Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — A 15-year-old girl student opened fire inside a classroom at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, December 16, 2024. Authorities said, the mass shooting kills a student and a teacher and injuring six others, as the suspect founded dead after allegedly taking her own life.
According to report from CNN Indonesia, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes stated that the shooting occurred just before 11:00 a.m. local time during a class session at the private Christian school, which serves approximately 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The first 911 call came from a second-grade student, typically aged 7 or 8, alerting authorities to the situation.
The suspect, a student at the school, used a handgun in the attack and was found dead by the time police arrived. The suspect apparently committing suicide with self-inflicted gunshot, as the police report no personnel fired shots at the suspect.
The mass shooting has claimed two lives, and among the six wounded victims, two students suffered life-threatening injuries, while four others sustained minor wounds. Police have not disclosed the identities of the victims.
School shootings carried out by female perpetrators remain rare in the United States. According to research, only about 3% of all mass shootings in the country involve women. The motive behind the attack remains unclear as authorities are working on an investigation with the suspect’s family.
This mass shooting incident in Wisconsin has become the latest shooting to occur at a US school. “Today is an incredibly sad day—not just for Madison, but for our entire nation—where yet again, a police chief has to hold a press conference to address violence in our community,” Chief Barnes said, as reported by Reuters.
“Every child, every person in that building is a victim, and they will remain victims forever. Trauma like this does not simply go away,” he added.
The incident adds to the growing number of school shootings in the United States, an issue that has become a focal point of political and social debate over gun control and school safety.
Mysterious Drones Sightings in New Jersey, Spark Conspiracy Theories
According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there have been 322 school shootings across the United States in 2024, the second-highest number recorded since data collection began in 1966. The figure was only a slightly lower than 2023, which recorded 349 incidents.
“We need to do better as a country and as a community to prevent gun violence,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said during the press briefing.
As the community of Madison mourns this tragic loss, the incident reignites urgent calls for stronger measures to address gun violence and ensure the safety of students and educators in schools across the United States.
(Raidi/Agung)
