MADISON, WI — According to the Associated Press- Three people are dead, and others are injured after a shooting Monday at a private Christian school in Wisconsin, including a student who caused the attack, authorities said.
Police say the student opened fire, killing two people in the final week before Christmas break. No details on the victims were immediately available.
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5:44 p.m. Update:
Expert says school shootings by teenage females have been rare
School shootings by teenage females have been extremely rare in U.S. history, with males in their teens and 20s carrying out the vast majority most of them, according to David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database.
In a blog post last year, he pointed to a handful of school shootings that involved perpetrators who identified as female, including a 16-year-old girl who shot and killed two and injured several others at San Diego elementary school in 1979.
5:30 p.m. Update:
Parents hold their children tight as they pick them up from a nearby medical clinic
Well into Monday afternoon, parents were directed to a medical clinic building about a mile from the school to pick up their children.
Some left the clinic holding their young children against their chests, others squeezing kids’ hands or shoulders as they walked side by side.
One family draped an adult-size coat around a young girl’s shoulder as they left the building to a parking lot still teeming with police and law enforcement vehicles.
5:18 p.m. Update:
‘We need Congress to act. Now,’ says President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden called the shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School “shocking and unconscionable” in a statement Monday.
“We need Congress to act. Now,” he said.
“From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings that don’t receive attention - it is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot continue to accept it as normal,” he said. “Every child deserves to feel safe in their class room. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover.”
He said that he and his wife, Jill, are praying for the victims. He thanked first responders who arrived quickly and said the FBI is supporting local law enforcement efforts. His team has also reached out to local officials to offer further support, at his direction.
He said that while his administration has taken aggressive action to combat the gun violence epidemic, more is needed:
“Congress must pass commonsense gun safety laws: Universal background checks. A national red flag law. A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
5:02 p.m. Update
Wisconsin school shooter ID’d as 17-year-old female student, law enforcement official tells AP
The Wisconsin school shooter was a 17-year-old female student, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
4:23 p.m. Update:
In Las Vegas, Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers opened a news conference Monday by talking about the shooting.
“Not a lot to say. Just a shame this keeps happening,” Rivers said, unprompted and before any questions could be asked. “Kids can’t go to school safe, and it just seems like we don’t do anything about it. Not going to get up here on the podium and give a long speech — except for it’s just bad and that we are thinking about them.”
Las Vegas was the site of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history in 2017, when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival.
The Bucks are in Las Vegas for Tuesday’s NBA Cup tournament championship game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
4:20 p.m. Update:
The police news conference has ended
Another briefing will be held in roughly two hours at 5:30 p.m. CT.
4:17 p.m. Update:
‘I’m feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas,’ noted Chief Barnes.
“Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. ... We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened.”
Barnes said detectives were “working hard to find as many answers as possible.”
4:14 p.m. Update:
The shooter’s family is cooperating
At this time, yes,” the shooter’s family is cooperating, noted Chief Barnes.
4:10 p.m. Update:
Police identify the weapon used in the shooting
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes identified the weapon police found as a handgun.
He said the gunfire was confined to one space. He didn’t specify whether it was a classroom.
Read: 2 people killed in shooting at private school in Wisconsin; gunman also dead
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