Police killed student outside Wisconsin school after reports of someone with a gun, official says

MOUNT HOREB, ​​Wis. (AP) — Police shot and killed a student outside a Wisconsin high school Wednesday after receiving a report of someone with a gun, the state’s attorney general said in the first briefing on gunshots that caused children to flee and led to an hours-long closure of local schools.

Authorities had previously said that an active shooter who never entered the building was “neutralized” outside Mount Horeb High School. State Attorney General Josh Kaul told reporters Wednesday night that no one else was injured and that an investigation is underway.

“This incident occurred outdoors. The subject of this case never managed to enter,” he stated.

Authorities described the student as a minor, but did not provide an age or indicate which of the Mount Horeb district schools he attended.

Kaul declined to answer several questions about what happened once police responded, including whether the student had fired a gun, what type of gun he had and whether he attempted to enter the school. Authorities said several Mount Horeb officers, wearing body cameras, had fired weapons, but did not say how many.

Police remained on the scene hours later as the students remained locked in buildings until late in the afternoon before being slowly released to their families.

For the terrified children and their terrified parents, it was an anxious and unsettling wait. Parents described children hiding in closets, afraid to communicate on cell phones, and one high school student said her class initially fled the school gym on roller skates.

The district used Facebook posts throughout the day to provide updates, with the earliest around 11:30 a.m. reporting that all district schools were closed. Mount Horeb authorities said the “suspected shooter” was the only person injured, and witnesses described hearing gunshots and seeing dozens of children running.

Several hours later, school buses remained lined up for blocks outside the high school and police tape surrounded the high school, the nearby high school and the playing fields between the two buildings.

“An initial search of the high school has turned up no additional suspects,” a post read around noon. “Equally important is that we have no reports of anyone being harmed, with the exception of the alleged attacker.”

Previously, the district posted, without elaborating, that “the threat has been neutralized outside the building” in Mount Horeb, a small town about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the state capital, Madison.

Jeanne Keller said she heard about five gunshots while she was in her store The Quilting Jeanne, just down the block from the high school.

“Maybe it was like pow-pow-pow-pow,” Keller told The Associated Press by phone. “I thought they were fireworks. “I came out and saw all the kids running… I probably saw 200 kids.”

A high school student said his class was in the school gym practicing inline skating when they heard gunshots.

Max Kelly, 12, said his teacher told the class to run away. He said they skated to a street, ditched their in-line skates, ran to a nearby convenience store and gas station and hid in a bathroom.

Kelly, barefoot, joined his parents and sat with them on a hillside early Wednesday afternoon waiting for his younger siblings to leave their own schools.

“I don’t think any place is safe,” said his mother, Alison Kelly, 32.

Mount Horeb police said they could not provide information in the following hours. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office directed reporters to a staging area but also did not provide updates.

Anxious parents spent hours crowding a bus station waiting for their children. Kaul said authorities were concerned about the possibility of an ongoing threat, although he did not provide further details. He said investigators attempted to interview the students while they were meeting with their parents.

Shannon Hurd, 44, and her ex-husband, Nathian Hurd, 39, were sitting waiting for their 13-year-old son, Noah, who was still at the closed school.

Shannon Hurd said Noah texted her that he loved her and that she almost fell down the stairs at work while running to school.

“I just love my son,” he said. “They’re supposed to be safe at school.”

Stacy Smith, 42, was at the bank Wednesday when she saw police cars passing by and received a text message warning of an active shooter.

At first she couldn’t communicate with her two children: Abbi, a seventh grader, and Cole, a seventh grader. Finally, she contacted Abbi by phone, but the girl whispered to her that she was hiding in a closet and she couldn’t speak. She finally connected with both of them and knew they were okay.

“Not here,” he said in disbelief. “You hear about this everywhere, but not here.”

Schools across the country have looked for ways to prevent mass shootings within their walls, from physical security measures and active shooter drills to technology including detailed digital maps. Many also rely on teachers and administrators to work to detect early signs of student mental health problems.

Mount Horeb Area School District Superintendent Steve Salerno suggested that without recent safety improvements “this could have been a much worse tragedy.” He said students immediately told school staff they saw someone suspicious outside the building, but did not provide further details.

“It’s an experience where you just pray to God every day and you never have to go in,” Salerno told reporters.

The town is home to about 7,600 people and is the headquarters of outdoor gear retailer Duluth Trading Company. Mount Horeb bills itself as the “troll capital of the world,” referring to the troll carvings stationed throughout the downtown district.

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Associated Press reporters Corey Williams in Detroit and Rick Callahan in Indianapolis contributed to this report.