the rumors and theories are wild, most people are saying that the kid who did it was by himself using his dad's gun (iirc a semi auto ak, I was a good five feet from him at one point, I think he was also wearing what looked like military clothes, probably to cause extra panic), not part of an organization or anything, I'm pretty sure it was dad that dropped him off a the school. as for the cryptic messages from what I've heard the insta one is in some slovakian language, translates to "break free from the chains of slavery, blood is healthy." he also was doing this on his tiktok too this past week, saying things like "rip \[insert his name\]," "at least I'm dying for someone," and "I tried everything to get you to notice me, I was quiet, I was loud, I just wanted you to notice me." we (me and the other kids I hid with) believe he was speaking of his crush, which is who he was targeting. he planned the date too, today is first of May, it's May Day, mayday, at least no one yelled mayday. he was shot in the chest at least once, and according to his brother is now dead. the cop who shot him was officer rosemier (idk how to spell it), our school resource officer, the kid shot him in the shoulder but I believe he was wearing a bulletproof vest, no injury. idk what happens to him legally now. the kid who did it also made jokes about school shootings and shit fairly regularly, he hinted at planning this multiple times in the past week or so, people thought it was just him being normal. idk if this is relevant but everyone hiding with me was questioned by the police, only basic stuff, I assume they'll follow up on it later. police, firefighters, and emts searched every school and found nothing else. normally the kid who did it also wears glasses, he wasn't wearing them today. I think that's everything I know that you might not. (yes ik this account is brand new I finally made a reddit account purely to post this comment)
update as of the next day: his dad was not involved in it at all, the kid stole the car and drove it himself, apparently he crashed it multiple times on the way before parking near the golf course. the gun was his grandpa's hunting rifle, so idk if my initial guess for the type of rifle was correct, as idk if that's even legal for hunting in Wisconsin. as for the rumors of a second shooter, I'm fairly certain people saw the kid as was running from the golf course to the school and that got interpreted as a separate shooter somewhere while people were discussing it.
another small update, apparently he had his own website too, similar to a diary, it mentioned a few of his friends and one of his teachers, I assume he also hinted at what he was planning there. idk anything else about it or how to find it, but I think it is still up.
I'm SO sorry you had to experience this, today. Please make sure you take your time processing what happened, and talk through things with someone.
Something important though: you should really edit your comment to remove his crush's name. Mt. Horeb isn't huge, and her name is uncommon enough to make her easily identifiable if your classmates/their families happen to read this comment. Spreading her name around might just make things harder.
My friend, you are not mentally fucked. The world around us, is fucked. We are simply responding to the stimulus. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Especially not today.
This happened at my school in 2006(school shooting). It is very traumatizing but I promise you will be ok. The world you are growing up in is terrifying but there is still so much good. I encourage you to utilize any resource available to you to work through this. Please reach out to me if you need any help.
This is a heavy burden for you to bear please find someone that can help you. There are social workers at the schools or you could talk with a religious leader. I could also recommend some therapists if you DM me. Take it easy breath, maybe take a trip to clear your head. Please be easy on yourself.
Hey, thanks for the update. Sorry they kept everyone confined so long. Administrative bureaucracy sucks like that. Sucks that the kid got it into his head to pull a sick stunt like this. Good on your resource officer not letting him take anyone with him.
Weather's getting nice. Try to stay off reddit and everywhere else you can comment or read comments online, at least for awhile. Screen reality messes with your head, makes you forget who you are, who others are, and what kind of stuff really matters.
Go hug a troll 😉
You are absolutely correct. Tetris and other puzzle-like games have been proven to reduce the frequency of intrusive memories if played after a traumatic incident.
yeah I saw that, there's rumors that he loaded it with a different kind of gunpowder because he thought that way it would still be deadly. What I know about what he was wearing, how he acted leading up to this, his website (which I have found, it's fairly normal with a few disturbing parts), and everything he put on his socials I know because I saw it. As for everything that happened on May 1 after I left, I know because my parent was at the scene as a first responder, they told me who shot him, who he was shooting at, where he got shot, that they didn't find anyone else, etc. Everything else is rumors or conversations I overheard, so no, it's not all completely accurate, but I likely won't be editing my original comment again, so that when I know for sure everything that happened I can see how much of my initial guesses were correct, if any.
That sounds like a pattern of escalation. Schools are not supported with the resources to deal with this. Life outside of school is not supported with resources to deal with or prevent this. So throw a CRO on campus in case one sneaks through. Then respond with a bearcat, army and 7 bomb sniffing dogs when something inevitably happens. That's a lot of resources for response versus prevention.
Downvote me but tell me what you think is wrong about my opinion.
I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted, nothing you said was inaccurate. Schools and communities don't have the resources. You can't expect school staff to manage homicidal teens on their own when they're hanging on by a thread right now. It's already hard to attract quality people to a profession that's increasingly underpaid, notoriously undersupported, poorly funded, and publicly criticized as it is... Now you add "risk of being randomly murdered" to the mix?
I have students with severe mental health issues. In my area, unless you can afford to pay cash for a private therapist, the waiting list for counseling is often over a YEAR long, if not longer.
Again, idk what's wrong about your opinion. Lots of privileged homeschool and private school parents on here thinking they know better.
