the field like we are supposed to. then i hear gunshots. you could tell, definitely gunshots. >> usually when a fire alarm goes off, it's an accident. it was odd to have two in one day. >> you heard though students talk about, it was kind of a weird situation that they had had a fire drill today and then heard that second fire alarm go off. caught a lot of them thinking it must be some mistake. there is no way we're doing this twice in one day. quickly realize it was a "run for your life" situation and in

all call evacuation went out. student started leaving any exit they could find. still seeing parents here. we are hearing from various officials, we heard from the sheriff they are asking parents who haven't may be made contact with their students yet. most parents i've spoke with have at least touched base with their children who were inside the high school, even the ones that didn't get out until most recently. thanks to cell phones and friends who may have had cell phones in the classroom, most were able to make contact with students. there is a marriott. coral springs, heron bay. they are asking parents to respond there if there is still questions or if you have yet to be able to make contact with loved ones. hugely active scene at this point. this is all taking place moments

before school was unofficially set to dismiss on this wednesday afternoon. it would have ported around the 2:00 hour, shortly after 2:00. school lets out at about 2:40. it's valentine's day. there was a lot of balloons on campus. i heard more than what students they initially they thought they pops they heard could have been balloons popping. word quickly spread on social media which is a game-changer as far as information is spreading, especially among the younger generations. we are talking about high schoolers here. information spreads extremely quickly. it's been chaotic. it's been a day these family certainly will never forget and you certainly hope there having reunions now. >> think so much for that. we're going to get back with you as you get more. >> shepard: it's been astounding to see these young people come to the microphones.

the previous camera was one of our producers and that one was brandon, the reporter for wsvn as student after student recounting their fellow students dead in the hall. we are left just a wonder how many kids and administrators and teachers are unaccounted for and what it was that we are now told, this 18-year-old former student was doing in that school. how did he get a weapon in ther there. and how long this went on. one of the darkest days in broward county history of course and all of south florida as the president has said. thoughts and prayers with all of those involved. this is that vehicle. these are pictures from earlier. that is bringing the suspect in custody. there he is, described earlier. it immediately went out through students and others there that

he was wearing a maroon shirt. he had black pants and a black cap on. the local police, i'm not sure which jurisdiction, they were able to get him in custody. we don't know what other designs he had. we know he had been talking about bombs. whether that was talk -- we will know eventually but the question is how many people did not make it out of that school alive today. wsvn discussing the situation that led to him going to the hospital. let's listen to the local coverage from craig stevens. >> at the school campus itself, the sheriff explaining to us that to the best of their knowledge the kids who had been barricaded inside had been evacuated and moved to another location where they could reunite with their parents. but they still are canvassing the building in the event there are any students or faculty or staff who might've been hiding,

taking cover or perhaps those wounded and unable to leave. that process is continuing as we speak. on one end, u of those who have evacuated and their meeting to -- waiting to meet with their loved ones. still going room by room and that fairly large campus facility. to see if there is anybody who might still be in their wounded or unaware of the outcome and still in hiding. that could take a little while. we will wait to hear back from the sheriff or other authorities as that process continues and hope there aren't others inside because they are injured and unable to move. >> superintendent robert runcie use the words "numerous fatalities," and he believed a teacher or administrator was involved in those fatalities. we have sound from a teacher in the school of the time who

managed to get out. somebody interviewed this teacher via cell phone. let's listen. >> it was the end of the school day. the fire alarm went off and we went to evacuate as if it was a fire drill. we got maybe 15, 20 steps out of the classroom. we ran back inside the classroo classroom. got down on the floor. then we moved into the closet. >> a friend of mine teachers in the freshman building and she said as she was leaving there were bodies on the floor. >> shepard: local coverage. wsvn is a fox station and their affiliates of multiple outlets. just as we have two other affiliates down there. we cross pollinate. this is material from the competition, not that this is a day to think about that. i know none of our friends at cnn the end of my neck fox are

