A shooter who opened fire at a St. Louis school Monday, killing two and injuring several others, had left behind handwritten notes about being a loner with no social life, which he called the perfect storm for a mass shooting, authorities said Tuesday.
The shooter, identified as 19-year-old Orlando Harris, had no previous criminal history and had graduated from Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in 2021, the same high school where the shooting took place.
Harris was armed with a rifle and almost a dozen high-capacity magazines that each held 30 rounds, enough ammunition for a “much worse” situation, police said.
On Tuesday, St. Louis Interim Police Chief Michael Sack read to reporters a passage from a notebook left in the car Harris drove to the school.
“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. I’ve been an isolated loner my entire life. This was the perfect storm for a mass shooter,” it read.
Sack said the note gives a glimpse into the gunman’s mind.
“He feels isolated, he feels alone,” Sack said. “Quite possibly angry and resentful of others who have, it appeared to him, to have healthy relationships, so a desire to lash out.”
Sack urged people to speak up if they notice someone who appears to be suffering from a mental illness and report anything that doesn’t seem right, including distress and talk about buying firearms or causing harm.
He said it’s important to get help to those individuals to prevent these kinds of tragedies.
One survivor heard the shooter say he was “tired of everybody” in the school.
Officers found Harris barricaded inside a third-floor classroom. He did not comply with officers’ commands to drop his weapon and surrender.
Harris was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police.
Authorities credited quick police response and locked doors for preventing more killings.
