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

Heidi Klum
Lyvans Boolaky/Getty Images

Heidi Klum Just Outdid Herself With Her 'Very Ugly' Medusa Halloween Costume—And Wow

Halloween is the coolest time of year for someone to express themselves and to let their true identity shine.

Some take the Halloween festivities very seriously, like a man in Decatur riding around his neighborhood on a bicycle while wearing a Michael Myers Halloween mask, or even Project Runway host Heidi Klum one-upping her costume year after year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Actor Jesse Eisenberg pictured at a film event — the Now You See Me star recently revealed he’s donating a kidney to a stranger, calling it his most meaningful act yet.
JB Lacroix/FilmMagic via Getty Images

Jesse Eisenberg's Kidney Gift

American playwright, filmmaker, actor, and now literal lifesaver Jesse Eisenberg is taking his holiday giving to a whole new level. The Now You See Me star revealed on the TODAY show that he’s donating one of his kidneys to a total stranger.

The man isn’t conjuring a disappearing organ act. He’s actually doing it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump; Changpeng Zhao
60 Minutes; Horacio Villalobos/Corbis/Getty Images

Trump Ripped For Hypocrisy After Claiming He 'Doesn't Know' Who Crypto Founder He Just Pardoned Is

President Donald Trump was criticized after he claimed during a sit-down interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O'Donnell that he doesn't know who Binance cryptocurrency exchange founder Changpeng Zhao is despite pardoning him less than two weeks ago.

In 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to violating anti–money laundering laws after Binance allegedly failed to report suspicious transactions involving groups such as Hamas and al-Qaida. He later apologized, paid a $50 million fine, and served nearly four months in prison before being pardoned by Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Split screen of a woman with a stern reaction and a man with a shocked expression.
@vanessa_p_44/TikTok

Guy Has Priceless Reaction To Learning His Mom Named Him After 'South Park' Character—And We're Obsessed

When it comes time for parents to name their soon-to-be-born child, they often cast a wide net looking for inspiration.

Many will name their child after a beloved friend or family member, while others might choose a name from a classic film, novel, or television series.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Expertly Trolls Trump Administration With Parody Spirit Halloween Costume Memes

California Governor Gavin Newsom had social media users cackling after he, in a series of photos on X, mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with photoshopped meme versions of Spirit Halloween costumes.

Noem, who has led the nationwide immigration crackdown that continues to tear apart families around the country, is the "Border Barbie" of one meme that pokes fun at her for shooting her dog, her penchant for bringing camera crews wherever she goes, and the way South Park writers lampooned her in one of its most widely-seen episodes this year.

Keep ReadingShow less