On Monday morning, another needless tragedy occurred when a student brought a handgun to Abundant Life Christian School, killing at least two people and wounding eight others:
In total, a student and teacher were killed and six students were injured. Two of them are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, and four suffered injuries that weren't life-threatening, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a midafternoon news conference.
Shock and grief reverberated across Wisconsin as news of the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School spread. As police methodically cleared the school, which sits on a 28-acre campus with a preschool and a church, city buses took students to a nearby clinic serving as a reunification point. Some peered out the windows, waving to reporters gathered nearby.
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Just before 11 a.m., police responded to a call of an active shooter at the K-12 school at 4901 E. Buckeye Road. Officers found a teen dead, Barnes said. He declined to provide the age and gender of the teen, who was a student at the school, and said a handgun was recovered.
Reports indicate that the fatalities include a student and a teacher. They further indicate that the shooter, a 15-year-old girl, died from a self-inflicted gunshot.
Governor Tony Evers responded to the shooting in a press release:
“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.
“Kathy and I join the people of Wisconsin in praying for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were so senselessly taken and for the educators, staff, and the entire Abundant Life school community as they grapple with the grief, trauma, and loss of this gut-wrenching tragedy. We are also praying and hoping all those injured survive and recover.
“Kathy and I are also keeping in our hearts the first responders who acted quickly and ran toward danger to help save lives. This day will no doubt weigh heavily on them, and we are grateful for their critical response efforts in answering the call when they were needed most.
“As a father, a grandfather, and as governor, it is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home. This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it.
Evers also ordered flags to be at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, December 22.
President Joe Biden has been apprised of the shooting and offered whatever federal resources might be needed.
In May of this year, another student in neigboring Mt. Horeb brought a pellet gun to school and pointed it at police before they shot and killed him.
