GERMANTOWN, Wis. — A man is dead after being shot by Germantown police officers on the roof of Kennedy Middle School on Monday.
Germantown Chief of Police Mike Snow said during a press briefing on Tuesday that his officers responded to the middle school around 6:30 p.m., for a subject acting erratically.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), the man had no known relationship with the community or school. He was driving a vehicle with out-of-state plates, which broke down, and was at a nearby car repair business.
The man, according to the DOJ, was "acting erratically" in the parking lot and attempted to enter Kennedy Middle School, but the entries were locked. He then climbed onto the school's roof and two Germantown police officers pursued him on foot.
According to the DOJ, "The subject discharged a firearm at the officers while on the roof, and they returned fire. A third officer also discharged their firearm."
The chief said the suspect was struck, and officers attempted life-saving efforts, but that the man died at the scene. The identity of the suspect is not being released due to the investigation.
"We believe this was an isolated incident," said Chief Snow.
Chris Reuter, Germantown School District Superintendent, said during the press briefing that all schools except Kennedy Middle will resume class on Wednesday. Students with the school district are then out the rest of the week, Thursday-Friday.
Kennedy will be closed for the foreseeable future and it remains to be seen where the Kennedy Middle students will learn.
At the time of Monday's incident, 50-70 students were inside the school. All interactions with the man occurred outside of the building.
The middle school was placed on lockdown due to a "school safety threat," according to the Germantown School District.
Four officers have been placed on administrative leave, per agency policy.
No one else was injured.
"You could see everyone else’s emotions are a lot higher than what they normally are compared to a drill because some people know it’s the real thing this time," said junior Tyler Weber who was inside KMS during the shooting.
Parents were able to reunite with the students at MacArthur Elementary (W154N11492 Fond du Lac Ave., Germantown). All students that were at Kennedy Middle School were transported there by bus. The students were at Kennedy Middle School for after-school practices for cheerleading, basketball, and color guard to name a few.
There was no school for Germantown School District on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
The DOJ's Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation. They will turn over reports to the Washington County District Attorney when the investigation concludes.
According to the Associated Press, the department's spokesperson, Gillian Drummond, declined Tuesday morning to release the person's name, gender or age or comment on the person's behavior or why the person came to the school.
She said she couldn't release any further information due to the ongoing investigation, adding that agents need to interview witnesses and the officers involved.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:
UPDATE: Officer Involved Critical Incident Investigation in Germantown, Wis.October 24, 2023
Contact: DOJCommunications@doj.state.wi.us
GERMANTOWN, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating an officer involved critical incident in the Village of Germantown, Wis. that occurred on the evening of Monday, October 23, 2023.
At approximately 6:36 p.m., officers with Germantown Police Department responded to a report of a subject acting erratically in the parking lot of Kennedy Middle School. The male subject, with no known relationship to the community or school, was driving a vehicle with out-of-state plates that broke down and was at a nearby car repair business. The subject was acting erratically at the car repair business and departed there on foot. When the subject arrived at the school, he was observed acting erratically in the parking lot and attempted to enter the school, but the entries were locked and secure and he was unable to enter the building.
Upon arrival of law enforcement at the school, the subject was able to climb onto the roof of the school and two officers pursued on foot. The subject discharged a firearm at the officers while on the roof, and they returned fire. A third officer also discharged their firearm. The subject sustained injuries and first aid was rendered, but he died on the scene.
No other members of the public or law enforcement were injured during the incident. This is believed to be an isolated incident and there is no ongoing danger to the public. All interactions with the subject occurred outside of the building.
At the time of the incident, approximately 50-70 students were inside the school.
The involved officers have been placed on administrative leave, per agency policy.
DCI is leading the investigation and is assisted by Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, the Wisconsin State Patrol, a DCI Crime Response Specialist, and members of the DCI Digital Evidence Unit. All involved law enforcement are fully cooperating with DCI during this investigation.
DCI will review all evidence and determine the facts of the incident and will turn over investigative reports to the Washington County District Attorney when the investigation concludes.
Please direct media inquiries regarding the officer involved critical incident to Wisconsin DOJ.
Find this press release on the Wisconsin DOJ website here [lnks.gd].
Dr. Chris Reuter, Germantown School District Superintendent, issued the following statement:
Hello, GSD Staff and Families,
This message comes to you heartful and full of emotion. At this time, we want to reaffirm to all that last
night’s incident was an isolated event. There is no threat to school or community safety. The details we
can share at this time are as follows:
At approximately 6:36 p.m., officers with the Germantown Police Department responded to a report of a
subject acting erratically in the parking lot of Kennedy Middle School. Upon arrival of law enforcement,
the subject climbed onto the roof of the school, and two officers pursued on foot. The subject discharged
a firearm at the officers while on the roof, and they returned fire. A third officer also discharged their
firearm. The subject sustained injuries, first aid was rendered, but the subject died on the scene. No
other members of the public or law enforcement were injured during the incident. All interactions with
the subject occurred outside of the KMS building.
At the time of the incident, approximately 70 students and approximately 20 adults were inside the
school. Parents were reunited with those students at MacArthur Elementary throughout the evening last
night. All students, staff, and community members returned to their homes safely.
Thank you to the staff that were at KMS for implementing our trained safety responses quickly and
efficiently. Students, families, staff, and law enforcement also played a role in assuring everyone’s safety.
After meeting with the Department of Justice Crisis Team this morning, the Pupil Service Staff, and the
administrative team have developed a plan to return to school. I want to share with you how we will
reaffirm a sense of safety with staff and students.
KMS students will not have school tomorrow, Wednesday, October 25th, as there is no access to their
building until further notice. County Line, MacArthur, Amy Belle, Rockfield, and Germantown High
School will resume their normal schedules tomorrow, Wednesday, October 25th, with normal bus routes.
This afternoon, Principals at all six schools are connecting with their teachers and support staff to walk
through the process of welcoming all students back to school. We will hold parent-teacher conferences at
both the elementary and high school levels as scheduled for this week.
Please watch for further communications from your school principal and school counselors providing
resources and guidance in response to this incident. If you do not find it fit to send your child to school
tomorrow, please contact your school, and we will excuse their absence.
Thank you for your continued care, support, and compassion during this unfortunate event in our
community
Correction: The incident happened at Kennedy Middle School. Previous versions of this report misidentified the school.
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