The shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday was the 83rd school shooting recorded in 2024, surpassing 2023 for the most school shootings in a single year since the CNN began tracking the attacks in 2008.
The start of the academic year in early fall was punctuated by several shootings — including an apparent murder-suicide on the first day of classes at Rice University in Houston on August 26.
The following week, a 14-year-old gunman killed four victims at a high school in Winder, Georgia — making it the deadliest school shooting of the year.
Wisconsin shaken: the state has experienced a series of other scares in recent months. In May, police shot and killed a student who brought a gun near a high school in the village of Mount Horeb, about 23 miles southwest of Madison.
The student was a minor and was unable to enter the school. No one else was injured.
In November, a 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of planning a shooting in Kenosha, near Lake Michigan, after trying to enter a secure area of an elementary school carrying two bags.
The boy had been researching school shootings online and made several comments to other students about the incidents months earlier, police said.
What we know so far about the Wisconsin case:
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes provided updates during a press conference later Monday night:
- Location: the shooting took place “in a classroom located in a study hall for students in mixed grades”;
- Child called emergency: a second grader at the school called 911 to report the shooting;
- Reported manifesto: Authorities are aware of what was posted, and the person who posted it is “allegedly linked to the victim, but we have not been able to verify whether it is authentic.” Officials did not locate who made the post, but shared information with the FBI for help;
- Suspect’s family: The suspect’s father spoke to police at one of the facilities, investigators are trying to determine what he may or may not have known;
- The suspect’s gender: Asked by a reporter whether the suspect was transgender, the officer said he didn’t know and “frankly, I don’t think it’s important.” Adding that he doesn’t think what happened “has anything to do with it”;
- No previous interactions: Police are not aware of any prior interactions with the 15-year-old suspect;
- Victims: Barnes said he wants to make sure all family members are notified before releasing the ages and names of the shooting victims. Additionally, two of the six people who were injured are students in critical condition and have life-threatening injuries.
This content was originally published in Wisconsin school shooting was the 83rd of 2024 in the USA on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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