Two people were killed in a shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (CVPA) in south St. Louis on Monday. The victims are 61-year-old health teacher Jean Kuczka and 15-year-old student Alexandria Bell. The gunman, 19-year-old Orlando Harris, was shot by St. Louis police and later died at a local hospital. Seven other individuals at CVPA were harmed but survived.

Chancellor Andrew Martin conveyed the news to the Washington University community in an email, offering his condolences and support to all those affected by the shooting.

“We know there are members of the university community with direct ties to the school who are impacted by this horrible event, and we stand at the ready to offer our full support to anyone who is personally affected,” Martin said. “There is no place for gun violence in our schools. My heart is with everyone who is suffering today.”

Martin’s email also contained links to the University’s mental health and trauma resources for all students and staff members to use.

According to NBC affiliate KSDK’s sources, Harris graduated from CVPA in 2021 and had no prior criminal history. Before entering the school, the gunman left a note with a “list of school shootings across the country, the names of the shooters and death tolls from each of the incidents” in his car; the note also stated that Harris “wanted to be the next national school shooter.” The sources also said that Harris used an AR-15 weapon, pre-planned his movements using a map of the school, and wore black attire and earplugs during the attack.

Law enforcement received notice of an active shooter at 9:11 a.m. CST and arrived at the scene four minutes later, said Metropolitan Police Department Commissioner Mike Sack to USA Today. According to Sack, the police entered the building immediately, located the gunman, and shot him in less than 15 minutes after receiving the initial alert.

Those who experienced the attack expressed their fear and anger to reporters. Speaking to USA Today, CVPA junior Dylan Fritz recounted his experience and condemned gun violence in schools.

“I wanted to go to school today and learn. I was there to learn. I was not there to hide in a corner. Guns do not belong in schools,” Fritz said.

The CVPA and larger St. Louis communities are still grieving the loss of Jean Kuczka and Alexandria Bell. A candlelight vigil to honor the victims was held at Tower Grove Park on Monday night.

In a quote to the St. Louis Dispatch, Kuczka’s daughter, Abigail Kuczka, praised her mother for the love she showed her students.

“My mom loved kids,” she said. “She loved her students. I know her students looked at her like she was their mom.”

Dejah Robinson, a close friend of Alexandria Bell, recalled how joyful and funny her friend was to KSDK per CNN.

“She was always funny and always kept the smile on her face and kept everybody laughing,” Robinson said.

Bell’s father, Andre Bell, told KSDK that Alexandria was just a month away from turning 16 years old.

“My daughter was planning on coming out here to California and celebrating her birthday with me on November 18…but now we have to plan her funeral,” he said.

As people around St. Louis, including those at Washington University, continue to process this tragedy, the demand for gun control reform grows stronger. At the Tower Grove Park vigil, CVPA senior Bryanna Love called on governments to act before more people suffer from gun violence, according to the St. Louis Dispatch.

“How many more people have to die?” Love said. “How many people have to be traumatized like this before the federal government, the state government does something? This is going to affect me and everybody who was in that building for the rest of our lives.”