CHARDON, Ohio -- A Chardon High School student died today after a shooting spree that left four others injured, police said.

High school Junior Nate Mueller, who was hit in the right ear, identified the shooter as T.J. Lane.

Mueller said he and his friends, including Russell King, Nick Walczak and Demetrius Hewlin, were sitting at their regular cafeteria table when T.J. approached about 7:30 a.m.

Nate said he heard a gunshot behind him. He turned and felt a sting on his ear.

"My friends were crawling on the floor, and one of my friends was bent over the table, and he was shot," Nate said. "It was almost like a firecracker went off. I turned around and saw him (T.J.) standing with a gun and I saw him take a shot."

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Russell, he said, had recently started dating T.J.'s ex-girlfriend, who is home schooled.

"He was silent the whole time," said Nate, who was waiting for a bus to his culinary arts classes at Auburn Career Center. "That's what made it so random."

T.J., he said, normally waits for a bus which goes to Lake Academy, a school in Willoughby that serves at-risk students.