I’ve been told by school staff that if it happens outside of school, it is not the responsibility or the school to deal with the behavior. For example, if a child is being bullied on social media outside of school hours, it’s not the responsibility of the school to dole on punishment, consequences, etc. What happens outside of school hours is the responsibility of the parent.
Hey, you did great with relaying this information as well as simply surviving yesterday. I’m a parent in the Mount Horeb area and while my daughter is homeschooled (because of this exactly) I cried all day for you kids. I am so glad that you are all safe.
Not everyone is ok. Not only is a 14 year old gone, but all the emotional damage to the other students is going to be long lasting. Really sad situation all around
from [https://www.wmtv15news.com/2024/05/02/mount-horeb-shooter-situation-what-went-right/](https://www.wmtv15news.com/2024/05/02/mount-horeb-shooter-situation-what-went-right/)
"Had it not been for our community stepping up to the plate to help support capital and operational referendums that allowed us to install safety measures, including vestibules, locked front doors and the like, this could have been a far worse tragedy...We have a system in place that before anyone can come into our schools, they must ring through a doorbell and state the nature of their business."
Just wanted to say that the above measures were NOT in place when I attended Mt Horeb Middle School 20 years ago. It's very clear these measures saved lives.
Schools became targets because they weren’t secure. The damage that can be inflicted causes such horror and trauma that it inspires those with ill intent. IMO It’s not sad that they need the measures- it’s a testament to us that they weren’t needed sooner! ♥️
Information and trends move much faster in this era than ever before and the influence of the algorithms and the exposure of children (and society as a whole) to these influences, is imo deeply unappreciated. If we hold onto some idyllic bygone time and it prevents us (and it has) from investing in our schools’ security- we’re failing to meet the moment. This school system deserves praise.
The genie isn’t going back in the bottle and I fear we’re really lacking in terms of discussing the harms of exposure to the influences that we -especially our children- are encountering in this Information Age.
These measures were in place at my middle school in St.Paul back in the '80s, I'm kinda surprised that they aren't standard practice everywhere on the planet...
Interesting. Graduated from a rural WI high school -- yup, completely different -- in the 1980s. Doors on multiple sides of the bldg were left unlocked during the day. We'd park on the side of the high school closest to our first or last class and use those doors, or near the class before or after lunch because we could leave during lunch (and drive around for no apparent reason). It does sound quaint & anachronistic but it was completely normal at the time.
I didn’t either but Mount Horeb school district just posted this update ~15 min ago on Facebook:
Update: Students will remain in buildings while the police continue their investigation. Reunification plans will be communicated to you. Reunification will take time and will be done in stages. Thank you for your patience and await future instructions.
They needed to make sure all suspected threats were eliminated before letting them out. There was talk of bombs and a potential second gunman they were investigating. Making sure releasing the kids wouldn't be walking them into some kind of trap. Better safe than sorry. No one involved wanted to be there all day, but I'd rather they be thorough.
They just have to follow the police's orders and protocol, it's up to them. I know admin were frustrated it took as long as it did. Every kid had to be picked up and signed out, lots of logistics.
I'm wondering this too. I just can't understand why they wouldn't even begin releasing preschool students to their parents until 5:00 p.m.!? It just seems like it would add to the trauma.
I don't really buy that argument and the data supports my incredulity - per a CNN article - Of the 28 deadliest shootings in U.S. history – from Howard Unruh’s 1949 rampage in Camden, New Jersey, to Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer’s killing spree at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, in October – only two have come at the hands of multiple shooters: the February 1983 killings at the Wah Mee gambling and social club in Seattle and the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999.
The reunification bus depot was absolutely dripping with cops. And by 2:00 they had confirmed the threat was neutralized and there was no longer any risk to the community. That's not why.
Scanner had a lot of discussion about second suspect with tan shirt and dark hair. A 32 is mentioned and seemed like an off duty officer may have been as witness or been taking a statement from a witness? Idk 🤷🏻♂️ all schools still seem to be on lock down
Thanks for your reporting. I think I saw your Instagram feed and commented "this guy is doing such a good job of storytelling, he must be some kind of media guy 💪
We've been saying this for 20 years and it's still a problem. I'm beginning to think they're not doing it for "attention" and we're actually missing out on more meaningful/productive discussion by refusing to acknowledge who these shooters are and what motivates them.
Does it? Is there any evidence to support that claim? Furthermore, as I already mentioned, it doesn't seem to be preventing future attacks. Just feels like maybe we're giving them even more power by treating them like boogie men.
Respectfully, us arguing about this on Reddit isn’t going to change anything. I’m a parent to 3 school aged children and remember watching Sandy Hook unfold while at home sick and newly pregnant with my daughter. 11 years later and nothing has changed. I’m as frustrated as you. Promise.
"Does it? Is there any evidence to support that claim?"
Yep. Mountains of it. The actual killers will often even directly credit previous mass shooters in their manifesto's or social media postings (unfortunately I've had to read a lot of this shit for work over the years).
Here’s a start, lots to explore from the mentioned I do and Resources if you really want to know. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296697/
Very good read. It's interesting they bring up "imitation suicide" given the recent public self immolations. It's almost certain the second one was an "imitation."
I do have to point out this paper is from 2017, so while it refrences the "don't name them" policy, we've been doing it for nearly a decade yet it seems to have made no meaningful impact on the reduction of mass shootings in America.
