Some of the youngest survivors of the mass shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, have described the horrors they witnessed, including one who saw an injured teacher screaming for help. It is said that he witnessed it.
Nora Gottschalk, 8, was walking down the hallway getting ready for lunch when gunfire began inside Abundant Life Christian School just before 11 a.m. Monday.
“I was preparing lunch when I just heard gunshots.” [sic]” said a young girl. told WISC TV.
When the shots started ringing out, she saw a teacher she knew screaming for help.
“And then there was the teacher, screaming, 'Oh, my feet!'” Help! help me! ” Gottschalk said.
“It was really scary, and it was really sad,” added the second-grader, clutching a SpongeBob ice cream as he reunited with his family.
Adler Jean-Charles, a sixth-grader, said he was taking English classes at the Christian school when it went into lockdown.
“I heard two (gunshots),” he said. WISC TV. “Some of them started crying, but we just waited until the police came and took us away.”
“It was scary. Why did they do that?” asked a confused sixth grader.
Jean-Charles and the Abundant Life Christian School students were taken to the hospital, where they were later rescued by police and reunited with their parents.
But the frightened boy said he didn't feel “safe” until he met his mother.
Mireille Jean-Charles, a mother of two sons who attend Abundant Life Christian School, said that after being reunited with her children, she broke down in tears and began praying with them.
“It's sad when you're at home and someone calls you and says your child's school is on lockdown and there's a shooting and they don't know where they are,” she said.
Another young student, along with his parents, said: told WISN How did she hear “gunshots and screams”?
“It was really scary. I was scared too. My friends were scared too,” the girl explained.
It took about five to six hours before he was reunited with his parents.
Another mother said she rushed to the school as soon as she heard of the shooting, even briefly FaceTimed her daughter to make sure she was safe on the way.
“I just jumped out, drove over here, called my husband, and he headed over here,” Bethany Hyman said.
Hyman said it felt surreal rushing to the school to make sure her child was safe, knowing there was a shooting going on.
“I send my daughter to school knowing full well that things like this are happening in the world, that people are struggling, and that I am concerned for her safety and the safety of the school as a whole. I’m praying,” she said.
Abundant Life is a K-12 nondenominational Christian school with approximately 420 students located in the state capital, Madison.
Police say the gunman was Natalie “Samantha” Lupenau; A 15-year-old student brought a handgun to campus and opened fire around 11 a.m. inside a study hall classroom filled with students from various grades.
Madison Police Chief Sean Burns said Monday night that a second-grader in a nearby classroom called 911 for help as gunshots rang out, and police arrived on the scene in about three minutes.
The teenager and teacher were pronounced dead at the scene, and another teacher and five other students were injured.
Two of the students suffered serious, life-threatening injuries.
Rapnow suffered self-inflicted gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital.
Burns said a motive for the shooting was not immediately known and it was not clear whether the victim was targeted.
A SWAT team raided Lupnow's family's home Monday night, breaching the front door and conducting a thorough search inside. WISN reported.
Investigators believe the gunman used a 9mm handgun, said a law enforcement official who asked not to be identified because the investigation is ongoing. Associated Press.
The Madison Police Chief said law enforcement is speaking with the shooter's father and other family members.
“Every child in that building, every person, is a victim and will forever be a victim…We are trying to figure out and piece together what exactly happened. We need to,” Burns said.
with post wire
