A teenage shooter opened fire at a Wisconsin school on Monday, killing a fellow student and a teacher, and wounding six others before being found dead by police at the scene, authorities said.
The tragedy unfolded at Abundant Life Christian School, a private institution serving about 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade in Madison, Wisconsin. Police have not publicly identified any of the victims or the shooter.
According to officials, the shooter was a student at the school and used a handgun in the attack, which took place shortly before 11 a.m. local time. The motive behind the violence remains unknown.
“Today is a sad, sad day, not only for Madison, but for our entire country, where yet another police chief is doing a press conference to speak about violence in our community,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters. “Every child, every person in that building, is a victim, and will be a victim forever. These types of trauma don’t just go away.”
Police said that two of the wounded students suffered life-threatening injuries, while four others had injuries that were not life-threatening. No officers discharged their weapons during the incident, and the shooter’s family is cooperating with the investigation.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway expressed her sorrow over the incident and called for action to prevent future tragedies. “We need to do better in our country and our community to prevent gun violence,” she said at the press conference.
The Abundant Life Christian School community is reeling from the attack, as students, parents, and staff grapple with the shock and grief of the event.
This incident is part of a troubling trend of school shootings in the United States. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there have been 322 school shootings in the U.S. so far this year, the second-highest number since 1966.
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Teenage shooter kills student, teacher at U.S. school, police say
cgtn.com
