Minnesota, Wisconsin leaders respond after school shooting in Madison: "It has to stop"
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota and Wisconsin leaders are reacting to the deadly school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin.
Madison police say a teacher and a student were killed, and a suspect was found dead at the school Monday morning.
Six other students were injured. Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes said two of those students were in critical condition Monday afternoon and the other four are recovering from injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was working on an "urgent trace" of the firearm the shooter used.
The shooter has not been identified, but authorities say they were dead by the time officers arrived and no police fired their weapons.
Minnesota leaders react
"Minnesota is praying for our neighbors in Wisconsin as America once again mourns the loss of innocent, young lives at the hands of gun violence," Gov. Tim Walz said in an X post. "Gun violence should not be a fact of life for children in our country."
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Monday's shooting was horrific.
"My thoughts are with the students, teachers, and families of Abundant Life as we wait to hear more on the situation," she said.
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith shared a similar sentiment.
"Horrified by the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison," Smith said. "Thankful for the first responders who came quickly to the scene. I'm thinking of the families who will spend the holidays without their child, their sibling or their grandchild. It has to stop."
Wisconsin leaders react
Gov. Tony Evers has ordered flags across Wisconsin be flown at half-staff to honor the shooting victims.
"As a father, a grandfather, and as governor, it is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home," he said in a written statement. "This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it."
U.S. Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin say they are monitoring the situation.