focused on that. what a horrific, horrific thing has taken place. we have seen it again and again and i will never forget as long as i live being outside columbine high school in the early evening as those two men had gone on the rampage they are in the cafeteria. over the week that followed, speaking to children and parents about all they had just experienced on trying to deal with what was and is to this day, i am 100% confidence, their new normal. young people do not witness what they have witnessed today in broward county florida without being changed. it was crag who said, craig stevens, local anchor in miami. he said we will get through this as a community. we will do so with the love and comfort of our friends and neighbors and we will do so

together. but it will not be easy. and it won't for the young faces telling you about what they just experienced a few minutes ago with adrenaline still running. now close to three hours after this happened. when the television cameras and sirens and police all go away and they are at home with their families for the next few days, those who have seen their friends and classmates and potentially teachers and administrators die in front of them at school. they are forever in a new place, and they will all take comfort in each other and pray that this does not happen again. wsvn's coverage continues. it's 14 minutes past 5:00 in south florida. this happened just short of three hours ago. certainly all of south florida aware by now. >> inside of the middle school watching this unfold. these middle school students could see from their windows.

they could see the s.w.a.t. team running inside the high school, running outside. they were so terrified while they most horrific event was happening right next door to them. parents walking. this is less than half a mile toward the middle school, walking to get to their loved one, hug their child so tight, as they grab them knowing their child is okay but there are many parents out there who are not going to be able to say that tonight. >> shepard: we don't know how many just yet. we know since columbine in 1999, there have been 25 fatal active school shooting incidents at elementary and high schools in america. columbine was april 20, 1999. 13 fatalities and more than 20 wounded. also in '99, a high school in

new mexico. in elementary school in michigan. 2000, lake worth community middle school in florida. 2001, santana high school in california. 2001, red lion junior high school. 2003, rocori high school in minnesota. 2005, red lake high school in minnesota. 2005, tennessee. 2006, essex elementary school in vermont. 2006, weston high school in wisconsin. 2006, west nickel mines school in pennsylvania. 2011, millard high school in nebraska. 2012, a high school in ohio. 2012, sandy creek elementary school in connecticut where 26 elementary school students and others were killed.

in 2013, sparks middle school in nevada. 2013, arapaho high school in arapaho colorado. 2014, reynolds high school in oregon. 2014, marysville high school in washington. in 2016, independent high school in arizona. in 2016, townsville elementary school in north carolina. in 2017, north park elementary school in california. in 2017, freeman high school in washington. in 2018, marshall county high school. three weeks ago in kentucky. and today, marjory stoneman douglas high school in broward county, florida, in the town of parkland where many students and teachers and administrators have died today. we do not yet know how many.

the 25th fatal school shooting since columbine high school in america. coverage continues on wsvn. >> that school is less than half a mile. they have this area closed off. they close this road. they close the other road leading to the other side of the complex, not allowing anyone inside. there are many parents who have not heard from their child, and those parents are trying to figure out if their child is on that list. many people calling and texting and asking, have you heard if my daughter is okay? have you heard of my son is okay? we are getting many of those phone calls out here. we don't know. it's too soon. we don't have any victims' names as of yet. we do know many people were transported but again these are

parents trying to pick up their middle school students out here on this road. they were stuck across the street and they were not allowed to come. now they have opened up the street. pray parents frantic. you can see so many people using their cell phones, there was no service. people couldn't get in touch with their children for several hours. they couldn't get through. these parents now finally in touch with their child and they are now being allowed to go grab their child. again, as this scene unfolded from 2:30 when the bell rang at the school and then shortly after, gunshots rang out. now the very sad aftermath, the chaos is turning into very raw reality for these people as they

start to understand the gravity of the situation, what has actually happened here in parkland. we do know several people, multiple fatalities, according to superintendent robert runcie. a horrific scene at this school, for parents and family members trying to figure out where their loved ones are and were in many people who have not spoken to their child are still in the middle of this hell trying to find their daughter or son who may still be inside that school. at this point may not be coming out alive. a very sad scene out here. back to you. >> our hearts go out to those parents who have maybe not heard from their children. it's worth repeating on the left-hand side, the live photos of the parents allowed to go to the middle school which was also

