Ethan Forman
Students and faculty from the Holten Richmond Middle School in Danvers and Swampscott Middle School were inside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., around 1 p.m. today when at least two people were shot. All students are safe, according to a parent and school officials.
Holten Richmond Principal Michael Cali was among those on the school trip, which included approximately 200 eighth-grade students. Reached by cell phone, Cynthia Tennant, a chaperone on the Swampscott trip, said most of the kids were on the second and third level of the museum, but some were on the first floor, where the shootings occurred.
"All the kids are great. Everything was handled properly," she said. "We still don't know the details."
The Danvers students were also inside the museum and none were injured, according to a secretary in the school department. An automated Connect-Ed phone message was sent out to parents telling them their children were safe.
There are 293 eighth-graders at the school at 55 Conant St., but not every student goes on the field trip, which is an annual event.
Video: Witness describes museum chaos
The mother of a Danvers teenager told The Associated Press students heard several gunshots before they were evacuated from the building.
Sandy Perkins, who lives on Centre Street, says her daughter, Abigail, an honors student, called her shortly after the shooting.
Abigail told her mother that some of her friends were very shaken, but all were otherwise fine.
The teens did not see where the shots were coming from before they were safely evacuated to buses outside the museum.
D.C. police spokeswoman Traci Hughes said a person walked into the museum at about 1 p.m. with a rifle and shot a guard. Hughes says the shooter was also shot.
Hughes said the victims� conditions were not known. Both were being rushed to a hospital.
U.S. Park Police gave slightly different information, saying three people had been shot. Fire department spokesman Alan Etter told CNN a third person was hurt after being cut by broken glass.
The museum normally has a heavy security presence with guards positioned both inside and outside. All visitors are required to pass through metal detectors at the entrance, and bags are screened.
The museum, located just off the National Mall near the Washington Monument, is a popular tourist attraction. It draws about 1.7 million visitors each year.
Roads surrounding the museum have been closed.
Material from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
View Larger Map
