Teacher Shot at Ohio Elementary School

Suspect in Ohio School Shooting Dies

By TERRY KINNEY – 1 hour ago

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (AP) — A teacher's husband charged into her
fifth-grade classroom Thursday morning, then stabbed and shot her as
students watched, police said. He was later found dead in his home
after a standoff with police.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

PORTSMOUTH,
Ohio (AP) — A teacher's husband charged into her fifth-grade classroom
Thursday morning, then stabbed and shot her as students watched, police
said. He fled and was believed to be holed up in a nearby home.

Emmaly Baker, a student at Notre Dame Elementary, said she hid in the
clasroom's coatroom when the gunman came in. The teacher was in
critical condition.

"We heard gunshots, and we heard her yelling.
I was scared," she told WSAZ-TV. "The police officer came and got us
and she was still laying there and she was hurt really bad."

Later in the day, SWAT teams surrounded a home near the school where they
believe the suspect fled. Neighbors heard shots fired at the house.

Kim Harris, who cares for a man who lives next door, said at one point
police fired at the house after gunshots came from inside the home.
Police "told us to get down on the floor and stay in the back of the
house," she said.

Another person was stabbed in town before the
shooting, and authorities believed it was connected to the teacher's
shooting, Portsmouth police Capt. Rob Ware said. He did not elaborate.

The shooting happened around 9 a.m. at the Catholic school on the main road
in Portsmouth, a community in southern Ohio near the Kentucky border.

Parents, many with cell phones clutched to their ears, congregated and began
leaving with their children around 10:30 a.m., said Kathy Hall, the
office manager at the Cornerstone United Methodist Church across the
street from the school.

"I wasn't afraid for my own safety, I was afraid for the children, because these turn out so terrible, you know," said Hall.

The scene was chaotic with police cars and few ambulances descending on the
school, and the fire department blocked off the street.

The school and another Catholic school nearby were locked down, said Deacon
Tom Berg, vice chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.
The diocese was sending a crisis team.

Public schools also were put on lockdown, said Superintendent Jan Broughton, who oversees the community's public schools.