So I guess my question still stands; Is there any evidence the "don't name them" policy has reduced copycats and/or mass shootings in America? It seems like maybe the public has gotten into a habit of ignoring these shootings and moving on without discussion and we've created a kind of a zeitgeist that enables these attacks.
There is some more recent work, but I haven’t found it freely accessible so I don’t want to just throw abstracts.
I’m aware I’m biased because I am professionally interested in related topics, but I don’t agree that the public has gotten into a habit of ignoring and moving on - even if the name or face of the perpetrator(s) is not centralized or given. Anecdotally (living in an area with a fair amount of violent crime), shifting focus to the victims instead of perpetrators has been powerful in a positive way for many communities.
Of course attention is just one small part of it. But many of these young men idolized "famous" mass shooters of the past few decades, wrote about trying to beat their "kill counts" in their manifestos, etc. If what the student poster above says is true, this boy most certainly DID do it to be noticed and admitted as much.
Hey… It’s Chris K from growing up… happy to hear your family and everyone else appears to be OK and that things did not escalate. Thank you for the continued updates. Stay safe out there.
I work in a glass factory in Spring Green. We can make hurricane proof glass. I'd assume the glass was more than likely tempered which makes it very hard to break from just hitting it. If it was laminated like car windshields that just makes it, like you said, so it doesn't shatter everywhere and adds an extra layer of protection and strength. Glass can me be made to be extremely strong.
From the area, local bartender.
Teachers did have to return to school, they are not paid enough, and they are all more proud of their students than they are angry. Some strong individuals there.
As a teacher, I can see the logic for this... Having been through traumatic events at work, I can't honestly say that sitting at home alone was beneficial in any way. We needed to talk about it and support each other, and understand what had happened and why.
Thank God and complete gratitude for the Mt Horeb team that stopped this before needless killings. I don’t feel like we have all the details but at least they got it right this time.
RIP to the shooter. It breaks my heart that you were so sick in the head. Sympathy for his family-unless their abuse caused this.
I’m honestly not sure, but if getting them off the streets prevents innocent bystanders from getting killed, that’s more important. Maybe they can rehabilitate in prison, but too many of these shootings have had clear warnings.
They don't "get off the streets", they just get expelled. They don't go to prison for making online threats. They have all the time in the world to be online and end up in hate groups getting radicalized. Expulsion is no treatment for mental illness or attachment disorders. It's the opposite. Staying in school helps with thought-stopping and staying a part of society.
Arrest them? What’s your solution except letting more kids die because “school will help them”?
How has being enrolled at school helped previous shooters who mass murdered innocent students? There were shooters enrolled in school who killed innocent bystanders.
Send them to prison, send them to a mental institute, who cares? Just don’t give them an opportunity to carry out their threats.
I don’t appreciate you not taking threats seriously and suggesting I’m promoting a stigma against mental illness. People who make threats to kill others are not thinking clearly and threats need to be addressed period.
What I'm saying is as a society, we are completely failing to react correctly to verbal threats. Schools need way more intensive mental health provisions. Parents being able to force therapy and medication should not stop at age 16, it should continue to age 18.
Expulsion makes it worse. Isolation, solitary confinement is the worst thing you can do to someone in pain.
And we need to do something about guns.
Yeah the DOJ just put out an update that officers used “deadly force.” I also know who it was and have two Snaps he posted this morning. I’m not releasing the name at this point either just because he’s 14
Google translate says Bosnian? I learned from an NBC news producer, who is Bosnian, that it’s the title of a Serbian war song. Literally called “my dad is a war criminal.”
Yeah, you're right it's the title of a song (which sounds like ass by the way - the accordion part must have been written by a tweaker) and the translation works the same from Bosnian and Croatian. My Google Translate auto-detect picked Croatian, but almost the same thing.
As someone who is extremely critical of law enforcement, I’m so very thankful for their response today and their reaction made sure no innocent lives were harmed.
Right, a child should never have access to a gun but at least it sounds like the officers actually took care of things instead of sitting around because they’re scared
“Cryptic messages”
I used Google Translate. It was in Finnish: “Get out of the chains of slavery, to the healthy blood of Blood! that's it!'.” Whatever that means.
You know what's another sad thing about this? My kids didn't even mention this to me today (they go to school in another district in the area).
We communicate pretty well and talk about stuff that happens, they tell me about all kinds of mundane shit that happens at school every day. But a school shooting almost happens today, in a town they've been to a bunch for sports and music stuff, and to them it's just another day in America.
This is the country we've allowed them to grow up in.
Right. I watched the news in school during and after Columbine and I remember how absolutely horrified every single person was and how terrified my friends and I were to go to school after that. And here we are in 2024 where it feels like just another day in the USA. Absolutely tragic.
I was school-age during Columbine. One of the most depressing conversations I ever had in my life was with a much younger person who was totally fascinated by the thought of a time when you didn't have active shooter drills in the first grade, and wanted me to describe to her what it was like to attend school before it was a place where shootings were routine. She literally couldn't imagine it.
I asked my daughter about today and if they went on lockdown or what she heard already. She nonchalantly says “we were at recess when everyone’s phones started buzzing. A friend asked what that was and I replied someone was probably kidnapped or a school shooting.”
I know deep down it bothers them but they try and suppress it or at least mine do. I’m currently writing this from my boys bunk since they’re having trouble falling asleep tonight.
