Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Austin Wyatt Rollins: The Great Mills School Shooter: What We Know So Far

Make us preferred on Google

An armed student named Austin Wyatt Rollins, 17, walked in to Great Mills High School in Maryland on March 20 and shot two fellow students. A female student, 16, and a male student, 14, were both wounded by Rollins. In turn, Rollins was shot dead in a hallway of the school by the school's resource officer, Blaine Gaskill, according to St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron. The town of Great Mills is located about 60 miles south east of Washington D.C.

During a press conference, officials said that a relationship may have existed between Rollins and one of the victims. On his Facebook page, Rollins said in December 2016 that he was dating a girl. Rollins says on that social media page that he lives in Lexington Park, Maryland. Rollins' aunt in Nebraska, Paula Jean Rollins, apparently didn't know that her nephew was the shooting suspect in Great Mills. Paula Rollins wrote on Facebook, "Prayers going out for my brother in law Rocky Rollins and his family, his son, Austin's, school was involved in an active shooter situation. We have still not heard if Austin Rollins is okay or not."


Austin ROllins' aunt facebookRollins' aunt's Facebook post.

Paula Rollins followed up that posting with two posts from two discredited conservative news outlets that heralded the school's resource officer as a hero.

Austin Rollins Great Mills MarylandRollins pictured in 2014 on his Facebook page.

CNN reports that Rollins was armed with a handgun and that he was killed by one round. The officer was uninjured. Sheriff Cameron told the media, "This is what we train for, this what we prepare for, and this what we pray that we never have to do. On this day, we realized our worst nightmare. The notion of 'it can't happen here' is no longer a notion."

During the lockdown that followed Rollins's attack, Great Mills student Jonathan Freese gave a chilling interview to CNN. Freese told the network, "I'm still a little shaken up... I didn't really except for this to happen. I do always feel safe, though, because they have police at the school." Freese also said that students at the school had trained for active shooting drills.

In a statement, via WJLA's Kellye Lynn, MedStar St. Mary's said, "We are currently treating one patient, a 14-year-old male, following a shooting at Great Mills High School. We first received two patients, one of whom, a 16-year-old female, we stabilized and transferred to UM Prince George's Hospital Center."

According to WJLA, a group of churches in Maryland are co-hosting a prayer meeting on the evening at 6 p.m. of March 20 for those affected by the shooting. Some of the churches involved, WJLA reports, are "Lexington Park United Methodist Church, Good Samaritan Lutheran Church, Lexington Park Baptist Church, Trinity Lutheran Church in Lexington Park, God's House Church in Lexington Park, and St. George's Episcopal Church in Valley Lee" as well as the Church of the Ascension in Lexington Park.

Go to the Next Page to Learn About Austin Rollins' Parents

Frankie Rollins Facebook page Lexington Park MarylandA meme posted on Frankie Rollins' Facebook page.

The Great Mills shooter is the son of Frankie "Rocky" Rollins and Angela Rollins. According to his father's LinkedIn page, Frankie Rollins is a boom operator with the U.S. Air Force Reserve. A boom operator works on a tanker aircraft and supplies refueling to other aircrafts. The official title for the role is In-Flight Refueling Operator. Frankie Rollins first joined the U.S. Air Force in 1987 and joined the Reserve in 2003. He is based at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

On his Facebook page, Frankie Rollins says that he is a native of Henderson, Nebraska, and has lived across the country in Virginia, Oklahoma, Washington and Tennessee.

School resource officer Blaine Gaskill is being heralded as a hero for his role in stopping Rollins. The Washington Post reports that Gaskill is the second resource officer to have stopped a school shooting attack. The last was during 1999's Columbine High School massacre.

The FBI's field office in Baltimore has issued a plea via Twitter asking for anyone with any video or photos of the Great Mills shooting to come forward.

More from News

Resurfaced Clip Of Dolly Parton Speaking Out About Why She Supports LGBTQ+ People Has Us Sobbing
CNN

Resurfaced Clip Of Dolly Parton Speaking Out About Why She Supports LGBTQ+ People Has Us Sobbing

Dolly Parton has just passed away at the age of 80, and the internet can wholeheartedly agree that the world is a darker place without her in it.

Not only did she have a bubbly and fun personality, but she was a prolific songwriter and performer, and advocated strongly for those in need. And one thing that's not talked about enough is how much of an ally she was to the LGBTQ+ community.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dolly Parton
David Becker/Getty Images

Tributes Pour In For Country Music Icon Dolly Parton After Her Death At Age 80

The world is a little less bright today after the passing of country music singer and bubbly philanthropist Dolly Parton at the age of 80.

Some of her most famous songs were "Jolene," "9 to 5," and "I Will Always Love You." She was also well-known for her generous heart, donating medical supplies during the pandemic and after Hurricane Helene, and providing children's books to lower-income schools and communities.

Keep ReadingShow less
Glenn Close (left) defended All’s Fair co-star Kim Kardashian (right) from an online critic.
Karwai Tang/WireImage; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Glenn Close Is Going Viral For Perfectly Shutting Down Fan's Mean Comment About Kim Kardashian

Glenn Close didn’t need a fur coat, a dramatic entrance, or 101 Dalmatians to put one Instagram commenter in their place. For those who haven’t been keeping up, the eight-time Oscar nominee has been spending plenty of time with her All’s Fair co-star and bestie Kim Kardashian.

Close plays Dina Standish, a veteran mentor and guiding force for a group of high-powered female divorce attorneys, including Kardashian’s character, Allura Grant. While filming season 2 of Ryan Murphy’s campy legal drama, Close shared a picture with Kardashian’s boyfriend, Sir Lewis Hamilton, after he paid them a visit on set.

Keep ReadingShow less
Martha Stewart; Belmont Cameli
@Starbucks/TikTok

Martha Stewart Just Threw Some Hilarious Shade At 'Stand-In' Who She Acted Opposite Of In New Starbucks Ad

Martha Stewart may be in her 80s but she is no stranger to being the sexiest octogenarian out there.

Her famous knack for creating epic thirst traps on Instagram has become an internet institution. And now she's adding flirting with people a third of her age to her wheelhouse—as she should!

Keep ReadingShow less
Target store sign
Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Target Apologizes After Children's Clown Halloween Costume Called Out For Resembling Blackface

Each year, people post about American retailers jumping the gun on holidays. As soon as Halloween is over, the Christmas decor hits the shelves. And it seems as soon as the 4th of July displays came down, Halloween went up.

But now, in August, Target department stores is finding itself needing to apologize for part of their 2026 Halloween line of products.

Keep ReadingShow less