on immediate lockdown. on the right is an aerial picture of the situation still going on at marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland where parents are being reunited with their children. this is a story that's made headlines. happened that 2:35. sheriff scott israel says he has spoken to governor scott and he is on the way to south florida. he has also spoken to president trump. >> we are getting reaction from congressional lawmakers and others. >> like you mentioned, from the national leaders down to state and local, we have a lot of reaction communion, as our leaders assess this ongoing situation, the school shooting and parkland. president donald trump tweeting out sympathies to the victims and families. governor scott is on his way to south florida. he's been briefed. senator marco rubio tweeting he has been briefed by broward county sheriff scott

israel. we are getting on camera sound from senator bill nelson washington talking about the situation. he has also been briefed on the latest developments coming out of parkland. >> this is a bad day for florida and the country. you can imagine the grief of parents right now not knowing, as well as the students not knowing. >> that was senator bill nelson. tweet from the president : my prayers and condolences to the families of the victims at the terrible florida shooting. no child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an american school." fbi working with the broward sheriff's office, parkland police and coral springs police. these are some of the first pictures. actually, this is the suspect being taken into custody about an hour and a half or so after

all this began. i'm sure many of you if you're following it on social media, are seeing the name of the suspect. it's our policy not to release that sort of thing until the authorities release it to us. the reason is sometimes a person of interest, suspect, turns out to be something else entirely. it happens. we will wait for authorities. wsvn has a reporter on scene at the hospital with an update. let's listen in. >> more on where the suspect was apprehended. >> this is the wyndham lakes area. the suspect was captured beyond these houses. people who saw it, they are shaken up. the suspect was taken to north broward. let me show you some video from someone who saw the arrest firsthand. he pulled up to it as it was

happening. has video of the suspect being arrested and taken to the ground. suspect in the maroon shirt. the person who shot the video, you can imagine can't believe this has happened in a place he lives. they are wondering why was the person, the suspect here, does he live here? does he know somebody here? that's the big question there wondering. it is a sigh of relief that he is arrested. if you live near the wyndham lakes area, you cannot access this community. you cannot come in. you can leave but you can't come in. suspect arrested. it apparently when he left the school, he came here and was tackled by police. residents sought firsthand, caught the cell phone video. let's take you to the person who caught that video. >> scary, that's scary.

having a shooting in a community like this one, it is shocking. when it comes to being so close to your house, you never really know where and what's going to happen. they were jumping out of the vehicles. the guy was down. of course it was congratulations for everyone there, they were shaking hands. there was no abuse giving to the guy. he was cuffed. >> you are hearing him say police seemed to be congratulating each other, having caught the suspect. he said he didn't appear the suspect was hurt and it didn't appear he tried to resist police. the suspect arrested in the wyndham lakes area and coral springs. didn't seem to be hurt but he was taken to broward north in an ambulance. residence, as you can imagine, not believing that this is where

that person was arrested. we will try to get you more sound and more reaction from folks who live here. for now, that's it live in coral springs. >> shepard: all the crew, we will get back to them. i want to go to phil keating, based in south florida and live with us. >> hi, we are half a mile south from the high school. as you mentioned throughout the coverage, law enforcement led by the broward county sheriff's department really responded rapidly and have this person of interest, suspect matching the description with the black hat and burgundy shirt and black pants in custody roughly a mile, mile and a half away from the school which is where we believe he had been living. according to the school superintendent of broward county and the share of, this was not a

current student but an 18-year-old. governor rick scott is on his way from tallahassee down here. he has spoken and remains in contact with law enforcement down here. he has already expressed his grief for the families of those affected. we still don't know exactly the full number of injured and fatalities. the broward county superintendent robert runcie did say there are numerous fatalities on a horrible, horrible day. moments ago, the broward county sheriff scott israel said this is an absolutely "catastrophic day," nothing can be worse than this. this is a major expressway that wraps around the western side of the broward county metro area. behind me roughly half a mile is a high school proper. this is as far north as anybody can go here on pearl springs

