Madison school shooting: Teacher, student, shooter dead; 6 hurt

(NewsNation) — A student opened fire at a Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday morning, killing at least two people and hurting another six, police said in a press conference.

The shooter is said to be a 17-year-old female student, law enforcement told the Associated Press.

The first report of a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison came in at 10:57 a.m., and when officers responded, they found multiple people dead, including a juvenile they believe was the shooter.

One student and one teacher were killed during the shooting and multiple other victims were transported to area hospitals. Two of those have critical, life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police in Madison, Wisconsin, said the shooter apparently was dead by suicide when officers arrived.

Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

Both the shooter and the student who was killed were teenagers. Due to the way the private school was structured, police said there were no injuries outside that age group.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes identified the weapon police found as a handgun. He said the gunfire was confined to one space. He didn’t specify whether it was a classroom.

Someone from the school called 911 to report an active shooter, Barnes said. He said the police training center is three miles from the school, and staff responded from there. “What began as a training day became an actual day,” he said.

The private non-denominational K-12 school has roughly 300 students on a 28-acre campus with close to 60 staff members. This was the final week of school before Christmas break. Police could not provide details on security at the school or the facility's response plans for an active shooter event.

Police are not releasing identifying details about the shooter, including age or gender, at this time but did say the shooter was a student at the school.

Responding officers did not fire their weapons and the shooter was dead when they arrived on scene, said Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes. The cause and manner of death for the shooter have not been released and it is not known if they had prior contact with law enforcement.

Police are still working to determine the motive behind the shooting and are collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. Police say the shooter’s family is cooperating, and the force is working hard to find answers.

Barnes noted “At this time, yes,” the shooter’s family is cooperating.

“I’m feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas,” he said. “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.”

Barnes said detectives were, “working hard to find as many answers as we can.”

In a statement, President Joe Biden said, "We need Congress to act. Now. From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings that don’t receive attention - it is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their class room. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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