America has already seen 11 school shootings in 2018, but the latest turned fatal at Marshall County High School where two students were killed and 18 other people injured.

The apparent killer is a 15-year-old student.

The shooting caught people by surprise in this rural town of about 4,300. The young gunman walked into school armed with a pistol just before 8 a.m. and started firing in the common area where students gather before class.

Marshall County High School (MCHS) senior Kennadi Spraggs said, "When I first heard it I thought maybe it was a balloon or something like that. But then I heard five more and it was unmistakable and you knew it was about to be really bad."

Students described the shooter as a quiet boy who loved music, not someone they were worried about.

MCHS student Bryson Conkwright, "I was like four feet away from the guy. I turned around and then I see this guy turn from his side. He draws out a pistol. I didn't even know what was going on. I didn't really think much of it and then it registered and about the time it registered the guy's pulling the trigger into all of us. I mean all of us. I got grazed on my hand."

At least 50 students ran out of the school, sheltering in nearby businesses. Others took refuge inside the school.

MCHS student Jackson Perez said, "We all started running toward the library office and once we got in there we just shut the lights off and sat down and locked the doors."

Tuesday night local churches held prayer vigils, and students said they're praying for their fellow classmate-turned-shooter.

"I don't know anything about him. I know he must have been going through a tough time," Kennadi Spraggs said. "I know he needs our prayers and his family needs our prayers because it's only prayers that will get us through it. And they need it just as much as anyone else."

Authorities say they don't have a motive for the attack. The case will begin in juvenile court but prosecutors will request that the shooter be tried as an adult.

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