Wisconsin school shooting: Three dead including 15-year-old female suspect - six others injured
A teacher and a pupil at a Christian school in Wisconsin have been shot dead in a school shooting.
The incident took place at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, with police identifying the shooter as a 15-year-old female student. Natalie Runpow, who went by the name Samantha, was found dead at the scene.
Cops said that it appeared that the shooter had taken her own life, and was dead by the time officers arrived at the scene. Six others were injured in the attack, with four remaining in hospital. While two have been described as “stable”, the other two victims remain in critical condition.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said: “I’m feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas. 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.”
He added that a motive for the shooting was not immediately known, adding: “I don’t know why, and I feel like if we did know why, we could stop these things from happening.”
Abundant Life is home to 390 students from nursery age to high school. According to reports, a second grade child was the first to raise the alarm over the active shooting.
In a statement, the White House said that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation and officials were in contact with local authorities to offer support.
Wisconsin governor Tony Evers said: “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.”