An armed student who was shot and killed this week before storming a Wisconsin middle school pointed a pellet gun at police, prosecutors said Saturday.
The unnamed student was found in possession of a Ruger 177-caliber pellet rifle outside Mount Horeb Middle School on Wednesday, according to the state Department of Justice.
“Officers instructed the subject to drop the weapon, but the subject did not comply,” the police department said. said in a release.
“The subject pointed a gun at the officers, and law enforcement then opened fire, striking the subject. Life-saving measures were performed, but the subject died at the scene.”
There were no other injuries. The Mount Horeb police officers involved have been placed on administrative leave in accordance with department policy.
The Prosecutor’s Office and Criminal Bureau is investigating the shooting incident.
According to prosecutors, police responded to the middle school around 11:15 a.m. after receiving a 911 call about a suspicious person walking toward the building with a long gun.
Authorities have not released the name of the shooter, only identifying him as a juvenile.
Although the would-be shooter never made it inside the school, the horrific incident caused young students to flee for their lives – some on inline skates.
Terrified parents said their children hid in closets and were afraid to pull out their cellphones to call or text.
One middle school student, Max Kelly, 12, said his class was practicing inline skating in the school gymnasium when he heard gunshots.
When the teacher ordered the entire class to leave the school, the students skated out into the street, threw away their skates, and fled to a convenience store and gas station, where they hid in a bathroom.
Mount Horeb, about 40 miles west of the state capital, Madison, is home to about 7,600 people and is home to the Duluth Trading Company headquarters, a retailer of outerwear.
