Shooting suspect, 14, killed by cops after bringing a gun to Wisconsin middle school
The male student never made it into the school and was ‘neutralized’ outside, authorities say
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A 14-year-old middle school student was shot and killed by police on Wednesday after the teenager was seen approaching the building with a gun, authorities reported.
Police responded to Mount Horeb Middle School in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin after gunshots sent terrified students fleeing and prompted an hours-long lockdown of schools in the area.
The shooter never made it inside the building and was “neutralized” outside, State Attorney General Josh Kaul said. No one was injured and an investigation is ongoing.
Kaul confirmed that the shooting suspect was a male student in the Mount Horeb Area School District. He did not give details about which school the student attended.
Police remained on the scene for hours while students were kept locked down in buildings late into the afternoon before slowly being released to relatives.
Parents described children hiding in closets and afraid to communicate on cell phones. One middle schooler said his class initially fled the school gym on in-line skates, according toThe Associated Press.
The district used Facebook posts throughout the day to give updates. The earliest, around 11am, reported that all district schools were on lockdown.
Authorities in Mount Horeb said the “alleged assailant” was the only person harmed, and witnesses described hearing gunshots and seeing dozens of children running.
Jeanne Keller told The Associated Press that she heard about five gunshots while in her nearby shop, The Quilting Jeanne.
“It was maybe like pow-pow-pow-pow,” Ms Keller said. “I thought it was fireworks. I went outside and saw all the children running ... I probably saw 200 children.”
Max Kelly, 12, was in the school gym practicing in-line skating when they heard gunshots. He said his teacher told the class to flee so they skated to a street, ditched their skates and ran to a nearby convenience store and gas station, and hid in a bathroom.
Kelly, shoeless, was reunited with his parents and sat on a hillside with them early Wednesday afternoon waiting for his younger siblings to be released from their own schools. “I don’t think anywhere is safe anymore,” his mother Alison Kelly told The Associated Press.
Mount Horeb Area School District Superintendent Steve Salerno told The Associated Press that without recent security upgrades “this could have been a far worse tragedy.”
He said students immediately told school staff about seeing someone suspicious outside the building but did not elaborate.
“It’s an experience that you just pray to God every day that you just don’t ever have to enter into,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report