BREAKING: Student shoots himself at Catholic high school in Cincinnati—UPDATED

Details: 

A student shot himself with a gun in front of classmates at his Cincinnati high school Monday morning, officials said.

Authorities arrived at La Salle High School after several students called 911 around 9 a.m. The victim, believed to have been trying to commit suicide in a classroom, was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said.

Officials lifted a brief lockdown at the all-male Catholic high school following reports of a shooter on campus.

Authorities said they’ve confirmed the victim’s identity, but wouldn’t immediately release it to the public. His condition was unknown.

“We just ask that you pray for him and his family as he’s fighting for his life today,” Greg Tankersley, La Salle’s director of community development, told reporters.

Read more. 

UPDATE:  From CBS News:  

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese sent additional counselors to the school, he said, and a priest went to the hospital where the student was taken. Tankersley said he wouldn’t release other information about the student at this point.

In the aftermath of last year’s fatal shootings of three students in Chardon High School in northeast Ohio and December’s Sandy Hook Elementary shooting rampage in Connecticut, most schools have taken steps to increase security. In Ohio, that’s included taking shooting prevention and response training courses offered by the state attorney general and updating safety procedures with police.

A local TV affiliate adds a family statement: 

A hospital spokeswoman released a family statement that read, “”We thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. We ask that the media please respect our privacy at this time so we can do what we need to do for our son and our family. We also ask that friends of our son and family please refrain from Facebook and Twitter comments. We appreciate the heroic efforts of UC Medical Center staff as they care for our son.”

Deputies said there were other students in the classroom at the time, but school officials said no other students were threatened or injured.

“There’s tears in the building. No one wants to go through this,” LaSalle’s Greg Tankersly said.