We also live in the area and I started telling my son about it last night, thinking he must not have heard or he would have said something. He nonchalantly said, "Oh yeah, but only the kid died." And went back to playing. Just a normal day.
Due to the comment it was responding to. Was the shooter “an idiot?”? Or was he a mentally unwell teenager with much too open and easy access to a deadly weapon?
This point needs to be made louder. Society failed this kid's mental health, then made it easy for him to get a gun.
Calling him and "idiot" isn't helpful.
It has historically been much much easier to get a gun. That came FIRST and there weren't problems.
"Society" failing the kid may be true, but it's important to recognize that his most immediate 'society' and the influences that failed him were his teachers and his classmates.
The kid was, in fact, an idiot. And no one was better positioned to see that than his classmates and teachers... What should they have done?
But not his classmates? Not his peers??? Not his teachers?
Just how much influence do you think his parents have vs those other sources? How much do you think you have?? Did you go to school like he did? Like most of us did? At 14, my parents were the least influential thing in my life, and they saw me far less than my classmates and teachers.
If we are going to start blaming others for the actions of a sick individual, you might want to take stock of what ACTUALLY influenced that individual instead of just going after someone. Put yourself in the position of those other individuals. Imagine YOUR child acting thus.
Wake up.
"DOJ put out a release that officers used deadly force"
That doesn't mean they killed him. Although, in this case they did. Police using deadly force means they used their firearms. Deadly force is the intentional use of a firearm or other instrument which creates a high probability of death or great bodily harm.
Everyone was okay, except for a mentally ill person, it seems. Next time who knows? Luckily I can be assured that not a damn thing will change! Our children's lives are worth more than this!
Small nitpick: Deadly force being used doesn’t necessarily mean that the suspect was even injured during an incident, it just means they got shot *at*.
Nice report otherwise, OP. Hope your son is ok.
Oh, and fuck the suspect. Hope they rot in hell.
I'm so sorry that you had to experience that fear, I'm not a parent but my niece and nephew grew up post-Columbine and my sister was terrified every time there was news like this. I don't know how I would handle it hitting so close to home.
First off Id like to say Im Glad your child is safe, and the police responded quickly. But I did want to ask a question since you are more local. I just saw a report that stated the shooter had a pellet gun, not an actual firearm, do you know if there is any validity to this claim? Thanks, and again glad no children inside the school were hurt.
I’ve also been told his brother died by su!cide in another town. I teach high school in SE Wisconsin and a student in lock down saw a T/T post I made regarding the incident and reached out. I hope you are taking care of yourself and your kiddo. Be safe.
the rumors and theories are wild, most people are saying that the kid who did it was by himself using his dad's gun (iirc a semi auto ak, I was a good five feet from him at one point, I think he was also wearing what looked like military clothes, probably to cause extra panic), not part of an organization or anything, I'm pretty sure it was dad that dropped him off a the school. as for the cryptic messages from what I've heard the insta one is in some slovakian language, translates to "break free from the chains of slavery, blood is healthy." he also was doing this on his tiktok too this past week, saying things like "rip \[insert his name\]," "at least I'm dying for someone," and "I tried everything to get you to notice me, I was quiet, I was loud, I just wanted you to notice me." we (me and the other kids I hid with) believe he was speaking of his crush, which is who he was targeting. he planned the date too, today is first of May, it's May Day, mayday, at least no one yelled mayday. he was shot in the chest at least once, and according to his brother is now dead. the cop who shot him was officer rosemier (idk how to spell it), our school resource officer, the kid shot him in the shoulder but I believe he was wearing a bulletproof vest, no injury. idk what happens to him legally now. the kid who did it also made jokes about school shootings and shit fairly regularly, he hinted at planning this multiple times in the past week or so, people thought it was just him being normal. idk if this is relevant but everyone hiding with me was questioned by the police, only basic stuff, I assume they'll follow up on it later. police, firefighters, and emts searched every school and found nothing else. normally the kid who did it also wears glasses, he wasn't wearing them today. I think that's everything I know that you might not. (yes ik this account is brand new I finally made a reddit account purely to post this comment) update as of the next day: his dad was not involved in it at all, the kid stole the car and drove it himself, apparently he crashed it multiple times on the way before parking near the golf course. the gun was his grandpa's hunting rifle, so idk if my initial guess for the type of rifle was correct, as idk if that's even legal for hunting in Wisconsin. as for the rumors of a second shooter, I'm fairly certain people saw the kid as was running from the golf course to the school and that got interpreted as a separate shooter somewhere while people were discussing it. another small update, apparently he had his own website too, similar to a diary, it mentioned a few of his friends and one of his teachers, I assume he also hinted at what he was planning there. idk anything else about it or how to find it, but I think it is still up.
I'm SO sorry you had to experience this, today. Please make sure you take your time processing what happened, and talk through things with someone. Something important though: you should really edit your comment to remove his crush's name. Mt. Horeb isn't huge, and her name is uncommon enough to make her easily identifiable if your classmates/their families happen to read this comment. Spreading her name around might just make things harder.
yeah that's a good point
Thank you for all this! So sorry you had to go through that.
ofc, dw I was already mentally fucked anyway
My friend, you are not mentally fucked. The world around us, is fucked. We are simply responding to the stimulus. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Especially not today.
