*

Police chief says shooter found dead, was student at

school

*

Three dead, six injured and taken to area hospitals,

police say

*

US data show 322 school shootings this year

(New throughout, adds details on those killed, extent of

injuries, that handgun used in shooting; Adds comment from

Madison mayor)

By Brad Brooks and Joseph Ax

Dec 16 (Reuters) - A teenage student killed a fellow

student and a teacher at a Wisconsin school on Monday before

police found the suspect dead at the scene of the latest

shooting to devastate a U.S. campus, authorities said.

Police did not publicly identify any of the victims at the

Abundant Life Christian School, a private institution that

teaches some 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade,

At least six other people were wounded, according to police.

Two students had life-threatening injuries; four other people

had non-life threatening injuries.

The shooter, who used a handgun in the attack and was a

student at the school, was found dead inside the school by

officers, who immediately went into the school on arrival. The

shooter was not identified, including by age or by gender.

No officers fired their weapons when they responded,

police said.

There was as yet no known motive for the violence, which

authorities said took place in one spot inside the school. The

shooter's family was cooperating with the investigation, police

said.

Earlier, police said five people were killed in the

shooting, but later said that information was incorrect.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes, a former public school

history teacher, said the shooting took place just before 11

a.m. local time.

"Today is a sad, sad day, not only for Madison, but for our

entire country, where yet another police chief is doing a press

conference to speak about violence in our community," Barnes

told reporters.

Barnes added: "Every child, every person in that building,

is a victim, and will be a victim forever. These types of trauma

don't just go away."

Video posted from the scene on social media showed a massive

emergency response, including police, ambulance and fire

vehicles.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told an afternoon news

conference that "we need to do better in our country and our

community to prevent gun violence."

Abundant Life Christian School wrote on its social media:

"Prayers Requested! Today, we had an active shooter incident at

ALCS. We are in the midst of following up. We will share

information as we are able."

Members of a Facebook group for the school's alumni

expressed horror and offered prayers. Several people began

organizing a donation and gift card drive for staff members and

others affected by the attack.

"It is horrifying watching this happen in a place that was

safe for so many of us," one woman, Kristen Navis, wrote. "I am

praying for all, the tragedy of life lost in this manner is

almost incomprehensible."

Gun control and school safety have become major political

and social issues in the U.S. where the number of school

shootings has jumped in recent years.

There have been 322 school shootings this year in the U.S.,

according to the K-12 School Shooting Database website. That is

the second highest total of any year since 1966, according to

that database - topped only by last year's total of 349 such

shootings.

The epidemic of shootings has afflicted public and private

schools alike in urban, suburban and rural communities.

Some have taken place in Christian schools, though far more

have taken place at public schools. In March 2023, a former

student at Covenant School, a private academy in Nashville,

killed three children and three adults before being shot dead by

law enforcement officers.

Earlier this month, two students aged 5 and 6 were shot at

Feather River Adventist School near Oroville, California, by a

gunman who later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on

the shooting, and White House officials were in touch with local

officials in Madison to provide any support needed.