Student opens fire at Washington state high school, now dead - police

It was not immediately clear how many people were wounded in the shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, about 30 miles north of Seattle, but the shooter was the only fatality, Marysville Police Commander Robb Lamoureux told reporters.

Lamoureux said authorities believed that the shooter acted alone, but had no immediate word on a motive. He said they were not yet releasing the suspect's identity or gender.

Local media reported that at least two people were wounded and had been air-lifted to a local hospital, where their condition was not immediately clear.

A spokeswoman for Harborview Medical Center in Seattle said the hospital was expecting to receive one patient from the shooting but had no word on that person?s condition.

"The Marysville Pilchuck High School is currently in lock down due to an emergency situation. Police and emergency services have responded," the school district said in a message on its website.

The district said students were being sent to a nearby church from where buses would take them home.

Local television station KIRO showed images of students walking away from school buildings, crossing a sports field with their hands in the air as officers with rifles ran across the school yard.

A helicopter used to airlift patients to a local hospital landed at the school and took off, according to the TV station.

Television images also showed students gathered in a parking lot.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson and Victoria Cavaliere in Seattle and Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)