A high school prom in northern Wisconsin ended abruptly after a lone gunman burst onto the scene and opened fire at the building where students were partying. Thankfully, there were no reported fatalities on the aggrieved side. The shooter, on the other hand, was killed after participating in a brief shootout with the police.
Gunman Killed, Two People Injured
According to the official police report via CNN, Jakob Wagner, 18, arrived at Antigo High School at about 11 p.m on Saturday. Armed with a rifle, Wagner opened fire just outside the entrance of the building where the prom event was being held.
Authorities who were patrolling the area quickly responded and started shooting at the gunman. Wagner was fatally wounded during the short skirmish and was taken to the nearest hospital. After many attempts to save the suspect's life, doctors pronounced him dead at 1:06 a.m.
ABC News reported that Wagner's unexplained attack on Antigo High School injured two partygoers. District Administrator Donald Childs said a boy and a girl were shot as they were exiting the school. The boy was a student at Antigo and the girl was his out-of-state date.
Both received treatment at Aspirus Langlade Hospital. The boy is still recuperating from surgery while the girl has since been discharged from the health facility.
Swift Police Response Saved The Day
As for the other partygoers, they were escorted away from the school shortly after the shooting took place. The Unified School District of Antigo said in a statement that swift response from the police prevented what could have been a much more disastrous scenario.
"I didn't see anything suspicious. I didn't feel any bad vibes. It seemed like it was going to be a normal prom," said Sonia Reed, a mother who was present during the event. "I have two other children that's in the high school, and they don't want to go back, period. They're just beyond freaking out here."
Antigo High School administrators refrained from divulging further details about the incident, claiming they don't want to preempt pending investigation. However, they did indicate that Wagner did not enter the building because there were policemen present at the prom.
