Glendale PD: 2 teenage girls shot dead at Independence High School

Two teenage girls were shot dead at Independence High School in Glendale Friday morning, police confirmed in a news briefing.

"They were found next to each other and the weapon was beside them," Glendale Police Officer Tracey Breeden said.

Both girls suffered a single gunshot wound, Breeden said. Both were 15-year-old students in the 10th grade. Their relationship was not known, she added.

"We don't have any information what led to this," she said. Breeden noted officers were on the scene within two minutes of getting the 911 call.

Breeden stressed the campus is secure. She said police were not looking for an active shooter.

"Children are safe and it's not a dangerous situation," Breeden said. She stressed it was an "isolated incident."

Breeden said the shooting occurred just before 8 a.m. Friday on school grounds near a patio-covered area.

Circumstances surrounding the shooting are not known and under investigation, Breeden stressed.

She noted the school had received no threats prior to the shooting.

An ambulance was seen leaving the area without activating its sirens or lights.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said Friday morning's shooting hit close to home.

"I live close to here. My daughter attended the school," he said.

Weiers offered the city's condolences to the families.

"We were in front of the xchool and we heard two loud shots like someone was popping a bag or something," one of the students inside the school told her mom on a cell phone call.

Officers put up a large blue tarp outside the school cafeteria.

One student told our reporter on the phone that everyone was in class at the time of the gunfire. The school was placed on immediate lockdown.

Parents were notified that there had been a shooting.

"We sent out an automated dialer, email blast and then on social media," School Superintendent Brian Capistran said.

Many of them gathered outside the school.

"I'm looking for my son," one mother said.

Another anxious parent asked when these kinds of incidents will ever end.

"We send our kids to school thinking they're safe and this happens," she said.

The school is asking parents to congregate at the Walmart at 75th Avenue and Glendale.

Buses will be available there to pick up parents in groups to take them to the school, where they can meet their students when they are released.

"The fact that no one is scurrying around outside is a good sign," said security expert Steve Adelman. "It means the scene is stable."

The Glendale Union High School District issued a statement.

Parents and nearby residents took to social media.

“I live just a block from there,” Chana Bowles said in a Facebook post. “Helicopter sounds are loud. Haven’t checked to see if there are cops outside but I’m sure there are. I’m staying inside with my doors locked until the shooter or shooters are caught. I sure hope the people that were shot are ok. Prayers to all involved.”

"Your heart breaks to hear this happening. I can’t imagine being a parent, waiting to hear from your child,” Sara Cornell said in a post to our Facebook page.

Our news helicopter crew said 75th Avenue is closed between Bethany Home Road and Glendale. In addition, all roads in the immediate vicinity of the school were shut down.