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Official: Hostages Released From Wis. High School

By James Schugel, WCCO-TV

MARINETTE, Wis. (WCCO) -- A high school student in Wisconsin, armed with a handgun, burst into a classroom just before the end of the school day Monday.

It happened at Marinette High School in Marinette, Wis., about five hours east of the Twin Cities. Marinette sits about 50 miles north of Green Bay. The high school has an average enrollment of about 800 students.

A Marinette High School administrator called police just after 3 p.m. to say that a student had overtaken a classroom with a female teacher and 23 students inside.

A multi-state police task force responded, including police officers, sheriff's deputies and firefighters from Wisconsin and Michigan.

They set up a perimeter surrounding the building. A SWAT team arrived at the school and, by one account, there were more than a 100 officers on the scene.

School district officials, along with counselors, were helping parents of the students held hostage.

"Heartbreaking, heartbreaking," said parent Laura Keller. "Can't believe it's happening here."

"It's sad, a sad situation," said local resident Linda Engel, who stood with dozens of parents and students outside the high school. "It's really sad that anybody gets to this point they have to do this, and I hope nobody gets hurt."

"This is not a good mood. There are a lot of people who are scared, a lot of students who are worried," said Jason Chaltry, 32, whose nephew is a sophomore at the school but was not in the classroom.

The young man who took the class hostage was described by another student as a loner. Police haven't released the gunman's name yet, nor do they understand why he did this.

"There were no specific reasons for this incident to take place," said Marinette Police chief Jeff Skorik. "We have no idea about motivations."

Attempts were made to talk with the hostage-taker, but he would not talk to police throughout the incident. The teacher acted as mediator between the student and authorities.

At 7:40 p.m., five of the students were released from the room and debriefed by officers.

At 8:03 p.m., officers heard three gunshots and breached the door of the classroom. They saw the suspect standing in the front. Police say as officers approached, the gunman shot himself.

The teacher and other hostages evacuated the room and paramedics were called in. They provided care to the gunshot victim and transported him to a hospital. His condition is unknown Monday night.

That gunman is 15 years old, a regular student of that class. Authorities had interviewed his parents earlier that night.

Police learned there were two handguns in the classroom during the standoff.

Marinette is a town of about 12,000 people, sitting on the border with Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

A school bus pulled up to the area just after 8 p.m., but it was too dark to see if students boarded that bus, according to a city council person.

Many emergency officials left the scene soon after that, but the questions surrounding the reason why this happened still linger in northeastern Wisconsin late Monday night.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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