Sixth-grade girl opens fire in Idaho middle school and injures 3 before teacher disarms her, arrested
RIGBY, IDAHO: A sixth-grader girl brought a gun to Rigby Middle School in Idaho and went on a shooting spree on Thursday, May 6, before she was disarmed by a teacher. Police were called to the school after the girl showed up with a firearm and fired at two students and a custodian. The shooting wounded the three in their limbs but their injuries were not life-threatening. The victims were later treated at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
Meanwhile, the suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, has been taken into custody by the police. "Today we had the worst nightmare a school district could encounter. We had a school shooting here at Rigby Middle School. What we know so far is the shooter has been apprehended. There is no further threat to the students," stated Chad Martin, Jefferson School District Superintendent.
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BREAKING: A shooting at an Idaho middle school has wounded three people - two students and an educator - and a suspect is in custody. #idleg https://t.co/PRoiNRJpqd
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 6, 2021
'There was screaming'
The shooting incident took place on May 6 at 9.15 am at Rigby Middle School, which is attended by around 1,500 students from sixth to eighth grades. The city of Rigby is located about 95 miles southwest of Yellowstone National Park.
The girl reportedly pulled out a handgun from her backpack and shot multiple rounds. A female teacher disarmed the girl and kept her till the cops arrived. After the suspected shooter was nabbed, the students were evacuated to nearby Rigby High School where their parents had been waiting to be reunited with them. Students whose parents could not pick them up were sent home by bus. The parents were informed by the school district about the shooting through an email.
USA Today reported that the students were mortified when they realized that the intercom announcements about a school lockdown were not a drill. "We didn't think anything of it at first, until we heard footsteps in the hallway and then we heard a police siren... and that's when we started realizing it was real," seventh-grader Madison Jensen told Idaho Falls' Local News 8. "I texted everyone I knew." Yandel Rodriguez, 12, heard three loud noises, "Then there was screaming. ... Our teacher went to check it out, and he found blood.”
The attack was Idaho's second school shooting
This is the second-ever reported school shooting in Idaho. The first school shooting in the state occurred in 1999 when a student fired a shotgun several times at a high school in Notus. At that time, no one was hit by the bullets, though one student suffered injuries from ricocheting shell debris.
Speaking about the shooting incident at Rigby Middle School, Idaho governor Brad Little said, "I am praying for the lives and safety of those involved in today's tragic events. Thank you to our law enforcement agencies and school leaders for their efforts in responding to the incident," according to Local News 8.