Two faculty members shot at high school by student in U.S. Denver

LOS ANGELES, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Two faculty members were shot and wounded on Wednesday by a student at a high school in Denver, U.S. state Colorado, authorities said.

The shooting at Denver's East High School was reported at about 9:50 a.m. local time, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said at a news conference that streamed live on Twitter.

The suspect is a male student who was being searched for weapons under a safety plan before entering the school, he said, adding that "during that search, obviously a weapon, a handgun was retrieved and several shots were fired."

Officials said the student, a minor, fled the school and a search is underway.

Two adult faculty members have been transported to area hospitals, tweeted Denver Public Schools, the largest urban school district in Colorado.

One of the victims, both of them male, was in critical condition and the other was in serious but stable condition, Thomas said.

The school was placed under a lockdown due to police activity after the shooting, and has now received clearance from police to start releasing students, said the school district.

East High School, the largest and highest-performing comprehensive high school in the school district, has more than 2,500 students, according to the website of the school district.

A student at the school died last month after a shooting just outside the school. The shooting prompted students to walkout, saying they were concerned about their safety, reported KUSA, a local television station affiliated with NBC.