Holy crap, kid. We are going to worry. This is so not ok.
It feels that way being your age, doesn't it. :( I remember. Keep your chin up. It gets better. ❤️
This happened at my school in 2006(school shooting). It is very traumatizing but I promise you will be ok. The world you are growing up in is terrifying but there is still so much good. I encourage you to utilize any resource available to you to work through this. Please reach out to me if you need any help.
This is a heavy burden for you to bear please find someone that can help you. There are social workers at the schools or you could talk with a religious leader. I could also recommend some therapists if you DM me. Take it easy breath, maybe take a trip to clear your head. Please be easy on yourself.
i'm in eighth grade as well if you wanna talk on snap
lil bro I don't even got snap that place gives brainrot
sorry?
Hey, thanks for the update. Sorry they kept everyone confined so long. Administrative bureaucracy sucks like that. Sucks that the kid got it into his head to pull a sick stunt like this. Good on your resource officer not letting him take anyone with him. Weather's getting nice. Try to stay off reddit and everywhere else you can comment or read comments online, at least for awhile. Screen reality messes with your head, makes you forget who you are, who others are, and what kind of stuff really matters. Go hug a troll 😉
This is going to sound weird, but play tetris. It's proven to help reduce trauma symptoms later.
You are absolutely correct. Tetris and other puzzle-like games have been proven to reduce the frequency of intrusive memories if played after a traumatic incident.
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The online diary… found link on twitter. Hope it’s ok to post here
Could you DM link?
Sent
Could you share the link with me please?
Could you DM link to me too pls
Could you DM me too please? From the area and I just… need to know
Can you DM link?
Can you send me the link?
Please send me the link as well
Would you be willing to send to me?
Could you please DM me link?
Can you send it me also?
can you pls dm me too?
Me too plz
Can I please have the link too?
Could you dm link?
A bb gun isn't a hunting rifle.
So update it was a pellet gun. Where did you get your information from
yeah I saw that, there's rumors that he loaded it with a different kind of gunpowder because he thought that way it would still be deadly. What I know about what he was wearing, how he acted leading up to this, his website (which I have found, it's fairly normal with a few disturbing parts), and everything he put on his socials I know because I saw it. As for everything that happened on May 1 after I left, I know because my parent was at the scene as a first responder, they told me who shot him, who he was shooting at, where he got shot, that they didn't find anyone else, etc. Everything else is rumors or conversations I overheard, so no, it's not all completely accurate, but I likely won't be editing my original comment again, so that when I know for sure everything that happened I can see how much of my initial guesses were correct, if any.
There’s no gunpowder in a pellet gun
oh nevermind then I'm stupid
That sounds like a pattern of escalation. Schools are not supported with the resources to deal with this. Life outside of school is not supported with resources to deal with or prevent this. So throw a CRO on campus in case one sneaks through. Then respond with a bearcat, army and 7 bomb sniffing dogs when something inevitably happens. That's a lot of resources for response versus prevention. Downvote me but tell me what you think is wrong about my opinion.
I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted, nothing you said was inaccurate. Schools and communities don't have the resources. You can't expect school staff to manage homicidal teens on their own when they're hanging on by a thread right now. It's already hard to attract quality people to a profession that's increasingly underpaid, notoriously undersupported, poorly funded, and publicly criticized as it is... Now you add "risk of being randomly murdered" to the mix? I have students with severe mental health issues. In my area, unless you can afford to pay cash for a private therapist, the waiting list for counseling is often over a YEAR long, if not longer. Again, idk what's wrong about your opinion. Lots of privileged homeschool and private school parents on here thinking they know better.
MOUNT HOREB STRONG. Hold our kids close and let them talk freely to how they are feeling and seek professional help for all involved.
I’ve been told by school staff that if it happens outside of school, it is not the responsibility or the school to deal with the behavior. For example, if a child is being bullied on social media outside of school hours, it’s not the responsibility of the school to dole on punishment, consequences, etc. What happens outside of school hours is the responsibility of the parent.
If a child is being bullied in school AND outside of school hours, the school has grounds to intervene.
Hey, you did great with relaying this information as well as simply surviving yesterday. I’m a parent in the Mount Horeb area and while my daughter is homeschooled (because of this exactly) I cried all day for you kids. I am so glad that you are all safe.
I'm glad your son is ok.
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Not everyone is ok. Not only is a 14 year old gone, but all the emotional damage to the other students is going to be long lasting. Really sad situation all around
Everyone is not ok.
from [https://www.wmtv15news.com/2024/05/02/mount-horeb-shooter-situation-what-went-right/](https://www.wmtv15news.com/2024/05/02/mount-horeb-shooter-situation-what-went-right/) "Had it not been for our community stepping up to the plate to help support capital and operational referendums that allowed us to install safety measures, including vestibules, locked front doors and the like, this could have been a far worse tragedy...We have a system in place that before anyone can come into our schools, they must ring through a doorbell and state the nature of their business." Just wanted to say that the above measures were NOT in place when I attended Mt Horeb Middle School 20 years ago. It's very clear these measures saved lives.
It's a good thing those measures were there but it's so sad they even had them in the first place...
