MONROE — As active shooter situations become an almost daily occurrence around the U.S. — from schools to malls, grocery stories and events with large gatherings — many incidents are in large cities and states far away. Those keeping track at home can add south central Wisconsin to the map of locations of active shooters on school campuses.
On May 1, Mount Horeb schools went into lockdown as a 14-year-old student from the district arrived with a long rifle. Law enforcement quickly descended on the scene, and eventually “neutralized” the situation, shooting the assailant multiple times outside the middle school building. The name of the student had not been released as of 1 p.m. on May 2. No other students, staff or first responders were injured in the incident.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating the entirety of the incident, according to officials.
Trapped in lockdown
The chaotic scene led to an extended lockdown at the school. Some students escaped the premises immediately as the shooter was seen, seeking shelter in nearby homes. Other students and staff weren’t released from lockdown until hours after normal dismissal time — which is normally just after 3 p.m. — as students from each school were reunited with their families in waves between 5-7:30 p.m. either at the Early Learning and Primary Center or at the district bus garage. As an added precaution, guardians had to show IDs in order to pick up their children.
Calli Matzke Ingebritsen, a Juda graduate and current chorale and music teacher in Mount Horeb, wrote in a Facebook post later that night that she and 21 students spent eight hours barricaded in their classroom.
“For those of you asking what you can do, you can vote for people who will put in place common-sense gun control. It needs to be more difficult to access a gun. Full stop. Stop making excuses,” she wrote. “If I become a victim of a shooting, please use my death to advocate for change. Don’t tell me to not make this political. As my friend Dana said, you weren’t in my classroom today.”
Supporting the community
The Mount Horeb Area School District canceled classes for May 2, while also offering students, staff, families and community members crisis support.
“Our community has experienced a collective crisis and together we will provide support and work toward recovery. As a parent or caregiver, you have a powerful opportunity to support your child,” Dr. Steve Salerno, Mount Horeb District Administrator wrote to the community on Facebook May 2. “When children are impacted by a crisis, access to social supports, including time with supportive family, is a proven intervention to help them recover. Spending time with them to answer their questions and provide comfort and support is the first step.”
Among the social support offered by the district was a “demonstration of community cohesion” at the high school commons Thursday (May 2) afternoon.
“It is important for recovery to return to a predictable and normal routine. We are carefully planning for the upcoming days, and will send you an update,” Salerno said.
The district also shared on Facebook a wide range of tips for parents to have age-appropriate conversations with their children about the incident.
Monroe superintendent Rodney Figueroa said that the incident was a reminder that there is no school or business that can anticipate or predict this sort of incident happening.
“It could happen anywhere … and it could have been much worse, but it wasn’t,” Figueroa said.
School districts around the state and nation have come up with strategies and plans in case of being faced with a similar crisis. Staff and students practice drills for active shooters and intruders, called ALICE, which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate.
While those emergency preparations have shown to keep students and staff safe in the midst of an ongoing incident, like in Mount Horeb, Figueroa said that schools also take a more subtle and personal approach to be proactive in having calmer heads and hearts prevail day in and day out. He emphasized the importance of building trustworthy relationships between staff and students, not just to build a child’s book smarts, but also to build their emotional intelligence.
“In Monroe, and at other schools all over, our connections that we try to make — those relationships we build and the support we try to share with our students — it just shows those are all important,” Figueroa said. “No matter what happens, as educators, we’re still going to love these kids.”
Elected leaders react
Elected state leaders also reacted to the incident. Governor Tony Evers said he was in contact with local school district officials and extended his full support for students, educators, staff and their families “as they grapple with what has undoubtedly been a scary and traumatic day for everyone.”
“I am praying for the health and safety of our kids, educators, and staff and grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond,” Gov. Evers said. “Every day, our kids, educators, and staff go to school and hope a day like this will never come. Having visited the district two months ago today, my heart breaks for the school, the district, and the entire Mount Horeb community.”
Jill Underly, the Department of Public Instruction State Superintendent, said her “heart broke” upon hearing the news. Before being elected as state superintendent, she served as district administrator for the Pecatonica School District in Blanchardville, just 21 miles from Mount Horeb.
“I’m sad for the great sense of anxiety and trauma caused for students, school staff, and the community, and all of us at the Department of Public Instruction stand ready to help in any way we can,” Underly said. ““Our schools should be welcoming places for all students, and they must be safe places for all students and staff.”
She thanked the Mount Horeb staff and first responders for their actions that likely saved lives. She was also thankful to Salerno and his staff for how forthcoming the district was with information, keeping the community up to date “and giving confidence students were being kept safe.”
U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02) also showed support for the district he represents, while acknowledging that similar incidents are happening way to often across the country.
“My thoughts are with the Mount Horeb community tonight. No one should live in fear of gun violence, especially those in school. I’m grateful for the quick response from first responders and law enforcement, as well as the teachers in the school. This is an unfortunate reminder that we must do everything we can to make our communities safe from the plague of gun violence,” Pocan said.
Data shows gun-related incidents rates speeding up, not slowing down
According to Statista, an international data gathering and analysis platform, there were 82 shootings on U.S. school properties in 2023 — the most in the country’s history. The U.S. averaged about 16 per year between 2008-2012, but that average more than doubled over the next five-year block (2013-17) to 38.4 per year. There were 52 incidents in 2019 — a then-record — but only 22 the following year as schools around the national balanced remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When schools returned to full in-person learning in 2021, there were 73 school-property shootings, followed by 79 in 2022.
For 2024, there were 18 such incidents as of April 18, just 15 weeks into the year.
Gun Violence Archive (GVA) is an organization that tracks gun-related incidents across the country, including mass shootings, which it qualifies as any incident with four or more victims. While the Mount Horeb incident will not register as a mass-shooting event, as only one person (the shooter) was shot, the data shows the incident rate to not be slowing down in 2024. According to GVA data, there have been 134 mass shootings in 2024 through May 1 (122 days).
Investigation involves 17 agencies
According to the DOJ and Attorney General Josh Kaul, Mount Horeb schools had been locked down late in the morning due to a safety threat. Police officers from Mount Horeb Police Department responded to a report of someone with a weapon outside the middle school. Police officers responded to the threat and used deadly force.
The incident took place outdoors. The subject never gained entry to the school buildings during the incident. While the investigation into the details remains ongoing, other than the subject, no other people were physically injured during this incident, including law enforcement officers. The involved officers were wearing body cameras during the incident and are now on administrative leave, per agency policy.
The DCI investigation is assisted by the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, Wisconsin State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Verona Police Department, Cottage Grove Police Department, Madison Police Department, Monona Police Department, Fitchburg Police Department, Iowa County Sheriff’s Office, Green County Sheriff’s Office, Blue Mounds Police Department, Cross Plains Police Department, a DCI Crime Response Specialist, and members of the DCI Digital Evidence Unit. All involved law enforcement agencies are fully cooperating with DCI during this investigation, Kaul told reporters May 1.
As the situation unfolded, the Green County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged on social media it was assisting the other agencies and said there was no active threat in Green County.
“The Green County WI Sheriff’s Office is working proactively with other law enforcement agencies in Green County due to the events in Mount Horeb today. Out of an abundance of caution, we will continue to have increased visibility around the schools in our area. There are no known threats in Green County reported to our office at this time,” the department wrote on Facebook.
DCI is continuing to review evidence and determine the facts of this incident and will turn over investigative reports to the Dane County District Attorney when the investigation concludes.