MOUNT HOREB, WI — Mount Horeb police shot and killed an armed male student outside Mount Horeb Middle School on Wednesday, averting a potential mass tragedy.
The ordeal left this southwestern Dane County community shaken as frightened parents waited for hours for their children to be released from school.
The student arrived with a gun to the middle school around 11:30 a.m. but did not manage to get into the school or injure other students and staff, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said. During a confrontation with Mount Horeb police, including a school resource officer, the student was shot and killed.
"This is an event that shatters the safety people feel sending their kid to school," Kaul said during a press conference at the Mount Horeb village hall Wednesday night.
Mount Horeb cancelled school Thursday, with the district promising to update staff and students about available support services before 10 a.m.
Mount Horeb Superintendent Steve Salerno said students "saw something" as the teen approached the school and alerted school staff.
"Those students were able to communicate immediately as to what they had seen, and staff was able to take decisive action quickly," he said.
Salerno said more violence likely was prevented thanks to investments to school safety across the district made via referendums. Those include vestibules and locked front doors.
"This could have been a far worse tragedy," Salerno said at the press conference. "We are beyond grateful for the community support of our beautiful children and beloved staff."
The superintendent said the staff was "loving and professional" as they cared for the students even as some of them worried about their own children who were in the building.
Kaul, citing an active investigation, declined to answer further questions about the shooter, how the incident played out, if the armed student fired the weapon and what kind of gun the student had.
Authorities said multiple Mount Horeb officers, wearing body cameras, had fired weapons but they did not say how many.
The officers involved have been put on administrative leave, which is common policy for police shootings. The Department of Justice is leading the investigation. No officers were injured during the incident.
Chaotic scenes
Witnesses near the middle school Wednesday morning described a scene of pure chaos, with students and adults fleeing the sound of gunfire and sheltering in homes and businesses.
For panicked kids and their terrified parents, it was an anxious, unsettling wait. Parents described children hiding in closets, afraid to communicate on cellphones.
Robin Wasikowski, who lives across the street from the school, said three students and a band teacher fled into her home while gunfire rang out near the school.
Jeanne Keller said she heard about five gunshots while in her shop, The Quilting Jeanne, just down the block from the middle school.
"It was maybe like pow-pow-pow-pow," Keller told The Associated Press by phone. "I thought it was fireworks. I went outside and saw all the children running ... I probably saw 200 children."
One middle-schooler said his class was in the school gym practicing in-line skating when they heard gunshots.
Max Kelly, 12, said his teacher told the class to get out of the school. He said they skated to a street, ditched their in-line skates and ran to a nearby convenience store and gas station and hid in a bathroom.
Kelly was reunited with his parents and sat on a hillside with them early Wednesday afternoon waiting for his younger siblings to be released from their own schools. He still wore socks, his shoes left behind.
"I don't think anywhere is safe anymore," said his mother, 32-year-old Alison Kelly.
Wasikowski, en route to pick up her 9-year-old daughter, recalled seeing dozens of skates scattered in the road.
"All these kids just throwing their roller blades off to run away from all this, it's the most horrifying thing I've seen," she said.
Stacy Smith, 42, was at the bank Wednesday when she saw police cars rush by and got a text warning of an active shooter.
She initially couldn't reach her two children — junior Abbi and seventh-grader Cole. Finally, she reached Abbi by phone but the girl whispered she was hiding in a closet and couldn't talk. She eventually connected with both and learned they were OK.
"Not here," she said in disbelief. "You hear about this everywhere else but not here."
Schools nationwide have sought ways to prevent mass shootings inside their walls, from physical security measures and active shooter drills to technology including detailed digital maps. Many also rely on teachers and administrators working to detect early signs of student mental health struggles.
Campus locked down
Students weren't released from the school until late afternoon Wednesday as police investigated, with parents standing outside the high school as their children stayed in classrooms and watched movies.
Kaul said law enforcement remained uncertain throughout the day whether there was an active threat to the schools and the community even after the gunman had been stopped.
Down a road lined with parked school buses, dozens of families waited to be reunited with their children at the district's bus garage.
At about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Salerno reported on the district's Facebook page that "All buses carrying students have safely transported students to the District Bus Garage."
The middle school, which has students in sixth through eighth grade, is located on 900 E. Garfield St. in the village. About 500 students attend the middle school, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
Mount Horeb's intermediate, middle and high schools all sit on a combined campus area in the village, about 20 miles southwest of Madison.
Officials offer support
Throughout Monday, messages of support poured in from state and local elected officials.
Gov. Tony Evers said on X, formerly Twitter, that he was briefed about the incident.
"I am praying for the health and safety of our kids, educators and staff and grateful for the first responders who are quickly working to respond."
Sen. Tammy Baldwin said on X: "We cannot accept this as our new norm."
State Rep. Mike Bare, whose district includes Mount Horeb, said he visited the school district with Evers and State Sen. Dianne Hesselbein a couple weeks ago.
"We saw firsthand the strength of the School District's leadership, educators and staff, and their resolve to provide a safe, equitable and fulfilling learning experience for every student," he said in a statement.
"I've grown incredibly fond of Mount Horeb and its people and I'm grieving with everyone in Mount Horeb."
The Associated Press and State Journal reporter Anna Hansen contributed to this report.
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