way. all around the school and all of these areas, and it is rush hour witches, on a daily basis, horrendous in miami-dade and broward county's. we were at a nearby elementary school as well as a hotel trying to rendezvous with their students. you saw the scenes of the kids running from the school as law enforcement released groups of 8, groups of 20. backpacks on, hands up, sprinting in terror with the aim of getting to safety, reminiscent of the columbine high school massacre in the '90s. one of the worst parts of these school shootings is for the parents responding, panicked, looking for their loved ones, their sons and daughters, trying to find them. those long minutes, sometimes hours of not being able to find their son or daughter, it's

truly a parent's absolute worst nightmare. law enforcement is all over the area. traffic is at a standstill and the governors on his way down here. we are expecting at some point the sheriff of broward county to get in front of the cameras. this has been a very rapid investigation. according to the sheriff, 18-year-old, not a student currently. certainly could have been a former student. there have been some students who mentioned they knew who they thought he was. he matched the description, and the investigation continues here on a horrible day in broward county school history. >> shepard: phil keating, our south florida based correspondent live on scene. live pictures coming from the school and from the centers all around us parents work to find their kids. for those of you watching on local fox stations, we are going to return you to your local

program. in some cases, your local news. our coverage will continue on fox news channel on satellite and cable for the better part of the next 30 minutes before "special report" with bret baier. i am shepard smith. fox news in new york. continuing on fox news channel across the country and around the world. we have been listening to be 29's coverage but monitoring from our other sources, includig the associated press which has the latest from parents who described a chaotic and frightening situation as they rush to find the children in the frantic minutes after they heard reports of a shooting in this south florida high school. cesar figueroa says he was one of the first parents arrive to at marjory stoneman douglas high school. police officers with weapons. his office is 5 minutes of the

school where he sends his 16-year-old daughter. my wife called me that there was an active shooter and the school was on lockdown. i got on the road and saw helicopters, pleased with machine guns. it was crazy. my daughter wasn't answering her phone." according to figaro, she texted him that she was hidden inside a closet. "she was in a classroom and heard gunshots by the window. she and her friends ran into the closet. another parent says her daughter sent her a text at 2:32:00 p.m. this afternoon, almost three hours ago saying "we are on code red. i'm fine." she sent another text soon afterwards saying "mom, i am so scared. "she was able to escape unharme unharmed. scott israel told us the gunman was in a classroom and then

outside it and then outside the building. the sheriff says one of the darkest days in south florida. school superintendents nightmare come true. 270,000 students. i just got word. what was that? live interview with a witness. >> we were there in the moment and then we had our hands on our heads. >> you thought it was a fire drill. >> we heard the shots beforehan beforehand. i'm guessing he wanted everybody to come out. >> reporter: who is he? >> i don't know if it is he or she. the person who pulled the fire alarm. >> the person you think who did the shooting pulled the fire alarm? >> to drive everybody out. >> reporter: what did you do? >> we hid in the corner.

we were silent. we were texting our parents. it was very scary. when the police came, we got reports of people dying. one of our teachers being shot trying to save a student. >> reporter: how did you hear the gunshots? >> multiple. five at a time. fully automatic. it was very, very frightening. we all thought it was drill. apparently it was an active shooter. >> reporter: when you elect out, what did you see? >> i looked to my left and saw a security guard on the floor. a traumatizing thing to watch. we all went out. we saw cop cars all the way over there and everybody panicking, screaming, crying. people hugging, seeing family again.

