A HIGH SCHOOL SIEGE in the US state of Wisconsin has ended after the 15-year-old armed with two guns shot himself following a five-hour standoff.
The unnamed pupil took over his classroom shortly before 9pm Irish time, taking his 23 classmates and a teacher hostage while armed with two handguns.
Hostage negotiation teams were summoned but were unable to ascertain the student’s motives, with the teenage gunman making no apparent demands or offering any indication of his intentions.
After over 4.5 hours of holding the class hostage, the gunman allowed five of his classmates to go to the toilet; shortly afterwards, police heard gunfire from within the room and decided to storm the building. As they entered the classroom, the 15-year-old fired at himself, incurring serious injuries.
“”At that time, the officers breached the door, entered the classroom and saw the suspect standing in the front of the classroom. As the officers approached him, the suspect fired one shot and injured himself,” a police chief confirmed.
The hostage-taker has been taken to hospital, while his classmates were safely removed from the school and reunited with their parents.
The offending student has not been named, nor has any indication of his condition been given.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the police recovered a .22-calibre semi-automatic and a .9mm semi-automatic, after about 60 police officers attended the scene.
The student was not known to the police. The affected school – Marinette High School – will remain closed until further notice.
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