Three dead in Wisconsin school shooting, including shooting, police say By Reuters
By Brad Brooks and Joseph Ax
(Reuters) – A teenager killed two people at a Wisconsin school before police found the suspect dead at the scene of the latest mass shooting to ravage a U.S. institution, authorities said on Monday.
At least six other people were injured, according to the police, who said children were among the dead and injured in the shooting that took place in the state capital of Madison. Injuries, police said, “range from minor to life-threatening.”
Earlier, the police said that five people died in the shooting incident, but later they said that the information is incorrect.
The shooting happened at Abundant Life Christian School, a private institution that educates about 400 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, the Madison Police Department said.
The police department in a written statement said that about three people died in the incident, including the suspect who shot and was identified as a school child. The shooter was found dead at the school when the police arrived.
At least six people were transported from the scene to local hospitals, police said in a written statement.
Madison Police Chief Sean Barnes said the shooting happened just before 11 a.m. local time.
“Today is a sad, sad day, not just for Madison, but for our entire country, when another police chief is holding a press conference to talk about violence in our community,” Barnes told reporters.
Barnes added: “Every child, every person in that building, is a victim, and will be a victim forever. These types of traumas don’t just go away.”
Video posted at the scene on social media showed dozens of emergency services, including police, ambulances and fire engines.
Abundant Life Christian School posted on social media: “Prayers Requested! Today, we had a shooting incident in progress at ALCS. We are following up. We will share information as best we can.”
Members of a Facebook (NASDAQ: ) group of former students expressed shock and prayer. Several people have started organizing a donation and gift card for the workers and others affected by the attack.
“It’s scary to see this happening in a place that was safe for so many of us,” wrote one woman, Kristen Navis. “I pray for all, the grief of a life lost in this way is almost unfathomable.”
Gun control and school safety have become major political and social issues in the US where the number of school shootings has skyrocketed in recent years.
There have been 322 school shootings this year in the US, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. That’s the second-highest total of any year since 1966, according to that database — topped only by the previous year’s total of 349 shootings.
The shooting epidemic has plagued public and private schools alike in urban, suburban and rural communities.
Some happened in Christian schools. In March 2023, a former student at Covenant School, a private school in Nashville, killed three children and three adults before being shot and killed by law enforcement.
Earlier this month, two 5- and 6-year-old students were shot at Feather River Adventist School near Oroville, California, by a gunman who died after shooting himself.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been informed of the incident, and White House officials were contacting local officials in Madison to provide any assistance needed.
