Counselors on hand at Phoenix-area school day after shooting

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Social workers offered counsel to students at a suburban Phoenix high school Saturday, a day after two 15-year-old girls died in a murder-suicide shooting.

Counselors were available throughout the morning for students, as well as their families at Independence High School in Glendale, according to a statement issued by Principal Rob Ambrose.

Glendale police said the bodies of the two students were discovered Friday just before the start of classes in an area near the cafeteria, Glendale police said. Each had been shot once and was declared dead at the scene.

Investigators recovered a weapon and a suicide note at the scene, but police did not release the contents of the note.

"Information gathered by detectives reveal the two girls were very close friends, appeared to also be in a relationship," police spokeswoman Tracey Breeden said.

Police have not released the names of the students. But Phuong Kieu, a science teacher at the school, told multiple media outlets Friday that one of the victims was her sister, May Kieu.

Police say nobody witnessed the shooting, but the incident initially caused widespread panic among parents who could not reach their children.

The school was on lockdown for several hours. Meanwhile, hundreds of worried parents crowded the parking lots of nearby discount and convenience stores awaiting information about their children.