A teenager opened fire on Monday December 16 at his school in Madison, in the state of Wisconsin, in the northern United States, killing two people and injuring six others. He was later found dead when authorities arrived, they said. This is yet another tragedy in this country regularly bereaved by school killings.
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“ Three people died, including the suspected shooter “, declared Shon Barnes, the police chief of this city in the American Midwest. The suspect, whose age or gender he does not reveal, is a “ teenage student » educated at the private school Abundant Life Christian School. The two deceased victims are a teacher and a student, Mr. Barnes said during a press conference, adding that two of the six injured students are between life and death.
In a press release, the outgoing president Joe Biden described this shooting as “ shocking » and “ senseless “. He urged Congress to “ act » to pass more restrictive laws in a country which has more individual firearms than inhabitants. “ There are no words to describe the desolation and pain we feel today said Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in a statement published on X.
At 10:57 a.m. local time (4:57 p.m. UT) on Monday, Madison police were alerted to 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 hallway “, he explained. “ We have secured the school, there are no other threats or dangers to the community “, he assured, affirming that he did not know, at present, the motivations of the suspect.
“ We must eprevent gun violence »
Tony Evers, Governor of Wisconsin, declared on his X account “ follow closely » the situation. He declared “ praying for the children, teachers, and entire Abundant Life School community as we await further information “.
“ This is truly a sad day for Madison and for our country said Mr. Barnes, who began his career as a teacher before becoming a police officer. “ 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 », Regretted the democratic councilor.
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A previous drama in September
Repeated killings in schools provoke strong emotion in public opinion in UNITED STATESa country which pays a very heavy price for the dissemination of firearms and the ease with which the population has access to them.
In September, a 14-year-old boy killed four peopletwo students his age and two teachers, by opening fire in his high school located in Georgia.
In 2012, a madman shot and killed 20 children aged six and seven in a Connecticut elementary school.
Such a traumatic event was repeated in May 2022 when an 18-year-old man was shot dead 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, in Texas. Between these two tragedies, a massacre committed in a high school in Florida, on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, triggered a vast national movement, with youth at the forefront, to demand stricter regulation of individual weapons in the United States. Without really moving the lines.
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