A teenage student and a teacher have been killed and six others injured after a school shooting at a private Christian school in Wisconsin.
While police have not released any information about the shooter, they confirmed that he was also found dead when officers arrived at the scene, just after 11am local time.
Police earlier believed five people had died, but have since confirmed three were killed at the Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said six other students were being treated at area hospitals, including two in critical condition with life-threatening injuries and four with non-life-threatening injuries.
A spokesperson for SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital confirmed to AP they had received patients from the shooting, but would not disclose further details.
Barnes said police officers who responded did not fire their weapons, but confirmed a handgun was found at the school.
He did not elaborate on the weapon found but said the shooting was confined to one space.
Barnes described the shooting as a “sad” day for the community.
“I’m feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas,” Barnes said.
“Every child, every person in that building is a victim, and will be a victim forever. These types of trauma don’t just go away.
“My heart is heavy for Madison and we have to come together as a community and find out what happened here and make sure it doesn’t happen in any other place that should be a refuge for students in our community.
“These types of trauma don’t just go away, we need to figure out and piece together what actually happened.”
The Abundant Life Christian School has since posted on Facebook, asking for community members to send prayers.
“Prayers Requested! Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS. We are in the midst of following up,” the post said.
“We will share information as we are able. Please pray for our Challenger Family.”
Police had blocked off roads around the school following the shooting.
Barnes said the attack took place about 4.8km away from a police training centre.
He said officers that arrived at the shooting “got to practice in real time”.
“They left the training centre and began doing in real-time what they had actually practiced,” he said.
Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have responded to the scene to assist local law enforcement.
“We are praying for the kids, educators, and entire Abundant Life school community as we await more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond,” Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said in a statement.
Abundant Life Christian School is nondenominational and has about 390 students, from kindergarten through high school, according to its website.
There have been 322 school shootings this year in the US, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database website.