this is something that shouldn't happen. >> reporter: your school is a normally quiet school. >> of course. we are a quiet school, a great school. we didn't expect anything to happen like this. this is a bad time. we were just in the moment. >> reporter: are you glad to see your mom? >> i am very glad. >> shepard: we have no reason to doubt that young man and what he saw on this tragic day. but we are not reporting specifics of those killed yet. we are waiting for authorities to announce that. speaking of authorities, a federal official has identified the school shooting suspect as nicholas cruz. the official spoke to the associated press on condition of anonymity. the official study been briefed

on the investigation in the shooting at the south florida high school but was not authorized to discuss it publicly. authorities say the shooter open fire and killed numerous people. students are speaking to reporters on scene. it's 25 minutes before the top of the hour. we are waiting for the broward sheriff scott israel to come back with an update. we are expecting specifics. wsvn, our south florida new station coverage. let's listen. >> it brings me chills. these kids, when we interview them, they are very stoic, very matter-of-fact but it's going to take time to process it. you heard a sound bite from a student saying yeah, there was a loud noise and we open up the door there was bodies everywhere. that's pretty much how he said it. it's going to take time to process exactly what happened. you see this little girl holding

onto her her mom very tight, unclear if she went to west lake middle or maybe she is there with her mom who has a student at one of the schools. parents are still working on being reunited with their children. this bears repeating numerous times. deadliest school shooting in the history of broward county. parents putting their arms tightly around their students tonight and their kids. >> this will obviously be something that's relevant in the next couple weeks but when students will go back to school, they will offer grief counseling services for the students, for anybody. to talk about this and find a way to cope moving forward. >> let's interrupt real quick. >> we thought fireworks but we weren't sure until the coaches told us they were gunshots. >> reporter: what is your first name? >> connor.

>> reporter: what did they tell you to do? >> they told us to hide with them. we head there for about 10 minutes. we had to move into the locker room. >> reporter: you stayed in the locker room for how long? >> about two and a half hours. >> reporter: did you know what was happening outside? >> we are watching the live broadcast outside. >> reporter: i spoke to you earlier when you're didn't know where connor was and you are so terrified. tell me the feeling seeing your son. he's okay tonight. >> it is a sigh of relief. i am so glad he's okay. i'm sure we are all feeling a sigh of relief tonight but my hearts and prayers go out to those high school students who

didn't make it. let's all say a prayer for their families. >> shepard: there are a number of schools in the area. west lake middle is nearby that we have nothing to indicate from police that the shooter left the campus or went to any other. over the years, i will tell you i've been at more of these school shootings in my care to remember. there was one in pearl, mississippi. i mentioned columbine, another in may of 1998. thurston high school in springfield, oregon. we can go back before then. one constant is every time from people who witness things and people were there, there's always information that's just not correct. hours after the columbine high school's shooting, people who had witnessed things and their memory was just wrong. counselors tell us this happens because people are expecting one

thing. you are expecting a regular day at school. it's valentine's day. you took chocolate for your friend dori took a flower for your teacher or there were balloons all over campus and you are expecting one thing and suddenly you got something else. or you were a parent at work and you got a text from your kid "we are on code red. there is a shooter." all of a sudden, everything about your life is different, different than it was one minute ago. everything just changed and your focus has changed, and your memories are not always accurate. it is certainly possible that little kid from another school heard those ten shots and it certainly possibly dead but he mentioned something we should all think about these days and that is that all these kids have phones. and now the local stations stream their coverage live. so if you are a student in one of the schools, what they are telling us there as they pulled their phones out, went to the

app on their phone. our station, channel 7 has an app where you can watch the local news whenever they come on. they don't normally have news at 3:00 in the afternoon but they did today, and they are streaming it. these kids are watching the news, streaming. their own school, they are coming out with their hands over their heads and some of these kids are no doubt watching that as well. i'm remembering the first time and realized we weren't going to be the first ones to tell the story what happened there. that was at the virginia tech massacre when we looked around as reporters and students were texting each other. students were telling each other their stories rather than telling them to the rest of the world because there wasn't social media yet. now there is, and now it is spreading on social media. now a mom who came to get a child, being interviewed by wsvn. >> i wasn't at douglas today. i was at westlake.

