A teacher and a teenage student were killed and six others were injured in a school shooting in Wisconsin, police said.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the suspect, a teenager who studied at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, was also among the dead. At least two students suffered life-threatening injuries.
“Today is a sad day, not just for Madison, for our entire country,” Mr. Barnes said. “We need to do a better job in our community.”
He said police have not identified a motive for the shooting and that the suspect’s family has cooperated in the investigation.
Officers responded to a 911 call of an active shooter at the Christian school at around 11:00 a.m. local time (5:00 p.m. GMT).
Police said they found the shooter already dead when they arrived at the scene and no officer fired the weapon.
There were several victims with gunshot wounds who were taken to the hospital.
Mr Barnes said two students were in critical condition in hospital and had suffered life-threatening injuries. Four other people are in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
He said police recovered a pistol from the scene. The shooting was confined to one room, but it is unclear whether it occurred in a classroom or a hallway.
officials say There is no ongoing threat to other schools or the surrounding community. The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Residents have been asked to avoid the area and roads around the school are closed.
A reunification center was set up next to the school building to reunite students with their parents.
“Every child, every person in this building is a victim and will forever be a victim,” Mr. Barnes said.
He said officers responded to the scene while undergoing training at a law enforcement training center located three miles from the school.
“What started as a training day turned into a real day,” he said.
The incident also prompted a major response from emergency responders. Madison Fire Chief Chris Carbon said 15 ambulances responded to calls after the shooting.
Abundant Life Christian School has approximately 400 students from kindergarten through high school.
“Please pray for our Challenger family,” the school wrote in a post on Facebook.
Local city officials responded to the shooting during a news conference Monday afternoon.
“Reach out, ask for help, this doesn’t have to be the reality of our community,” Dane County Executive Melissa Agard said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said he was closely monitoring the incident.
“We are praying for the children, educators and entire Abundant Life school community as we wait for more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond,” Evers said in a statement on X.
President Joe Biden has been informed, the White House says, and senior officials are in contact with local authorities.
Shootings are commonplace in the United States, and schools are no exception.
The K-12 Violence Project, a nonprofit organization committed to reducing violence through accessible and actionable research, counted more than 300 shootings in 2024. These include events in which a weapon is brandished or fired, or a bullet strikes school grounds for any reason, regardless of the number of casualties.
According to the news organization EducationWeek, 38 school shootings in the United States this year resulted in deaths or injuries. Before today’s shooting, there were a total of 69 victims – including 16 dead.