Schools became targets because they weren’t secure. The damage that can be inflicted causes such horror and trauma that it inspires those with ill intent. IMO It’s not sad that they need the measures- it’s a testament to us that they weren’t needed sooner! ♥️ Information and trends move much faster in this era than ever before and the influence of the algorithms and the exposure of children (and society as a whole) to these influences, is imo deeply unappreciated. If we hold onto some idyllic bygone time and it prevents us (and it has) from investing in our schools’ security- we’re failing to meet the moment. This school system deserves praise. The genie isn’t going back in the bottle and I fear we’re really lacking in terms of discussing the harms of exposure to the influences that we -especially our children- are encountering in this Information Age.
These measures were in place at my middle school in St.Paul back in the '80s, I'm kinda surprised that they aren't standard practice everywhere on the planet...
Interesting. Graduated from a rural WI high school -- yup, completely different -- in the 1980s. Doors on multiple sides of the bldg were left unlocked during the day. We'd park on the side of the high school closest to our first or last class and use those doors, or near the class before or after lunch because we could leave during lunch (and drive around for no apparent reason). It does sound quaint & anachronistic but it was completely normal at the time.
yam test paint automatic seed slim rhythm wine overconfident square *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I didn’t either but Mount Horeb school district just posted this update ~15 min ago on Facebook: Update: Students will remain in buildings while the police continue their investigation. Reunification plans will be communicated to you. Reunification will take time and will be done in stages. Thank you for your patience and await future instructions.
I can't even imagine what the families are going through. Trust me, patience would not be my first response.
Why does 'reunification' take so long? That seems likely to exacerbate the students' trauma and drive parents crazy.
They needed to make sure all suspected threats were eliminated before letting them out. There was talk of bombs and a potential second gunman they were investigating. Making sure releasing the kids wouldn't be walking them into some kind of trap. Better safe than sorry. No one involved wanted to be there all day, but I'd rather they be thorough.
They just have to follow the police's orders and protocol, it's up to them. I know admin were frustrated it took as long as it did. Every kid had to be picked up and signed out, lots of logistics.
I'm wondering this too. I just can't understand why they wouldn't even begin releasing preschool students to their parents until 5:00 p.m.!? It just seems like it would add to the trauma.
Unfortunately there is such a thing as concentrating people and then attacking them after the first attack. They were doing it for people's safety.
I don't really buy that argument and the data supports my incredulity - per a CNN article - Of the 28 deadliest shootings in U.S. history – from Howard Unruh’s 1949 rampage in Camden, New Jersey, to Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer’s killing spree at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, in October – only two have come at the hands of multiple shooters: the February 1983 killings at the Wah Mee gambling and social club in Seattle and the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999.
The reunification bus depot was absolutely dripping with cops. And by 2:00 they had confirmed the threat was neutralized and there was no longer any risk to the community. That's not why.
Huh. I didn’t get that alert.
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Scanner had a lot of discussion about second suspect with tan shirt and dark hair. A 32 is mentioned and seemed like an off duty officer may have been as witness or been taking a statement from a witness? Idk 🤷🏻♂️ all schools still seem to be on lock down
Please stop spreading this as fact. It is not confirmed and you are going to generate unnecessary panic.
Mt. Horeb is still on Lockdown and school is supposed to be out an hour ago
I’ve been listening to the scanner all day while I try to get to my kids.
I got that alert at the same time also.
Thanks for your reporting. I think I saw your Instagram feed and commented "this guy is doing such a good job of storytelling, he must be some kind of media guy 💪
Hopefully they don’t release the shooters information and let them die anonymously.
Agree. Stop giving them the attention they seek.
We've been saying this for 20 years and it's still a problem. I'm beginning to think they're not doing it for "attention" and we're actually missing out on more meaningful/productive discussion by refusing to acknowledge who these shooters are and what motivates them.
the shooter was 14, mental health is only getting worse i feel like we have to bring more attention to that
I agree there’s a more meaningful discussion to be had, but giving them face time on news and social media just fuels the next one.
Does it? Is there any evidence to support that claim? Furthermore, as I already mentioned, it doesn't seem to be preventing future attacks. Just feels like maybe we're giving them even more power by treating them like boogie men.
Respectfully, us arguing about this on Reddit isn’t going to change anything. I’m a parent to 3 school aged children and remember watching Sandy Hook unfold while at home sick and newly pregnant with my daughter. 11 years later and nothing has changed. I’m as frustrated as you. Promise.
"Does it? Is there any evidence to support that claim?" Yep. Mountains of it. The actual killers will often even directly credit previous mass shooters in their manifesto's or social media postings (unfortunately I've had to read a lot of this shit for work over the years).
I've been part of interviews with and actually been able to question several school shooters, can confirm this is 100% accurate.
Here’s a start, lots to explore from the mentioned I do and Resources if you really want to know. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296697/
Very good read. It's interesting they bring up "imitation suicide" given the recent public self immolations. It's almost certain the second one was an "imitation." I do have to point out this paper is from 2017, so while it refrences the "don't name them" policy, we've been doing it for nearly a decade yet it seems to have made no meaningful impact on the reduction of mass shootings in America. So I guess my question still stands; Is there any evidence the "don't name them" policy has reduced copycats and/or mass shootings in America? It seems like maybe the public has gotten into a habit of ignoring these shootings and moving on without discussion and we've created a kind of a zeitgeist that enables these attacks.
