It was on Monday that the girl opened fire at a Christian school in Madison in the US state of Wisconsin, according to local police. A teacher, a student and herself died.
– Everything indicates that she died after shooting herself, says Police Chief Shon Barnes about the girl, who was also a student.
A further six people were injured, two of whom are being treated for life-threatening injuries. Police were alerted by a second-grader who called from the school, which has students from preschool through junior high.
– When we train, we always say: “It’s an exercise, it’s just an exercise”. When they heard: “Shutdown”, and nothing
else, they knew it was real, says Barbara Wiers, head of school.
No motive
During the evening, the girl’s home was searched and several family members have been interrogated, but so far the police have not been able to establish a motive.
However, Madison police say they are aware of a document – described on social media as a manifesto – circulating online, which they are investigating but have not yet been able to verify as genuine.
– It really is a sad day in Madison. And for our country. It’s a day that I think will live on with us, for a very long time, says police chief Shon Barnes.
The school shooting is the 322nd in a row this year in the United States, which is the second-highest in a single year since records began in 1966, surpassed only by last year’s 349 shootings.