Johnson County is still reeling from a shooting that occurred Friday morning at Olathe East High School.
The incident left three people injured, including the school’s resource officer, an assistant principal and a student.
The student, an 18-year-old male, was arrested.
Here are some things we know:
An Olathe East student has been charged
- Jaylon Elmore, 18, an Olathe East senior, has been charged with one count of attempted murder in the shooting.
- Elmore is accused of shooting school resource officer Erik Clark “intentionally and with premeditation.”
- As of Saturday, Elmore remained hospitalized in critical condition.
- His bond is currently set at $1 million.
The shooting took place in the school’s office
- Olathe Police say the school’s resource officer responded to the school’s main office at 10:38 a.m. Friday in reference to an “administrative matter” with a student, now identified as Elmore.
- During the incident, investigators say Elmore “produced a handgun” and he and the officer exchanged shots.
- Elmore, officer and an assistant principal were all shot during the exchange.
The school resource officer is a 15-year veteran
- Olathe East’s school resource officer is Erik Clark, a 15-year veteran with seven years’ experience as a school resource officer.
- At the beginning of the school year, Olathe PD introduced Clark to the East student body in a tweet, describing him as a big Kansas City Royals fan with an impressive bobblehead collection in his office.
- Clark called in the shooting, according to scanner traffic, advising that he and two others had been shot. He was also heard saying on dispatch, “I have applied a tourniquet to myself.”
The administrator shot is Olathe East’s athletic director
- Various social media posts, including one from state Sen. Cindy Holscher, whose son attends Olathe East, identified the injured administrator as assistant principal Kaleb Stoppel.
- Stoppel has also served as Olathe East’s athletic director since 2018. Before that, he was an assistant principal and athletic director at Santa Fe Trail Middle School.
- His LinkedIn profile also says he worked as the manager and swim instructor at the Prairie Village city pool from 2006 to 2013.
- Stoppel is set to to take over as district athletic director for Wichita Public Schools in July, according to a district release.
No other students were injured
- Olathe East locked down during the shooting, and no other students or staff members were injured during the incident.
- By noon Friday, police said there was no active threat and the school was secured.
- Students were dismissed in a staggered fashion throughout Friday afternoon, many reuniting with their parents and families at various reunification points near the school.
- Some students were bused to two nearby middle schools to be reunited with family, and the district offered counseling services to students and staff through Friday evening.
Local politicians responded.
- Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher of Overland Park arrived on the scene Friday because her own son attends Olathe East. She tweeted messages in appreciation of Officer Clark and Kaleb Stoppel.
All our children came home safely today, including my son who attends Olathe East. ❤️
So thankful to all the teachers & staff @OlatheEastHawks for everything they did to protect our students. So grateful to Ofc. Erik Clark & Dr. Stoppel for their quick actions. #ksleg #ksed pic.twitter.com/Gu7KkRD48Z
— Cindy Holscher (@cindy4kansas) March 5, 2022
- Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly tweeted, “Our thoughts are with the entire Olathe East High School community today. We are closely monitoring the situation on the ground & are in communication with law enforcement.”
- Kansas House Speaker Ron Ryckman of Olathe said, “Our gratitude is with the SRO who risked their life to protect our children from harm today. Please join me in keeping this officer and all our Olathe schools community in your prayers.”
- U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids issued a statement saying, in part, “This was a traumatic event for our community, and we are all hoping for the speedy recovery of those injured as we figure out how to best support each other and our students.”
Multiple agencies are involved in an ongoing investigation
- Agents from the Kansas City Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene Friday assisting with the investigation.
- The Kansas City field office of the FBI is also assisting.
- The Johnson County Officer-Involved Shooting Team is also involved in the investigation, since Officer Clark exchanged shots with the student.
- As is standard procedure, Clark has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation, according to Olathe Police.
- Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Olathe Police Department at 913-971-6363 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
Nikki Lansford and Mike Frizzell contributed to this report.
