Keystone-SDA
A teenager opened fire on Monday at his school in Madison, in the northern United States. He killed two people and injured six others before being found dead, yet another tragedy in this country regularly bereaved by school killings.
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December 16, 2024 – 11:32 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) “Three people are dead, including the suspected shooter,” said Shon Barnes, the police chief of this Midwestern city. The suspect, whose age or gender he does not reveal, is a “teenage student” attending the private school Abundant Life Christian School. The two dead are a teacher and a student, he said, adding that two of the six injured students are between life and death.
Madison police were notified at 10:57 a.m. local time of a shooting in progress at this private Christian school which welcomes nearly 400 students, ranging from kindergarten to high school. “The shooter was dead before we arrived,” said Shon Barnes, specifying that a “handgun” had been found at the scene of the tragedy.
The killing occurred in a single area of the establishment: “I don’t know if it was in a classroom or in a corridor,” he noted. “We have secured the school, there are no other threats or danger to the community,” he assured, affirming that he did not know, at this time, the motivations of the suspect.
“Preventing gun violence”
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said on X he was “monitoring the situation closely”. He added “praying for the children, teachers and entire community of Abundant Life School as we await further information.”
Joe Biden denounced a “shocking and senseless” act. “Congress must act,” added the American president, who has long been calling for tougher gun laws in vain.
“I think we need to do better in our country and our community to prevent gun violence,” said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. “I hoped this day would never come to Madison,” lamented the Democratic city councilor.
Repeated school killings provoke strong emotion in public opinion in the United States, a country which pays a very heavy price for the dissemination of firearms and the ease with which the population has access to them.
