Wisconsin school shooting latest: Shooter who left teacher, classmate dead is identified as 17-year-old female
The suspected shooter, a teenage student at Abundant Life Christian School, has died, police say
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A 17-year-old female student is believed to have opened fire at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, Monday morning, killing a classmate and a teacher, police say.
The suspected shooter was dead when police arrived, Madison Police Department Chief Shon Barnes said.
Six others were injured.
Two people are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries and four others have non-life-threatening injuries.
Police responded to reports of an active shooter at Abundant Life Christian School just before 11 a.m. on Monday.
Police recovered a handgun at the school.
The suspected shooter’s family is cooperating, the chief said. The motive is still being investigated and the alleged shooter’s cause of death has yet to be determined, Barnes said.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the school shooting, the White House has said. Senior White House officials are in contact with officials in Madison to provide support as needed, according to the White House.
Madison shooting is 83rd of 2024, setting record for last two decades
The shooting on Monday in Madison, Wisconsin, is the 83rd school shooting this year.
2024 has been the year with the most school shootings since 2008, according a CNN database.
Community reacts to Madison shooting
Community members are in shock in Madison, Wisconsin, after a shooting at a Christian school left three people dead, included the suspected shooter, and six people injured.
“I didn’t want to believe it. First I thought it was an accident,” Gary Herrmann, who lives nearby, told WMTV. “And then when I heard shooter, that’s when it really hit me.”
“Your world stops for a minute. Nothing else matters,” Bethany Highman, whose daughter goes to Abundant Life Christian School, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We’re just waiting, praying.”
Shooting is Madison’s second in seven months
The incident today in Madison is the area’s second major mass shooting in seven months.
This summer, 12 people were wounded in a shooting at a rooftop party.
Police update number of people injured in Madison rooftop shooting to 12
Police now say at least a dozen people were hurt in a shooting at a rooftop party in Wisconsin's capital city
What to know about the Abundant Life Christian School shooting
Authorities in Madison, Wisconsin are reporting at least five dead and multiple injured at a K-12 private school.
The shooting occurred at the Abundant Life Christian School around 11 a.m. Monday. The shooter, who is believed to have been a student at the school, is among the dead, according to Madison police. Police said the school has been cleared and there is no further threat.
A nearby high school, a middle school, and an elementary school were locked down in the midst of the Abundant Life shooting.
Chief Shon Barnes of the Madison PD called it a “sad, sad day.”
Read the full story.
Two in critical condition, two dead after shooting at Wisconsin Christian school
“I’m asking everyone to send your heartfelt wishes and prayers, and thoughts, yet again, to a community — but this time it’s my community,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters
Suspected shooter used a handgun, police say
Someone from the school called 911 to report an active shooter, Chief Barnes said.
A handgun was recovered from the scene, he said.
It’s unclear how many students attend the school but each age group is separated by floor, the police chief said.
Dozens of school shootings that have resulted in injuries or death in 2024 alone, according to analysis
This year alone, there have been 38 school shootings that resulted in injuries or deaths, according to an Education Week analysis.
There have been 220 of these shootings since 2018, the outlet found.
According to K-12 shooting database, which tracks gun-related incidents on school grounds, there have been 323 incidents this year alone.
A student and a teacher were killed along with the teenage suspected shooter: police
The suspected shooter was a teenage student who attended Abundant Life Christian School, Chief Barnes said.
Three people were killed in the tragedy in total: the alleged shooter, another teenage student and a teacher.
Two students are in critical condition at the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Four students are also suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.
Wisconsin Congressman calls for Congress to pass gun safety measures after ALCS shooting
Democratic Rep Mark Pocan, whose district includes Madison, sent his condolences to those impacted by the Abundant Life Christian School shooting and called for Congress to take action to improve gun safety measures.
“Thoughts and prayers without action means more school shootings, more dead kids,” he wrote on X. “More ACTION is needed by our elected officials. And more BACKBONE to stand up to gun manufacturers. This is uniquely a United States problem that doesn’t have to happen.”
Schools should be safe spaces without the threat of gun violence, police chief says
When a reporter asked Chief Barnes whether Abundant Life Christian School had metal detectors, he pushed back: “I’m not aware that the school had metal detectors, nor should schools have metal detectors.”
He added: “It’s a school. It’s a safe space.”
‘I pray with my kids every morning that this won’t happen'
One mother whose children attend Abundant Life Christian School told Fox11 that she and her kids pray every morning that there won’t be a school shooting — and then oen happened.
“I pray with my kids every morning that this won’t happen,” she told the outlet.
“It’s the world that we live in. But God is good, God is gracious,” she said. Her children are safe.
Three people are deceased — including the alleged shooter — and multiple others are injured after a juvenile is believed to have opened fire at their own school.
The identity of the suspected shooter has not been made public and it’s not immediately clear how many of the victims are children.