A shooter armed with a handgun opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., leaving at least three people dead and six more injured, police said Monday.
A teacher and a student were killed, and two students currently face life-threatening injuries.
The suspect was among those found dead after the shooting, which began shortly before 11 a.m. at the school, which houses students from kindergarten through high school.
(NPR member station Wisconsin Public Radio is tracking local updates here.)
Police Chief Shon Barnes says the suspect, a teenage student at the school, was found dead — believed to be by a self-inflicted gunshot. Barnes said police did not fire their weapon and the campus did not have a police school resource officer.
Three additional students and a teacher suffered non-life threatening injuries.
"But these are just the physical injuries that we know about," Barnes, who is a former public school teacher, said in an afternoon press conference. "We know that this was the middle of a school day so there will be other injuries we have to face for a long time."
He said his department would not rush to "interrogate" students in the wake of the shooting, as officers wanted to give the children time to process the incident.
Barnes said that it was still unclear what the shooter's motive was and whether those who were injured had been targeted by the shooter, but the suspect's family was so far cooperating with the investigation. The police department is in the process of conducting interviews and had obtained search warrants for the suspect's home.
"But I think we can all agree that enough is enough and we have to come together to do everything we can to support our students. To prevent press conferences like these from happening again, and again and again," Barnes said.
Firearms are the leading cause of death for people ages 1 to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a phenomenon that is unique to youth in the United States.
Officials said they would not yet disclose identifying information about the shooter— including their grade, gender or exact age — while the investigation continues.
A 'gut-wrenching tragedy'
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said White House officials had been briefed on the shooting and offered their support. She said that for now, her primary focus is on supporting the victims and their families in the coming days and weeks.
"I am on record that I think that we need to do better in our country and our community to prevent gun violence," Rhodes-Conway said. "I hoped this day would never come to Madison."
Rhodes-Conway urged anyone dealing with mental health struggles to seek the help and support they need.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says there are "no words to describe the devastation and heartbreak we feel today after the school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison this morning."
Evers, a Democrat, said in a post on X that he's praying for the families and loved ones whose lives were "so senselessly taken" and called it a "gut-wrenching" tragedy.
"As a father, a grandfather, and as a governor, it is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home," he wrote. "This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it."
Evers ordered flags across Wisconsin to be lowered to half-staff to honor those who were killed.
Before Monday's shooting, there had been at least 81 school shootings in the United States in 2024, according to a CNN analysis.
According to the school's website, Abundant Life Christian School focuses on providing a "quality Christian education" to its 420 students.
The small, private Christian academy was set to close this week for Christmas vacation, sending the students off with an Ugly Christmas Sweater Spirit Day on Friday. As the school is an active crime scene, it was not yet clear if students will be expected to return before the holiday break.
Barbara Wiers, Abundant Life's elementary and school relations director, said during an evening press conference that the school did not have metal detectors but "there are a number of security protocols in place" such as cameras. She said every student is "visually scanned" as they enter the building each morning.
"We see ourselves as a family, not just a community," Wiers said. "This wasn't a surprise to God, and He's going to do something mighty with it."
In a post on its public Facebook page, the school requested prayers in the wake of the violence.
"Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS. We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able."
City Church of Madison, which shares a campus with the school, said because of the shooting, there would be no activities or events held Monday evening, but Tuesday night prayers would resume as normal.
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