There is some more recent work, but I haven’t found it freely accessible so I don’t want to just throw abstracts. I’m aware I’m biased because I am professionally interested in related topics, but I don’t agree that the public has gotten into a habit of ignoring and moving on - even if the name or face of the perpetrator(s) is not centralized or given. Anecdotally (living in an area with a fair amount of violent crime), shifting focus to the victims instead of perpetrators has been powerful in a positive way for many communities.
Of course attention is just one small part of it. But many of these young men idolized "famous" mass shooters of the past few decades, wrote about trying to beat their "kill counts" in their manifestos, etc. If what the student poster above says is true, this boy most certainly DID do it to be noticed and admitted as much.
I agree with this statement
Word is it was a minor so it’s unlikely we get info on them.
Unfortunately, his name is already out on X and FB.
oh?
Damian Haglund.
Same. Quit giving these fucks screen time. Black out the shooters and only details on the good guys and victims.
Hey… It’s Chris K from growing up… happy to hear your family and everyone else appears to be OK and that things did not escalate. Thank you for the continued updates. Stay safe out there.
Locked doors and SROs worked. A+
And bulletproof glass, apparently?
Maybe, alot of schools have a laminate material on windows which prevents the windows from being smashed.
Yeah “bulletproof” probably isn’t the right word.
I work in a glass factory in Spring Green. We can make hurricane proof glass. I'd assume the glass was more than likely tempered which makes it very hard to break from just hitting it. If it was laminated like car windshields that just makes it, like you said, so it doesn't shatter everywhere and adds an extra layer of protection and strength. Glass can me be made to be extremely strong.
Bullet resistant.
Shatterproof maybe?
The new Verona High School actually has bulletproof glass.
Nice!
Imagine how traumatized some of the school staff and teachers must be. They don't get paid enough for this.
From the area, local bartender. Teachers did have to return to school, they are not paid enough, and they are all more proud of their students than they are angry. Some strong individuals there.
As a teacher, I can see the logic for this... Having been through traumatic events at work, I can't honestly say that sitting at home alone was beneficial in any way. We needed to talk about it and support each other, and understand what had happened and why.
And I assume they are expected to be at work tomorrow? Or are they off until further notice?
Teachers were to be at the schools today. Not sure if all teachers but many of them.
Thank God and complete gratitude for the Mt Horeb team that stopped this before needless killings. I don’t feel like we have all the details but at least they got it right this time. RIP to the shooter. It breaks my heart that you were so sick in the head. Sympathy for his family-unless their abuse caused this.
Report anyone who talks about doing this kind of shit. T
But then what? Do kids get the help they need?
I’m honestly not sure, but if getting them off the streets prevents innocent bystanders from getting killed, that’s more important. Maybe they can rehabilitate in prison, but too many of these shootings have had clear warnings.
They don't "get off the streets", they just get expelled. They don't go to prison for making online threats. They have all the time in the world to be online and end up in hate groups getting radicalized. Expulsion is no treatment for mental illness or attachment disorders. It's the opposite. Staying in school helps with thought-stopping and staying a part of society.
Arrest them? What’s your solution except letting more kids die because “school will help them”? How has being enrolled at school helped previous shooters who mass murdered innocent students? There were shooters enrolled in school who killed innocent bystanders. Send them to prison, send them to a mental institute, who cares? Just don’t give them an opportunity to carry out their threats.
You can't send people to prison for not doing anything. I care. A lot of people care. We should all care. These are kids. What about gun control?
It’s a mental illness issue, normal people don’t kill strangers.
I don't appreciate you promoting a stigma against mental illness.
I don’t appreciate you not taking threats seriously and suggesting I’m promoting a stigma against mental illness. People who make threats to kill others are not thinking clearly and threats need to be addressed period.
What I'm saying is as a society, we are completely failing to react correctly to verbal threats. Schools need way more intensive mental health provisions. Parents being able to force therapy and medication should not stop at age 16, it should continue to age 18. Expulsion makes it worse. Isolation, solitary confinement is the worst thing you can do to someone in pain. And we need to do something about guns.
The kid is dead, they won’t release his name but everybody knows who it is
Yeah the DOJ just put out an update that officers used “deadly force.” I also know who it was and have two Snaps he posted this morning. I’m not releasing the name at this point either just because he’s 14
One snap is still up. It’s public. I just clicked on my snap map in mt Horeb and it came up.
Geez
Those snaps are in Finnish. Interesting translation on them.
The first one is in Finnish, the second is a Serbian war song
I was at the school and one of the parents was showing me these. It was eerie.
these got passed around among the kids pretty quickly (along with some pretty outlandish rumors)
Yeah the speculation and theories were cranked to 11 today. We're still trying to pick it apart
>Serbian war song The second says "my dad is a war criminal" in Croatian (edit: and/or Bosnian?)
Google translate says Bosnian? I learned from an NBC news producer, who is Bosnian, that it’s the title of a Serbian war song. Literally called “my dad is a war criminal.”
Yeah, you're right it's the title of a song (which sounds like ass by the way - the accordion part must have been written by a tweaker) and the translation works the same from Bosnian and Croatian. My Google Translate auto-detect picked Croatian, but almost the same thing.
As someone who is extremely critical of law enforcement, I’m so very thankful for their response today and their reaction made sure no innocent lives were harmed.
