(The Lion) — Three are dead and six others injured at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, where a shooter believed to be a student reportedly opened fire on Monday.
The shooter is among the dead, Police Chief Shon Barnes told local media at a 12:15 p.m. press conference.
“Today around 10:57 a.m. our officers responded” to reports of an active shooter, Barnes said. Police found “multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” and “a juvenile” deceased in the building believed to be “responsible” for the shooting.
A law enforcement official unauthorized to speak told The Associated Press investigators believer the shooter used a 9mm pistol.
Officers are waiting to release the names of the victims until the families of the deceased have been contacted.
During the press conference, Barnes received an update from an official who said the number of dead rose to five, but the police department posted an update to Facebook around 30 minutes later saying only three were deceased:
“During the media briefing earlier this afternoon, it was erroneously shared 5 were deceased. Again, three people are deceased. Nine in total were injured, including the three deceased.”
Police are confident there is no further threat but continue to clear the school and vehicles, Barnes said. Public schools in Madison were also put on lockdown as a precaution after the shooting was reported.
The chief said another press conference will be held at 2:30 p.m.
The nondenominational K-12 school has nearly 400 students, according to its website, and is among the largest “nonsectarian private schools” in Madison, according to Wikipedia.
At 12:32 p.m. the school asked for prayer on its Facebook page:
“Prayers Requested! Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS. We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able. Please pray for our Challenger Family.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said on X he is monitoring the situation closely.
“We are praying for the kids, educators, and entire Abundant Life school community as we await more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond,” he also wrote.
