'The Perfect Storm For A Mass Shooter': Police Reveal More Details About St. Louis Gunman

ST. LOUIS, MO — The gunman who killed a physical education teacher and a high school sophomore Monday in St. Louis brought more than 600 rounds of ammunition to attack his alma mater, police said Tuesday.

Orlando Harris, the 19-year-old shooter who left two dead and seven injured at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, carried an AR-15, wore seven magazines on a chest rig, had eight more in a field bag, and left additional magazines on the school stairway and in the corridors, according to police.

Harris was shot on the third floor, adjacent to the library, and died, police said. However, he left behind a handwritten document in his vehicle, detailing his desire to commit a school shooting, according to police.

“I don’t have any friends, I don’t have any family, I’ve never had a girlfriend, I’ve never had a social life,” said the document, a portion of which was read aloud at a press conference Tuesday by Interim Police Commissioner Michael Sack. “I’ve been an isolated loner my entire life. This was the perfect storm for a mass shooter.”

Harris, a recent graduate of CVPA, had no criminal history, but mental illness may have been a factor in the attack, Sack said Monday, adding Tuesday that the goal for police is to intercede and prevent a potential shooting as soon as possible.

“If you’re aware of an individual who appears to be suffering from some kind of mental illness or distress 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,” Sack said.

The doors at CVPA were locked at the time of the shooting and security personnel were on campus, but officers stationed in St. Louis public schools are not armed, according to DeAndre Davis, director of safety and security. The school district held an active shooter training earlier in the year, Davis said, noting school officers used the skills they learned in the training during Monday’s attack.

The shooting took the lives of 61-year-old Jean Kuczka and 15-year-old Alexandria Bell.

“Let me be absolutely clear,” Mayor Tashaura Jones said Tuesday. “The scourge of gun violence that continues to claim the lives of our children and families in their communities is a national emergency. It’s a public health crisis that requires federal action.”