Ethermac Exchange-Students reunite with families after armed boy fatally shot outside Mount Horeb school: Here's what we know

Students were reunited with their relieved families and Ethermac Exchangeclasses were canceled Thursday after police shot and killed an armed boy outside of a middle school in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin on Wednesday.

The boy was a student at the Mount Horeb School District, which serves 2,500 students across five schools, Josh Kaul, state attorney general confirmed at a Wednesday afternoon press briefing. Mount Horeb is a small village located about 23 miles west of Madison, Wisconsin's capital city.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers posted on X Wednesday that he had been "briefed on the incident " and was "closely monitoring the situation."

Kaul declined to release any specific information on the student involved, which of the Mount Horeb schools he attended or the weapon, stating that it is an "ongoing investigation."

Here's what we know.

What happened at Mount Horeb Middle School?

An emergency alert was sent to residents' phones Wednesday morning, warning people of an active shooter at the middle school. Kaul confirmed that no students or school staff were injured.

Shortly after 11:30 a.m., the school district reported the incident on its Facebook page. In a series of posts, the district said all buildings were on a full lockdown as police "scope out" the rest of the building.

Police and emergency vehicles that arrived on scene appeared to be focused around the high school, which is across the street from the middle school, according to reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. There was a helicopter on the ground, another overhead and ambulances parked in front of the high school.

Reunification centers were set up Wednesday to reunite the some 2,500 students across five schools in the district with their families.

What happened to the potential shooter at Mount Horeb?

Police shot and killed the armed student outside the school before he was able to make his way inside.

The shooting was reported a little after 11:15 a.m. Wednesday. "The threat has been neutralized outside of the building," Mount Horeb Area School District Superintendent Dr. Steve Salerno wrote in a social media post. "Law-enforcement is circulating throughout the middle school to confirm the safety of all students."

In a statement, the school district said the suspect "did not breach entryway" into the building.

"An initial search of the middle school has not yielded additional suspects," the district said Wednesday afternoon. "As importantly, we have no reports of individuals being harmed, with the exception of the alleged assailant."

Mount Horeb parents, officials react to news

Kristen Malone was among the parents who were waiting at Life Church for their children, which was designated as a reunification center for the intermediate school, grades 3 to 5.

Malone told the Journal Sentinel that when she heard about the active shooter at the middle school, she felt “complete panic and terrified."

“It’s unthinkable that it happened here. I just never really ever considered that it would happen in our community,” Malone said.

Brett Halverson, a member of the village board of trustees, said he has a child in the school district and was thankful they and other students were safe Wednesday.

“It’s very scary,” he said of the events. “Nobody ever wants to see this kind of thing happen. I wish politicians who had some say would do something about it.”

Melissa Alvarado picked up her middle schooler daughter minutes before the incident began because she was feeling sick. 

Her other child heard gunshots from the high school building across the street. Teachers told students to run to the other side of the school to barricade themselves in classrooms, Alvarado said.

“This is our home, our safe spot, that’s no longer safe,” she said.

Are Mount Horeb schools open today?

Although Mount Horeb School District initially said schools would be open Thursday to any and all students and staff that need support, Salerno posted on social media late Wednesday that school would be canceled for May 2 "in an effort to continue the healing process."

Details of support service plans will be announced for children and staff, Salerno said.

Salerno noted Wednesday the community's support for capital referendums that helped install safety measures at schools around the district.

"This could have been a far worse tragedy," the superintendent said. "We're beyond grateful for the community's support of our beautiful children and our loving staff."

Contributing: Elliot Hughes, Jessica Van Egeren, Sophie Carson, Laura Schulte, Claire Reid and Ricardo Torres, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.