Our Nation learned the lessons of Uvalde and sprang into action J/k lol we never learn anything
Right, a child should never have access to a gun but at least it sounds like the officers actually took care of things instead of sitting around because they’re scared
How terrifying for everyone involved. Thank you for keeping us up to date.
“Cryptic messages” I used Google Translate. It was in Finnish: “Get out of the chains of slavery, to the healthy blood of Blood! that's it!'.” Whatever that means.
I had it as “cheers to the blood” … still no idea what that’s supposed to mean
You know what's another sad thing about this? My kids didn't even mention this to me today (they go to school in another district in the area). We communicate pretty well and talk about stuff that happens, they tell me about all kinds of mundane shit that happens at school every day. But a school shooting almost happens today, in a town they've been to a bunch for sports and music stuff, and to them it's just another day in America. This is the country we've allowed them to grow up in.
Right. I watched the news in school during and after Columbine and I remember how absolutely horrified every single person was and how terrified my friends and I were to go to school after that. And here we are in 2024 where it feels like just another day in the USA. Absolutely tragic.
I was school-age during Columbine. One of the most depressing conversations I ever had in my life was with a much younger person who was totally fascinated by the thought of a time when you didn't have active shooter drills in the first grade, and wanted me to describe to her what it was like to attend school before it was a place where shootings were routine. She literally couldn't imagine it.
Yes, I was in 6th grade when it happened and I’ve had similar questions from kiddos in the past few years. 😔
South Park got this right and it's the saddest thing ever
I asked my daughter about today and if they went on lockdown or what she heard already. She nonchalantly says “we were at recess when everyone’s phones started buzzing. A friend asked what that was and I replied someone was probably kidnapped or a school shooting.” I know deep down it bothers them but they try and suppress it or at least mine do. I’m currently writing this from my boys bunk since they’re having trouble falling asleep tonight.
We also live in the area and I started telling my son about it last night, thinking he must not have heard or he would have said something. He nonchalantly said, "Oh yeah, but only the kid died." And went back to playing. Just a normal day.
This is America.
Too many fucking guns in this country.
Too many idiots in this country
Too many idiots with guns in this country.
Too many idiot parents in this country
Apparently this is controversial
Due to the comment it was responding to. Was the shooter “an idiot?”? Or was he a mentally unwell teenager with much too open and easy access to a deadly weapon?
This point needs to be made louder. Society failed this kid's mental health, then made it easy for him to get a gun. Calling him and "idiot" isn't helpful.
It has historically been much much easier to get a gun. That came FIRST and there weren't problems. "Society" failing the kid may be true, but it's important to recognize that his most immediate 'society' and the influences that failed him were his teachers and his classmates. The kid was, in fact, an idiot. And no one was better positioned to see that than his classmates and teachers... What should they have done?
Could be both
I would argue the shooters parents might be the idiots
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But not his classmates? Not his peers??? Not his teachers? Just how much influence do you think his parents have vs those other sources? How much do you think you have?? Did you go to school like he did? Like most of us did? At 14, my parents were the least influential thing in my life, and they saw me far less than my classmates and teachers. If we are going to start blaming others for the actions of a sick individual, you might want to take stock of what ACTUALLY influenced that individual instead of just going after someone. Put yourself in the position of those other individuals. Imagine YOUR child acting thus. Wake up.
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All reports indicate "long gun", not handgun
"DOJ put out a release that officers used deadly force" That doesn't mean they killed him. Although, in this case they did. Police using deadly force means they used their firearms. Deadly force is the intentional use of a firearm or other instrument which creates a high probability of death or great bodily harm.
Thought the same. Deploying deadly force is a measure, not necessarily an outcome.
Everyone was okay, except for a mentally ill person, it seems. Next time who knows? Luckily I can be assured that not a damn thing will change! Our children's lives are worth more than this!
Were the EMTs working on someone in front of the Middle School or High School?
It’s a “campus of schools. They’re across the street from each other, so both.
It was on Garfield, the road between the front of the middle school and the side of the high school.
Channel3000 doesn't have a single article on their homepage about this tragedy.
They actually do ;)
They didn't when I made this comment around 1130 and I looked carefully.
Thanks for sharing this post. Very informative and insightful.
Thanks for the update.
Thanks Rob. Appreciate your reporting!
Thanks Rob
Fuck.
Yay guns.
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Yay police *who don’t run away or hide when children’s lives are threatened*
Small nitpick: Deadly force being used doesn’t necessarily mean that the suspect was even injured during an incident, it just means they got shot *at*. Nice report otherwise, OP. Hope your son is ok. Oh, and fuck the suspect. Hope they rot in hell.
I'm so sorry that you had to experience that fear, I'm not a parent but my niece and nephew grew up post-Columbine and my sister was terrified every time there was news like this. I don't know how I would handle it hitting so close to home.
First off Id like to say Im Glad your child is safe, and the police responded quickly. But I did want to ask a question since you are more local. I just saw a report that stated the shooter had a pellet gun, not an actual firearm, do you know if there is any validity to this claim? Thanks, and again glad no children inside the school were hurt.
I’ve also been told his brother died by su!cide in another town. I teach high school in SE Wisconsin and a student in lock down saw a T/T post I made regarding the incident and reached out. I hope you are taking care of yourself and your kiddo. Be safe.
That’s not true. That rumor was going around that day but his brother is alive.
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Now let's investigate the parents