A teacher and a student were killed in a shooting at a private school in the US city of Madison, the city's police chief said at a press conference on Monday.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the suspected shooter was a 15-year-old student at the school.
The gunman was pronounced dead when officers arrived at the scene, and the shooter died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, Barnes said.
The police chief added that a second-grader called 911 around 11 a.m. to report the shooting, adding, “Let that sink in for a minute.”
Officers were still investigating the motive for the shooting.
The police chief initially declined to name the suspected shooter
Barnes did not reveal the gender or name of the suspected shooter at an initial press conference.
But US media such as the Associated Press Agency and the New York Times reported that the shooter was female.
The police chief claimed that the suspected shooter's family was cooperating with officials and that all remaining children had been reunited with their families.
Barnes said two students remain in the hospital in critical condition and their injuries are life-threatening.
Four people were also injured, he added. These injuries were not life-threatening and two of those injured were released from the hospital.
Biden is urging Congress to enact stricter gun laws
President Joe Biden called the shooting “shocking and irresponsible” in a statement on Monday. “We need Congress to act. Now,” he said.
“From Newtown to Uvalde, from Parkland to Madison, and so many other shootings that go unnoticed — It is unacceptable that we cannot protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. “We cannot continue to accept it as normal,” he said.
“Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom. Students across our country should learn to read and write.” — I don’t have to learn to duck and take cover,” he added.
Headteacher says pupils behaved “outstandingly”.
Abundant Life Christian School is a private school attended by approximately 400 children from kindergarten through 12th grade.
A school official told reporters at a news conference that when students were asked to go into lockdown, they knew very quickly that it was not a drill.
“The students did great,” said Barbara Wiers. “When they heard 'Lockdown, Lockdown,' they knew it was real,” she said.
School shootings are not uncommon in the United States. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database website, approximately 322 shootings have been reported this year alone.
Such shootings often spark heated political debates over gun control, with many blaming easy access to guns in the U.S. for the high number of school killings.
ab/rc,rm (Reuters, AP)