i normally stop at eagle ridge. i stopped at westlake today. i was in the classroom. >> we are going to interrupt. i am sorry to interrupt the emotional interview. for parents and administrators dealing with being reunited with their children. some have not been reunited with their student or child. this is a live picture of broward north where the suspect, the shooting suspect, we understand is going to be taken out of the hospital and transported. >> he may have been brought there for some sort of evaluation before they begin the process of processing him. he's been there for a little over an hour. any second we expect to see this young suspect identified as nicholas cruz, being escorted out and brought to a central office or somewhere else for processing. we are going to hang on this picture for a moment to get a look at the young man who authorities say is behind all of this today. >> the last time we saw him he

was on a stretcher wearing a burgundy or maroon shirt. he had dark hair. we understand he's at least 18 years old, possibly 18 years old. sheriff israel said a former student there at marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland. alleged to have gone in the school, was seen outside and inside of the school. unclear how many weapons he had. police say he is responsible for numerous deaths and the worst, deadliest school shooting in the history of broward county, responsible for numerous fatalities. at least 14 people injured physically. the whole school has been affected, westlake metal has also been affected. we anticipate seeing -- >> hopefully seeing. it looks like they have backed up the vehicle and situate might be harder to see.

the photographer is trying to adjust so we can get a look. >> depends on how he comes out. will we see the top of his head? we are going to keep our eyes trained on it. it's natural human nature to wonder who allegedly is responsible and what does the suspect look like? it's really, really hard to wrap your brain a around what happe. walter is at the scene. all right, as soon as we hook up with walter, we will talk to him. the suspect has identified as a man named nicholas cruz, 18 years old, former student at marjory stoneman douglas. some students we interviewed say they know him. go ahead. >> as you can see, personnel at the doors as we await for the

shooter to be transported from the hospital. he's been here for about an hour or so. a rep is focused on getting us numbers, the number of victims brought here. as you can see, a deputy coming out of the hospital. a few units ago, bso pushing us back. a lot of moving parts. very intense investigation. we have watched as bso personnel as well as members of other law enforcement agencies have been keeping the area on lockdown. there's a massive police presence. we believe the suspect is in the back of the squad car, as he leaves the hospital. a lot of moving parts. leaving the hospital. he's been here for about an hour. still waiting for an update from

bso regarding why he was brought here, the nature of his injuries. he has been taken away from the hospital. >> thanks so much. the suspect identified again here as nicholas cruz. spent an hour or so at broward health north. being moved by bso, not clear where. whether it's the central jail or another location as they begin to process him as a suspect in the crime. that's happening now. as we learn more, will bring you up-to-date. >> shepard: craig stevens from wsvn. the long and short of it is, the suspect, bso is the broward sheriff's office. broward county which is the county where fort lauderdale is. this is in the small town of parkland.

the broward school district is the sixth largest in the nation, and the superintendent is the first told us multiple people are dead inside the school. at this moment, we still do not know how many. trace gallagher with new information. >> as we watch nicholas cruz being taken from the hospital to the jail, we are getting more reports about him. apparently he was a member, former member of the u.s. army jr. reserve witches and officers training program for young people and fellow students apparently said over and over again he was obsessed with guns. he had numerous pictures of guns on his cell phone and he would show them to various students and say he would shoot guns because it gave him an exhilarating feeling. former teacher, current teacher at the high school tells the "miami herald" that cruz apparently was told he was not allowed to come back on campus with a backpack because

apparently had made some kind of threats against students. this was last year. police say he is a former student. it's unclear exactly how we got on campus this year and was able to conceal a weapon while he did so. the superintendent was asked that question, if, in fact, there is any kind of threat or warning from this particular person and the superintendent said he was unaware if there was any threats or warning associated with nicholas cruz. we should point out we have scoured his social media footprint. we mentioned this before but he was clearly obsessed with guns because he was attached and followed all types of gun groups as well as resistance groups. the syrian resistance, iraqi fighters. we said earlier he was involved in a chat room discussion, youtube chat room discussion online about building bombs. as soon as police found that out, they put an alert out saying the school has to be

