Three people, including a young suspect, have died and several are injured after a shooting at a school in Wisconsin.
The shooting occurred at Abundant Life Christian School in the state capital Madison and children were among the dead, police said.
“Officers found multiple victims with gunshot wounds when they arrived at the scene,” said Shon Barnes, chief of Madison Police.
“Officers located a juvenile, who they believed was responsible for this, deceased in the building.”
The officers who responded did not fire their weapons, he added, suggesting the suspect killed themselves.
Police believe the suspected shooter was a student at the school.
Earlier police said five people had died in the shooting, but later said that was incorrect.
Pic: AP
Seven people suffered “minor to life-threatening injuries,” police said.
“Today is a sad, sad day, not only for Madison, but for our entire country, where yet another police chief is doing a
press conference to speak about violence in our community,” Mr 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.”
Parents reunite with their children after the shooting. Pic: AP
Video posted from the scene on social media showed a significant emergency response, including police, ambulance and fire vehicles.
The school is a private institution that teaches some 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, according to its website.
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, the White House said.
Wisconsin governor Tony Evers said: “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.”
There have been a total of 486 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Of the 15,992 killed in 2024, 236 were children between the age of 0-11 and 1,100 were teenagers between 12-17.