Three people were killed and others were injured on Monday shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, officials said.
The suspected shooter was one of three people killed, authorities said. Six people were injured, authorities said, with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening, during the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School.
Officers responded to the school, located at 4901 East Buckeye Road, around 11 a.m. The shooting was confined to one room at the school, police said, but did not indicate whether the shooting occurred in a classroom or a hallway.
What do we know about the suspected shooter?
The suspected shooter was one of three people killed at the school. Officers found the young shooting suspect dead at the scene, Madison Police Chief Shon F. Barnes said.
“They found the person they believe was responsible who crashed, deceased,” the chief said.
Authorities said the suspected gunman was dead when officers arrived and that no police fired their weapons.
The suspected shooter was a teenage student at the school, police said. Barnes said he would not yet share the age, gender or other identifying information about the suspected shooter. He said the suspected shooter’s motivation is not yet known.
Police have contacted the suspected shooter’s family, Barnes said. The suspected shooter’s family cooperated with police.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was working on an “urgent lead” of the firearm the gunman used Monday.
A gun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said.
What do we know about the school shooting victims?
In addition to the suspected gunman, two more people were killed and six injured, officials said. Police have not yet publicly identified the victims. Names will not be released until officers speak with family members who lost loved ones in Monday’s shooting.
The injuries ranged from minor to life-threatening, authorities said.
Barnes initially declined to specify whether the victims were students or teachers, but released additional information during a news conference Monday afternoon. The two victims killed in the shooting were identified as a teacher and a teenager, Barnes said. All the injured victims were students. Two of the six injured were in critical condition Monday afternoon, with injuries considered life-threatening.
“I’m feeling a little dismayed right now, so close to Christmas,” Barnes said. “Every child, every person in that building, is a victim and will forever be a victim. These types of trauma don’t just go away.”
SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Madison said it had received patients after the shooting. UW Health also said it was receiving patients from the shooting.
What do we know about Abundant Life Christian School?
Abundant Life Christian School is a private school founded in 1978, according to the school website. It is a school for primary and secondary education with approximately 390 students.
“Prayers requested! Today we had an active shooter incident at ALCS,” the school posted on Facebook.
The school describes itself as a “private, nonprofit, nondenominational K-12 institution organized for the purpose of developing disciples of Jesus Christ through an excellent, comprehensive, biblically integrated education program that is thoroughly Christian in its content, context and practice.”
Barnes was asked about metal detectors at the school during a press conference on Monday.
“I’m not aware that the school had metal detectors, and schools shouldn’t have metal detectors. It’s a safe space,” Barnes said.
Murat Usubaliev/Anadolu via Getty Images
What are the gun laws in Wisconsin?
The Giffords Law Center, which rates gun laws, gave Wisconsin a C on its annual scorecard.
According to the center, “the state still lacks a number of key policies that could go a long way in reducing gun violence.”
In Wisconsin, possession of a firearm under the age of 18 is a misdemeanor, while selling, lending or giving a gun to someone under the age of 18 is a misdemeanor. It is also a state crime to allow a child under the age of 14 to come within range of a loaded firearm.
Bringing a loaded weapon into a school is also a crime.
President Biden and Governor Evers respond to the shooting in Wisconsin
President Biden was briefed on the shooting in Wisconsin, a White House official said. Mr. Biden called the shooting shocking and unconscionable and called on Congress to take action.
“From Newtown to Uvalde, from Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings that go unaddressed – it is unacceptable that we cannot protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot continue to accept it as normal. The child deserves to feel safe in the classroom. Students across our country should be learning to read and write – not taught how to duck and hide.”
Governor Tony Evers ordered the U.S. and Wisconsin flags to fly at half-staff after the shooting.
“As a father, a grandfather and as a governor, it is unthinkable that a child or teacher would wake up one morning and go to school and never come home,” Evers said. “This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a done deal or stop working to change it.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who founded a national gun violence prevention organization, said her heart went out to the Madison community.
“Just days after we commemorated the 26 lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School, another school community was subjected to the terror of a mass shooting in Madison,” Giffords said in a statement. “Students deserve to go to school without gun violence, but in our country it is the number one killer of children – a devastating, preventable tragedy that requires action from our elected leaders.”
How many school shootings have occurred so far in 2024?
Monday’s shooting came just days after the victims of the Dec. 14, 2012, Sandy Hook school shooting were remembered.
According to Education Week, there have been 38 school shootings this year it resulted in injuries or deaths.
Earlier this month, two toddlers were injured in a North Korean school School shooting in California.
In the past four years school shootings have killed more than 200 people and injured more than 600, according to a CBS News analysis of the K-12 School Shooting Database.
