LAST UPDATE | 1 hr ago
A SHOOTING AT a school in Wisconsin in the United States has killed three people, including the suspect, and left nine injured.
The incident took place at the Abundant Life Christian School in the state capital Madison shortly before 11am local time (5pm Irish time). The suspected shooter was a teenage student at the school and is one of the deceased, according to police.
At a press conference, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said a teacher and a separate teenage student were killed. In a statement to Facebook, the Madison Police Department said that injuries range from minor to life-threatening.
Parents have been directed to go to a nearby fire station where police will reunite students with guardians.
Barnes said two people are currently in hospital facing life-threatening injuries. The remaining injured people are suffering from minor injuries and all of those who were injured were brought to hospital
Roadblocks and local diversions are in place as police carry out further investigations. Police believe there is no threat in the area, but are keen to continue with their probe.
Abundant Life Christian School is a private, non-denominational school and has approximately 390 pupils – most of whom come from a variety of different churches in the surrounding neighbourhoods.
The school has a large campus and teaches classes from early-childhood, or kindergarten, to final year, or twelfth grade.
Speaking to media shortly after the incident, Barnes said that police arrived at the scene and found multiple victims. Officers, who arrived from nearby areas and from elsewhere in the state, entered the building and began administering first aid.
Police officers did not fire a shot during the incident.
Barnes, who is a former teacher, said later that police will not be releasing any more information on the identity of the suspected shooter at this time but detailed they were a teenage student.
Police are continuing with investigations and are interviewing witnesses. Search warrants applications have also been requested, Barnes said.
“I started my professional career as a public school teacher back in 1997,” he told reporters. “I taught public school for four years. It was one of the greatest joys of my life before becoming a police officer, and I can tell you what a special place our schools are.
“We now owe it to our community to do everything possible to ensure that it’s not only a special place, but a safe place as well, and we’re going to continue to do that.”
Local schools were put on lockdown briefly but alerts were lifted once the Madison police department determined that there was no longer an active threat. The location of the school is on a main thoroughfare in the city.
Barnes said that police officers intend to do their “due diligence” in the case and will continue with their investigations. Evidence gathering and questioning is currently underway.
Madison Fire Chief Chris Carmen said: “This is not a place that any fire chief or any one of us would ever want to be. And I can’t believe I’m standing here today talking about this incident.”
Five fire engines, four ladder companies and fifteen ambulances attended the scene shortly after 11am local time this morning. Carmen thanked teams who came from other counties and towns nearby to help with the emergency.
Injured parties have been transported to two separate hospitals in the area.
The police chief earlier described the incident as a “sad day for our community and for out country”.
“These types of trauma don’t just go away,” he said. “We have to piece together what exactly happened. Right now, my heart is heavy for my community. My heart is heavy for Madison.
“We have to come together, as a community, and figure out what has happened here and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
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