Teen arrested after staff foils potential school shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) — Staff at a Kenosha, Wisconsin elementary school prevented a possible shooting by stopping a teen with a rifle on Thursday.
"We narrowly missed a tragedy," Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton said
Officials said a 13-year-old middle school student showed up at Roosevelt Elementary School with a backpack and a black duffel bag. Staff approached the teen as he tried to get in a side entrance.
School staff members questioned the teen in a secured entrance area, and surveillance video showed a large black bag at his side, Patton said.
"The only reason the individual was not able to fully enter the school was because of the quick and diligent actions of the school staff," he said Thursday at a news conference.
The boy ran away when staff approached him, but hours later police located him. He surrendered and was arrested, and no injuries were reported.
As CBS 58 reported, Kenosha police obtained video of the suspect holding a semi-automatic rifle in a home.
"We're just going to re-encourage everybody when they see something, say something, help us out. Have those talks with your children," Patton said. "This video shouldn't have been seen by us today. This should have been reported to us earlier."
Investigators also found internet searches for school shootings and said he made comments to other students about shootings.
"This is something that had been told to people of his growing intentions," Patton said. "We know that there is internet searches and all the red flags that we would look for and expect someone to report were there."
The teen remains in custody. His mother is also cooperating with the police. Police have not released the boy's identity or said how he had access to the gun.
The teen attends Mahone Middle School and was a former Roosevelt Elementary student, police said.
All Kenosha Unified schools were placed on a "secure hold" lockdown for the rest of Thursday. There are no classes Friday at the school; the district had previously scheduled a day off for students for a staff work day.