Florida school shooting: 17 dead in a shootout by suspected former student

A former student armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire at a Florida high school on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people.

A former student armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire at a Florida high school on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people, officials said, in a harrowing shooting spree that saw terrified students hiding in closets and under desks as they texted for help.  

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel identified the gunman as Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student who had been expelled for 'disciplinary reasons.' IN PIC: An armoured police vehicle arrives at the shooting spot. (Photo: AP)

Cruz was arrested without incident in the nearby town of Coral Springs after the Valentine's Day rampage and taken to hospital with minor injuries, the sheriff said. IN PIC: Parents wait for news after a reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Photo: AP)

IN PIC: In this frame grab from video provided by WPLG-TV, emergency personnel wheel an injured person from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a shooting there. (Photo: AP)

'He had countless magazines, multiple magazines, and at this point, we believe he had one AR-15 rifle,' the sheriff added. IN PIC: Students are released from a lockdown. (Photo: AP)

Since the 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were shot dead, warning procedures and emergency drills have multiplied at US schools. IN PIC: Law enforcement officers block off a street. (Photo:AP)

Since January 2013, 'there have been at least 283 school shootings across the country -- which averages out to one school shooting a week,' according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit group that advocates for gun control. IN PIC: Parents wait for news after a reports of shooting. (Photo: AP)

IN PIC: Law enforcement vehicles arrive at a hotel where parents were instructed to pick up their children in Coral Springs. The shooting at a South Florida high school sent students rushing into the streets as SWAT team members swarmed in and locked down the building. Police were warning that the shooter was still at large even as ambulances converged on the scene and emergency workers appeared to be treating those possibly wounded. (Photo: AP)