Two armed Wisconsin high school students were shot by police officers in just two days.
On Monday, a responding police officer shot an armed male student at Waukesha South High School after the teen pointed a gun at officers, reports AP News. The 17-year-old is in custody and listed in stable condition. No officers or other students were injured.
The shooting occurred around 10:17 a.m. after a student told the school’s resource officer that a classmate had pointed a gun at another student’s head. The SRO went to confront the student in a classroom, according to Waukesha Police Chief Russell Jack. Additional Waukesha police and sheriff’s deputies arrived at the school but were unable to de-escalate the situation.
“The suspect would not remove his hands from his pocket and continued to ignore officers’ commands,” Jack said. “The suspect removed his handgun from his waistband and pointed it at the officers.”
That’s when one of the responding officers, an 11-year veteran of the Waukesha Police Department, shot the student three times — twice in the arm and once in the leg. Officers placed the student in handcuffs and applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding. It was later determined the student’s weapon was a pellet gun and a second pellet gun was discovered in the teen’s backpack.
Linda Ager told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the shooting happened in the classroom of her husband, Brett Hart, who is a special education teacher. Ager said Hart restrained the student until the SRO arrived, allowing other students to evacuate.
“There was an altercation between students, and he stepped in between the students,” she said. “I think that my husband would have done whatever it took to keep that student from harming other people.”
Second Officer-Involved Shooting in Less Than 24 Hours
The following day, 80 miles north at Oshkosh West High School, an SRO shot a student after the boy stabbed him in his office, reports ABC News.
Oshkosh Police Chief Dean Smith said the officer and the 16-year-old got in an altercation and the student stabbed the officer with an “edged weapon.” The officer responded by firing his 9 mm pistol, striking the student once. The officer called for help at 9:12 a.m. and first responders arrived within two minutes, Smith added.
Both the officer and the student were hospitalized but are expected to recover. No one else was injured.
Additionally, Oshkosh police said its officers are investigating “a comment that was made on social media implying a possible threat” toward Oshkosh North High School.
“A comment was written on the Oshkosh Police Department’s Facebook page under the post about the officer-involved shooting that occurred at Oshkosh West [High School],” the police department said in a statement.
Police said they do not believe students are in further danger but classes have been canceled Wednesday throughout the Oshkosh Area School District.
Although there are no laws in Wisconsin requiring schools have armed officers, the state Department of Justice has adopted best practices recommended by the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO). The state guidelines also recommend officers receive training in child development, restraint policies and de-escalation strategies, according to AP News.
“Today’s tragic event shows that trained school resource officers can save lives,” said Oshkosh Superintendent Vickie Cartwright.
