Ohio school shooting 'unforgivable': White House

WASHINGTON — The high school shooting in Ohio that killed three students was "terrible and unforgivable," the White House said Tuesday, adding that it was too early to know if it was linked to bullying.

The alleged shooter, a 17-year-old student, opened fire Monday with a handgun on a group of fellow students at Chardon High School in the town of Chardon shortly after the school day started.

"I would very much hesitate to draw any conclusions about what happened in this incident in Ohio before there's a full investigation," Carney told reporters when asked to link the incident to bullying.

"Obviously the president and the First Lady are committed to anti-bullying, but the tragic incident that led now to the deaths of three high schools students is... terrible and unforgivable," he said.

One student died hours after the shooting on Monday. Two more died on Tuesday and another two are recovering from their gunshot wounds.

Some fellow students described the shooter, identified as TJ Lane, as an "outcast" who had been bullied and said he had posted warnings on Twitter and left disturbing messages on Facebook.

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, have spoken several times against school bullying, and even held an anti-bullying conference at the White House in 2011.

A teacher eventually chased the shooter from the school, and he was arrested a short while later after giving himself up to bystanders.