Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

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

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

Rory McIlroy
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Golf Star Rory McIlroy Slams 'Abusive' American Fans After Ryder Cup Matches In New York

The Bethpage Black Golf Course in Old Bethpage, New York, hosted the Ryder Cup over the weekend. MAGA Republican President Donald Trump was in attendance with his granddaughter Kai.

Twelve top players from the States faced off against twelve top players from Europe.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sean Penn; Charlie Kirk
Karwai Tang/WireImage; Benjamin Hanson/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Sean Penn Sparks Heated Debate After Explaining Why He Thinks We 'Need' People Like Charlie Kirk In Politics

Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn stirred controversy after he told the New York Times that we "need" people like the late far-right activist Charlie Kirk in politics despite disagreeing with "almost everything" Kirk believed in.

Kirk was assassinated earlier this month while speaking at a university in Utah; the suspect was caught after a two-day manhunt and has since been charged.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ariana Grande; Donald Trump
Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Ariana Grande Slams Trump With Blistering Question For Everyone Who Voted For Him

Wicked star Ariana Grande criticized President Donald Trump by posing a blunt question on Instagram for his supporters now that Trump has been in office for 250 days and counting.

Grande has been a consistently vocal advocate for social justice for many years and she circulated a post from podcaster Matt Bernstein calling out Trump supporters now that, among other things, Trump's immigration crackdown is in full swing and the government is threatening free speech rights.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump Ripped After Gloating About How Golden Oval Office Makes World Leaders 'Freak Out'

President Donald Trump is known for his gaudy taste in decor and now he has people rolling their eyes after he claimed that all of the gold decorations in the Oval Office actually makes visitors "freak out" due to its "quality and beauty."

The Oval Office has been significantly revamped since Trump took office in January—it features, among other things, fireplace adorned with gold cherubs and medallions, surrounded by portraits of American statesmen in ornate gold frames and shelves filled with gilded figurines, urns, and freshly installed Rococo mirrors.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man and a woman resting their heads on one another staring into the distance.
man and woman standing on brown field during daytime

People Reveal The Seemingly Insignificant Gestures That Showed Them How Much Their Partner Cares

It's always nice when our partner makes a grand gesture to show how much they love and care about us.

Be it a surprise romantic getaway, a nice dinner out, or a gift they knew we'd been eyeing, what touches us the most is knowing they did this to show how much we mean to them.

Keep ReadingShow less