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Maryland School Resource Officer Didn’t Fire Fatal Shot at School Shooter

 

The school shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland on March 20 ended when a school resource officer (SRO) confronted the gunman and the shooter shot himself in the head, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed.

Austin Rollins, 17, brought a Glock legally owned by his father to school and shot two students, one fatally. It was initially unclear if SRO Blaine Gaskill, picture on the left below, fired the shot that took Rollins out.

We now know that Gaskill confronted Rollins, shot the gun Rollins was holding as the shooter fired and then ordered the shooter to drop the weapon. Gaskill was not hit.

Rollins responded by holding the gun to his head and pulling the trigger, WJLA reported.

Jaelynn Willey, 16, was shot in the head by Rollins that day and police said later that there was evidence “a prior relationship” with her killer “recently ended.”

Willey was taken off of life support by her family the Thursday following the shooting. A YouCaring fundraiser started for Willey and her family has raised more than $92,000 since it was posted online.

Visitation, prayer service and funeral arrangements have been announced. The funeral is on Friday March 30 at 10 a.m. and will take place at the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department.

She is survived by her parents and eight siblings.

A second student, 14-year-old Desmond Barnes, was shot in the leg but not critically injured.

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Matt Naham is the Senior A.M. Editor of Law&Crime.