Wisconsin School Closed After Hostage Situation
UPDATED 11/30/10 11:47 a.m.
MARINETTE, Wis. (CBS) - A high school hostage situation in Wisconsin is over, after a student pulled a handgun and held 23 classmates and a teacher before shooting himself.
As Tammy Elliott of CBS affiliate WFRV-TV/Green Bay reports, the 15-year-old gunman was ultimately the only person injured. As of Tuesday morning, he was in grave condition at an area hospital, CBS News Correspondent Dean Reynolds reported.
Students at the school at 2135 Pierce Ave. in Marinette, were relieved, but shaken, Tuesday morning.
"I'm just scared to go back to school, because you never know what can happen," said student Brendon Wuhrman. "It could happen again."
Just before classes let out on Monday, police say the student pulled out a gun in class and fired two shots, striking a film projector. He was also armed with another gun and a knife.
"At first we did not know what was going on, but then he pulled out his gun and shot the projector," said Jeffrey Campbell, one of the students in the classroom.
Terrified Marinette High School students did their best to keep the 15-year-old gunman calm, spending hours talking to him about hunting and fishing, said student Zach Campbell – one of five hostages who were released after convincing the teen they had to use the bathroom.
"We just wanted to be on his good side," Zach Campbell said. He said the gunman seemed depressed. "But he didn't really seem like he wanted to hurt anybody."
Officers who had positioned themselves outside the classroom said they heard three gunshots shortly after 8 p.m. and busted through the door, Police Chief Jeff Skorik said. The gunman, who was standing at the front of the classroom, shot himself as officers approached, the chief said.
"He was not willing to speak with law enforcement, but we were able to speak with the teacher and learn there were no injuries inside the room," Skorik said.
Skorik declined to release the teen's name, saying he was taken to an area hospital and his condition was not available Monday night.
The motive remains a mystery, he said.
"As far as we have gathered to this point, nothing specific identified by the hostage taker, as far as reasoning behind holding those children in the classroom with a firearm," Skorik said.
Outside the classroom, choral teacher Bonita Weydt said she was talking with a teacher in another room at the end of the day when principal Corry Lambie came in.
"I said, `Corry, what's going on?' and he said, `Get out of the building,'" Weydt said.
Cartridge casings from both a .22 caliber semiautomatic weapon and a 9 mm semiautomatic were found at the scene.
The teen had made his classmates put their cell phones in the middle of the room and broke his own phone when it rang, Campbell said.
After the standoff ended, anxious parents met throughout the evening with officials at the county courthouse, where they were later reunited with their students amid hugs and tears of relief. Many declined to comment as they ushered their children to waiting vehicles.
Some expressed shock at the boy's actions. Keith Schroeder, a former Marinette middle school teacher, said he had the gunman as a student and also knows the teacher well. He said the teen's family is extremely involved in all their boys' lives.
"He's a fine young man, and I'm totally taken aback," Schroeder told The Associated Press. "Surprised, flabbergasted to say the least because this is a great family. It doesn't fit any of the things or the molds that you read about people. I couldn't say enough good things about the family."
Marinette High School has an annual enrollment of approximately 800 students, according to its website.
"They just spent a whole bundle of money on classroom doors to make them secure, but they don't have metal detectors at the school," said councilman Bradley Behrendt.
Marinette Schools Superintendent Tim Baneck noted the community went through an emergency response training exercise last year.
"So the local law enforcement officials as well as the educators were all involved in a mock shooter situation, so it is actually very fresh in our minds in terms of the training we just went through," he said.
On Tuesday, the people of the small town of 12,000 are only left to come to grips with the frightening incident.
"It's mind-boggling. You don't expect it to happen here," a man said.
It may take some time before one of the biggest questions is answered – why the 15-year-old gunman turned on his fellow classmates
"It's really sad that anyone gets to this point, that they have to do this," a woman said.
WFRV-TV's Tammy Elliott and CBS News Correspondent Dean Reynolds contributed to this report.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
