A 15-year-old female student was identified by police as the assailant who opened fire Monday at a school in the US state of Wisconsin. The incident at the Abundant Life Christian School, a private institution with approximately 400 students, resulted in the deaths of a fellow student and a teacher. The suspected shooter was also found dead.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes confirmed during a press briefing that three people had died and seven others were wounded in the attack. "The shooter has now been identified as (a) 15-year-old," Barnes stated, providing the minor's name. "She was a student at the school, and evidence suggests she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound," he added.

The shooting was first reported by a second-grade student who called emergency services shortly before 11:00 am local time (1700 GMT). Of the six injured victims hospitalized, two students remain in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. Two others are in stable condition, while two have been discharged.

A handgun was recovered at the scene, and police reported that the suspect’s family is cooperating with the investigation. "We are still working to determine a motive," Barnes said.

One witness, interviewed by local media, recounted hearing two gunshots during the attack. "We heard them and then some people started crying, and then we just waited until the police came and escorted us out to the church," the child, who was not identified, shared.

This tragedy is the latest in a series of school shootings across the United States, a country where guns outnumber people and legislative efforts to restrict firearms access frequently face political gridlock. Chief Barnes highlighted the grim reality, noting that some medical personnel responding to the scene had come directly from a training session for such events. "I think we can all agree that enough is enough," he said. "We have to come together to do everything we can to support our students, to prevent press conferences like these from happening again and again."

US President Joe Biden condemned the shooting, calling it "shocking and unconscionable." He emphasized the urgent need for tighter gun control laws, stating, "It is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot continue to accept it as normal. We need Congress to act. Now."

The rarity of female school shooters was noted by experts. David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, observed that while most school shooters are male and in their teens or early 20s, "over the last 50 years, at least four planned school shootings have involved female attackers."

The timing of the incident, during the final week of classes before the Christmas holidays, has left the school community in shock. Barbara Wiers, the school's director of elementary and school relations, stated, "This has obviously rocked our school community." She added that it was not yet decided if students would return to school before the year-end break.

This year alone, there have been at least 487 mass shootings in the United States, defined as incidents involving at least four victims, dead or wounded, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The organization also reported that at least 16,012 people have been killed in firearms-related violence this year, excluding suicides.

The Wisconsin tragedy echoes other recent school shootings. In September, a 14-year-old boy killed four people, including two students, at a high school in Georgia. In May 2022, an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Disclaimer:This image is taken from Scott Bauer/AP .