Luke donned a bulletproof vest and was among the first to rush into the campus.
The Action Bureau had only around twenty people on site, and given the sprawling campus area, it was difficult for them to complete the search swiftly with just their numbers.
The Action Bureau, like the Detective Bureau, belonged to a special division – with different responsibilities. Their sole responsibility was to carry out raids, and Luke's primary task was to inspect and secure the scene immediately.
According to the students' reports, the gunshots mainly came from three buildings: the academic building, the vocal music building, and the science building.
Luke and Little Black were in charge of searching the academic building.
Five well-equipped, trained members of the action team led the way, followed closely by Luke, Little Black, and ten patrol officers.
A group of more than ten entered the academic building, with two officers guarding the stairwell as the rest began searching from the ground floor, level by level.
The police would search every classroom.
Those with doors open were simply pushed open; those closed were breached with a battering ram.
The ground floor was searched without incident.
No sooner had he reached the second floor, Luke faintly smelled blood; whether it was psychological or his long-term expertise in criminal investigation kicking in, he couldn't be sure.
In classroom 201 beside the staircase, they discovered the body of a black female student, shot twice in the chest, her blood staining the ground red, lifeless.
Little Black made the sign of the cross, "Truly a day of sorrow."
Luke sighed softly, quickly composed himself, and began to examine the shooting scene.
The black female student lay face up on the floor, facing the direction of the classroom door, with a backpack that had fallen next to her, already stained red with blood.
No weapon was found, nor were there any obvious footprints.
Luke took out his phone and reported to Susan, requesting the forensic team and the forensic doctor to hurry to the scene.
An officer's voice came through the walkie-talkie, "Gunshot scene found on the third floor, two victims in the hallway!"
Luke sighed softly, took a few photographs, and then headed up to the third floor.
The scene on the third floor was even more gruesome, with a young male and female, both white, lying dead in a pool of blood – presumably students from the school.
Both victims were white; the male student was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest, not far from each other.
"Hey, this girl is still breathing!" Little Black called out, quickly phoning for medical assistance.
Upon inspection, Luke saw the female student had a gunshot wound to her chest, her breathing was extremely faint, and whether she could be saved was uncertain.
"Another body found in the women's restroom on the third floor!"
"Fuck! When will it end!" This was the first time Luke had seen so many gunshot victims at a single scene since becoming an officer.
Then, Luke hurried to inspect the restroom, where a black female student lay on the floor, her eyes wide open, shot three times.
A shot to the shoulder, chest, and thigh.
Luke furrowed his brow deeply, having found three deceased and one critically injured victim in just one building.
This shooting incident was turning out to be worse than he had imagined, and with the surveillance equipment damaged, the investigation would likely be difficult.
The forensic team and investigation crew arrived at the scene in no time.
Other parts of the campus had also revealed casualties; despite there being two teams of forensic doctors and three investigation teams present, the demand of the situation could not be fully met. They had to proceed systematically.
The forensic doctor and investigation crew first headed to classroom 201 to examine the situation of the first deceased, the black female.
From her bag, the investigators found the student's ID.
Luke picked it up and examined it.
The photo matched the deceased,
Date of birth, April 19, 2005
Address, 131 Kay Street
Social Security number, 623-23-7318
In Los Angeles, a student ID is more like a broad-use student ID, not only usable at school but also widely accepted elsewhere, offering discounts on insurance, driver's licenses, transport, and meals.
Luke handed the ID to Little Black beside him, "Check her information in detail."
Little Black was somewhat silent today, without excess words, taking the student ID and contacting Matthew directly.
Although Luke himself did not move, his walkie-talkie continuously conveyed messages, giving him a rough understanding of the entire shooting incident.
The whole school had been basically searched.
Many timid students had been hiding in classrooms waiting to be rescued, which turned out to be the safest option if the classroom doors were sturdy enough.
One dead, one injured in the vocal music building.
There was one casualty in the science building.
It seemed that the academic building bore more than half the casualties and injuries.
Overall, the casualties were somewhat less than initially anticipated.
"Luke, Matthew sent a message, there is an issue with the deceased Fannie's student ID? The social security number is fake."
"Fake?" Luke thought to himself, could she have been one of the assailants rather than a student?
"Contact her teachers, have them come over for identification."
With the school in such turmoil, many teachers were waiting at the school entrance and hadn't left.
Soon, a white female in her thirties came in, covering her face upon seeing Fannie's body, "Oh my god, oh my god... how could this happen?"
Luke showed his badge, "I'm Detective Chief Luke, how may I address you?"
"I'm Sharon Bruce, teacher of class B12."
Luke pointed to the black female student on the ground, "Miss Sharon, do you recognize this deceased student?"
"Yes, Fannie, she had just transferred half a month ago, I can't believe... oh my god, her parents will be heartbroken."
"Fannie was a transfer student?"
Luke had thought the victim had just entered the school, but now, according to Miss Sharon, this female student had arrived half a month ago, and with a fake identity at that?