OSHKOSH (NBC 26) -- A school resource officer shot a student after that student stabbed him at Oshkosh West High School, according to the Oshkosh Police Chief. Schools in the Oshkosh area are canceled for Wednesday.
In a news conference Tuesday, Oshkosh's Chief of Police Dean Smith said dispatch received a radio call for help from the school resource officer at 9:12 a.m. from Oshkosh West High School. Police said there was an altercation at the school resource officer's office between the officer and a 16-year-old student.
Chief Smith said the student stabbed the officer, at which point the officer shot the student once. Life-saving measures were implemented on both the officer and the student. Officers arriving at the school began to clear the building.
Chief Smith said the school was declared secure at 11:18 a.m. Parents were reunited with students at Perry Tipler Middle School.
Oshkosh Police believe there was only one suspect in this incident. Chief Smith called this incident isolated. Both the officer and the student were taken to the hospital for treatment. They both are believed to have non-life threatening injuries.
This investigation has been handed over to the state department of criminal investigations. About 75 officers from multiple agencies responded to the scene, according to Chief Smith.
Superintendent Dr. Vickie Cartwright said Tuesday's incident was a contained situation. She said in Tuesday's news conference that classes are canceled for Wednesday for all Oshkosh Area School District schools. The superintendent said counseling services will be made available in the coming days.
Gov. Tony Evers issued a statement on the shooting:
“What happened in Oshkosh today hits especially close to home for Kathy and I—two of our kids graduated from Oshkosh West when our family lived in Oshkosh, and our hearts go out to all of the folks at Oshkosh West and the Oshkosh community as they grapple with today’s events.
It’s impossible to ignore the fact that in addition to today’s officer-involved shooting at Oshkosh West, the Sparta School District is closed due to security threats, and that this happened just a day after we had another school shooting at Waukesha South. I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again today—no kid should be afraid to go to school or be in the classroom, and no parent should be afraid to send their kid to school, either. The last two days tells us that we can’t keep pretending that this only happens in other communities or in other states—it’s happening here, too. We can’t just accept that violence in our schools is a foregone conclusion, and we have to get to work to do everything we can to keep our kids and our communities safe.”
The Oshkosh Fire Department also issued a statement thanking local religious organizations for offering their buildings as a site of refuge for responders.
This comes after a student was shot Monday at Waukesha South High School after a fight. This student was taken to a local hospital where he is in stable condition.