checked for potential explosives. as far as we know, no explosives have been found. they are going room to room checking out the school. none of the fatalities have been brought out of the school so far. >> shepard: trace gallagher with new information. thanks very much. we have been listening as witnesses describe when they have seen today. >> i was sitting in class and the freshman building and all we heard was gunshots. we all drove where the windows were. our teacher told us to get closer to the door so we ran behind the desk. good thing the door was locked. the shooter shot through the door. a bullet past my ear. we couldn't help anybody. we had to stay quiet. 911 wasn't working on my phone. there is dead bodies in the hallway. people were killed in the hallway. my sister was running.

she was in the bathroom and she ran from him and luckily got to a room that was open. >> shepard: the things they have seen today. we are waiting for the broward sheriff's office to come forward with more details about those who did not survive. we know 14 people, according to the local authorities, were taken to area hospitals. we don't know their conditions. we know the suspect was taken to broward health north which is a hospital in the northern part of the county and has since been taken away from there and is being transported to a holding facility for processing. we have heard from the superintendent of schools. this is an enormous school district. they have 30,000 employees and 337 schools in the district. 270,000 students in the broward school district. superintendent is robert runcie. >> today has been a day of enormous mountains and valleys.

i was leaving monarch high school where we were giving the teacher of the year keys to a brand-new toyota camry that she won for being teacher of the year. we were celebrating our teachers, or schools, and got in the car and as i was driving back to the office, i start seeing communication and i hear from staff that we may have a tragedy. i literally have come from giving the teacher of the year a car celebrating our teachers and our district to where i am right now. >> the deadliest school shooting in broward county ever. >> that's what it appears to be. >> shepard: robert runcie, superintendent of schools. sheriff israel, scott israel came to the microphone a short time ago to tell us what he could. it would appear that authorities

like to notify next of kin before talking about specifics. it appears from our reporting they are attempting to notify family members before coming to the microphones. we are expecting to hear from the broward county sheriff even now. pictures on your screen is the transport of the suspect, believed to be in the back of this squad car. we believe he was taken to central booking in downtown fort lauderdale but we do not know for sure. most often the authorities who capture the suspect are the ones who are in charge of transport but this is broward county sheriff. close-up picture here, making the transport today. it all went down quickly. within an hour and a half, the local helicopter was above a

scene where he was clear they have the suspect in custody. we had word the suspect was seen with a black hat, shirt, black pants. people there knew who we was. we didn't know how they knew but now we do. now we know he was a former student. he used to go to school there. trace gallagher reports he was told "don't come back to the school with a backpack on." now we are hearing from so many parents and others about what their kids went through that day. the south florida sun sentinel is one of two big newspapers there and it's reporting one student said she cried and hugged her friend "you are safe now. don't worry." a very upset student, a freshman on the third floor of the school when he heard the gunshots and saw several bodies in a classroom. a freshman in high school. s.w.a.t. told the class to keep their eyes forward as they exited the school from the third

floor. they saw several bodies in the classroom. around dismissal time, 2:40 eastern time this afternoon, staff and students heard what sounded like gunfire. they enacted a code red locked down according to the broward school district. hannah is 14. she was in math class. "the people next door to us must not have had their door locked. they all got shot." reporter from the sun sentinel asks how many. she said ten. or seven. all in the next class, she said, got shot. we don't know how the gunman got in the school. we don't know what his motivation was. we don't know the weapon he carried or who all saw him before it began, but we are led

to believe that it started in a classroom where people were familiar with him. and we do not know how many of those inside the classroom are still alive. from the reporting of the "miami herald" today, updated 3 minutes ago, "an american nightmare is unfolding." wednesday afternoon in north broward high school after a former student came onto campus and open fire, killing and injuring more than a dozen people. that's from the "miami herald" today. it is the belief the suspect in the shooting is inside that vehicle being transported now. the herald reports details are cloudy amid a flurry of police activity at the high school in parkland. students who heard the fire alarm go off just before dismissal followed by gunshots flight off campus and hid under desks as police fled to the scene. parents blocked from getting to

