At least two people were killed and six others were injured in a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, with police saying the suspected shooter was found dead at the scene.
During an update Monday afternoon, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said a teacher and a teen student were killed.
Barnes added that two students are also in critical condition, with life-threatening injuries.
A handgun was used by the shooter and the shooting was confined to one space, Barnes said. A motive for the shooting has yet to be determined.
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“Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened,” Barnes said.
Barnes added that the shooter’s family was cooperating with police.
He said he did not believe that the school, which serves 200 students according to the school’s website, had a resource officer.
Police say that they train for active shooter situations “almost quarterly,” and that they had most recently conducted the training roughly two weeks ago.
At roughly 10:57 am local time, police responded to reports of an active shooter at the Abundant Life Christian School. They identified a “juvenile” deceased at the scene who they believe was responsible for the shooting. They are encouraging local residents to avoid the area.
Barnes said officers did not fire their weapons when responding to the scene.
“This is something you prepare for, but that you hope you never have to do,” a police spokesman told reporters. “Today is a sad, sad day.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to half-staff across the state immediately until sunset on Sun., Dec. 22, 2024
“There are no words to describe the devastation and heartbreak we feel today after the school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison this morning,” Evers said in a statement.
“As a father, a grandfather, and as governor, it is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home. This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it.”
Police said this remains an active and ongoing investigation and more information will be released as it is available.
“We currently need people to avoid the area,” police added.
Students have been fully evacuated from the school, and police have conducted multiple clears of the building. Barnes said they were conducting a third check using bomb-sniffing dogs “just in case.”
Police say they set up a unification center for students and parents immediately following the shooting.
The school also acknowledged the shooting in a post on Facebook, requesting prayers from the community.
“Prayers Requested! Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS. We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able. Please pray for our Challenger Family,” the school wrote.
A former student of the school, Aaron Nienaber, told Fox News Digital that he attended high school at Abundant Life Christian from 2000 to 2004 and was shocked and saddened to see this happen at a place he cherished.
“It’s very sad to see this happening at a place where I have so many fond memories with the students and faculty, and especially playing on the sports teams. This is not something that anyone would have ever seen coming at this small tight-knit school and community,” Nienaber said.
The FBI’s Milwaukee bureau says it has deployed agents to the scene to assist in investigating.
The White House has also confirmed that President Biden has been briefed on the shooting.
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