More than 300 children and a dozen teachers were taken from St. Mary’s School in north-central Nigeria , the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Saturday.

Armed men reportedly stormed the school, a Catholic institution located in the Papiri community of Niger state, around 2 a.m. local time on Friday.

The students' range in age from 10 to 18 and include boys and girls. The school compound serves a remote area and, at the time of the attack, had only local security arrangements in place.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions, and authorities have deployed tactical squads and local hunters in their efforts to rescue the hostages.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment by email Saturday morning.

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