campus stood by helpless. broward sheriff's office reporting at least 15 victims and still working to clear the building. massive school home to 3200 students who were just about to be dismissed. it was seventh period. some students don't have seventh period classes. according to some unseen, many were milling about as the shooting began in a classroom. according to authorities, it continued in the hallways before the student somehow got out of the building and off campus and a half mile away where the choppers were overhead as they took the student into custody. took him to a hospital. right now are taking him for processing in south florida. ralph rayburn is in that chopper on our local station wsvn 7. >> earlier this afternoon we put

out information about a description of him wearing a maroon colored shirt with black pants and a black hat. a very -- very alert police officers responded to an address that they were able to develop information on that indicated it was a residency might be be at along with, there was a fast fod restaurant in the area where it was believed he might've worked at one time. they checked that area. it wasn't long after... >> sorry about that. occasionally when the helicopter moves, we lose the signal and that's what happened. >> i am back. >> go ahead. you were saying they had an address of where he worked. >> right, and they went through all the protocol they have with teachers and everybody of the schools, the things, the training they go through. they developed that information and with a number of police officers that responded, you can

imagine not only from coral springs but from all over, there were units from hallandale. canine hallandale units. there were folks from all over the place. so many police officers out there searching for this guy and they took him into custody. they brought some witnesses over, people let saw him do the shooting. they confirmed identification on him, and they processed him. he was in the back of a police car sitting on the side of the road near the sawgrass expressway. when he was being taken into custody, it looked for a second he may have been struggling with the police officer, a minor struggle when they were putting the handcuffs on him or processing. maybe it's part of the protocol for the fire department to be called out to check on the status of the person make sure their needs are met also. they did that. then they transported him, fire risk

rescue vehicle to the hospital. they put him in the back of 1 of these police cars. we believe it's this one. the only green and white unit in the motorcade. we understand that's the one it was. they are starting to make some good time coming up on oakland park boulevard going southbound. his name is nicholas cruz. nick cruz, the person of interest. they do have that person in custody. >> thank you for the live update and your pictures. >> shepard: ralph rayburn in the chopper for our local station wsvn. ralph rayburn has been working choppers in that city for 25 years. craig stevens on the anchor desk, he has been for exactly that long. lynn martinez carrying us through this tragedy. these are members of this community. they've lived there for decades. they have covered news in that very busy news market for decades. none of them has ever seen a day

like today. the deadliest day and broward county, florida, school history, one of the largest school district in the country. we don't know the death toll. we are led to believe it will be significant. the gunman is in custody and's suspected gunman in the back of the squad car being taken into custody. authorities are still working the crime scene at the school and parkland were 2200 students went to school on this valentine's day. school activities are closed tonight. school will not reopen tomorrow. school will not be able to reopen tomorrow, as authorities continue and the victims have not yet been brought out of that school. another school shooting in america. in south florida, our thoughts and prayers are with you and yours. it's time for "special report" to begin on fox news channel.

my friend bret baier in washington. bret, a horrifying thing to watch. >> bret: thank you, shepard. this is a fox news alert. i bret baier in washington. busy day in the nation's capital. several major stories here but we begin tonight in south florida. there has been a shooting in a high school in parkland north of miami and there are reports of injuries and with the school superintendent because numerous fatalities. we have a number of unconfirmed numbers. we are not going to throw those out there right now but multiple fatalities is what we are hearing from officials at this moment. the suspect is in custody. being transported now. you are looking live on the scene. phil keating is on the scene right now with the very latest. good evening, phil. >> good evening, bret. this day, absolutely catastrophic in the words of the broward county sheriff scott israel who perhaps within 15 minutes is expected to come out here and update