Area near Madison Abundant Life Christian School on Dec. 16, 2024, after news of an active shooter at the school.
MADISON, Wis. – Madison police say five people are dead and five others were wounded after a shooting at Madison Abundant Life Christian School on Monday morning, Dec. 16. The suspected shooter, a student, is one of the deceased.
“Today is a sad, sad day, not only for Madison before our entire country, where yet another police chief is doing a press conference to speak about violence in our community, specifically in one of the places that’s most sacred to me as someone who loves education and to someone who has children that are in schools,” said Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes.
Officers were dispatched to the scene just before 11 a.m. Monday. When police arrived on the scene, they found multiple victims – and the shooter deceased in the building.
Madison Christian school shooting: 5 dead, 5 hurt, police chief says
Five people are dead after a shooting at a Christian school in Madison Monday Dec. 16, 2024, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said in a press conference, and five others were injured. The suspected shooter is among the deceased.
Madison’s police chief indicated his officers were trained for a situation like this school shooting as recently as two weeks ago. Those officers are trained to “stop the killing, to stop the dying and find who is responsible.” Officers did not fire their weapons.
The school has been through a secondary clearing. Investigators also went through the school with the help of what officials called “bomb dogs.”
“To be honest with you, I’m feeling a little dismayed now,” Chief Barnes said, “So close to Christmas, every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. And these types of trauma don’t just go away. And we need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened.”
Shooting at Madison Abundant Life Christian School
The ATF is already on the scene and assisting investigators from Madison.
Parents of students at the school are reuniting with their children at a center about a half-mile from the school.
Madison police expect to have another update on their investigation around 2:30 p.m. CT. FOX6 News will stream that update.
Gov. Evers response
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued the following statement on this shooting:
“I am closely monitoring the incident at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison. 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.”
Avoid the area
For those in the area, roads will be blocked off along 4900 Buckeye Road. Drivers and community members are asked to find alternate routes in travel is needed in this area.
Map of Madison Abundant Life Christian School on E. Buckeye Road in Madison, Wisc.
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The Dane County Sheriff’s office is assisting with the investigation.
Madison Abundant Life Christian School (Credit: Olivia Buss)
FOX6 News has multiple crews heading to the scene – and we will update this post when more information is available.
