MOUNT HOREB, Wis. (AP) – Police shot and killed a student outside a Wisconsin middle school on Wednesday after responding to a report of a person with a weapon, the state’s attorney general said, as children fled and riots broke out. He spoke at the first law enforcement briefing regarding the shooting incident that led to the shooting. A several-hour lockdown of local schools.
Authorities previously said an active shooter, who never entered the building, was “neutralized” outside Mount Horeb Middle School. State Attorney General Josh Kaul told reporters Wednesday night that there were no other injuries and the investigation was ongoing.
“This incident occurred outdoors. The subject of this incident was never allowed to enter,” he said.
Authorities described the student as a male juvenile, but did not say his age or which school he attended in the Mount Horeb area.
Kaul declined to answer several questions about what happened after police responded, including whether students fired shots, what type of weapon they had and whether they tried to enter the school. did. Authorities said multiple Mount Horeb police officers wearing body cameras fired shots, but did not say how many.
Police remained at the scene several hours later, and students were kept in the building until late afternoon, when they were gradually released to relatives.
It was an anxious and restless wait for panicked children and frightened parents. Parents said they hid in closets because they feared their children would be communicating on cellphones, and one middle school student said his class initially ran out of the school gym on inline skates.
The district used Facebook posts throughout the day to provide updates, the earliest of which was around 11:30 a.m., reporting that all schools in the district were on lockdown. Mount Horeb authorities said the only person affected was the “alleged assailant” and that witnesses heard gunshots and saw dozens of children running. .
Hours later, school buses remained lined up on the block outside the middle school, and police tape surrounded the middle school, nearby high school, and the playground between the two buildings.
“The initial search of the middle school yielded no new suspects,” said a post around noon. “Equally important, there are no reports of any individuals being harmed other than the alleged perpetrators.”
Earlier, the school district posted, without elaborating, that “the threat has been neutralized outside the building” in Mount Horeb, a small village about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the state capital, Madison.
Jeanne Keller said she was at her Quilting Jeanne store, just down the road from the middle school, when she heard about five gunshots.
“It was probably like pow pow pow,” Keller told The Associated Press by phone. “I thought it was fireworks. I went outside and saw all the kids running…I probably saw 200 kids.”
One middle school student said his class was practicing inline skating in the school gymnasium when they heard gunshots.
Max Kelly, 12, said the teacher told the class to run. He said they skated out into the street, took off their inline skates, ran into a nearby convenience store and gas station, and hid in a restroom.
Shoeless, Kelly was reunited with his parents and sat with them on a hillside early Wednesday afternoon, waiting for his younger siblings to be released from school.
“I don’t feel safe anywhere anymore,” said her mother, Alison Kelly, 32.
Mount Horeb police said they were unable to provide any information immediately afterward. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office directed reporters to a waiting area, but again did not provide any updates.
Worried parents crowded the bus stand for hours waiting for their children. Kaul did not provide further details, but said law enforcement is concerned that the threat may continue. He said investigators have attempted to interview students who have been reunited with their parents.
Shannon Heard, 44, and her ex-husband, Nacien Heard, 39, sat waiting for their 13-year-old son Noah, who was still at school in lockdown.
Shannon Hurd said Noah texted her that he loved her and nearly fell down the stairs at work while rushing to school.
“I just want kids,” she said. “They should be safe at school.”
Stacey Smith, 42, was at the bank Wednesday when she saw a police car drive by and received a text message warning her of a gunman.
She was initially unable to reach her two children, Abi, a middle school student, and Cole, a seventh grader. Eventually she reached Abi by phone, but she whispered that the girl was hiding in the closet and she couldn’t talk. She eventually connects with both and finds out they are okay.
“He’s not here,” she said incredulously. “You hear this everywhere else, but not here.”
Schools across the country have sought ways to prevent mass shootings within their walls, including physical safety measures and active shooter drills. Technology including detailed digital maps. Many also rely on teachers and administrators working to detect early signs of mental health issues in students.
Mount Horeb Area School District Superintendent Steve Salerno suggested that without recent security upgrades, “this could have been a much worse tragedy.” He said students immediately notified school officials of seeing a suspicious person outside the building, but did not provide further details.
“It’s an experience that you just pray to God every day, you never have to go in,” Salerno told reporters.
The village has a population of approximately 7,600 people and is home to the headquarters of outdoor retailer Duluth Trading Company. Mount Horeb advertises itself as the “Troll Capital of the World,” a nod to the troll sculptures placed throughout the downtown area.
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Associated Press writers Corey Williams in Detroit and Rick Callahan in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
