Heavy
An active shooter who turned out to be a 6th grade girl injured two students and a custodian, but none fatally, in a shooting at Rigby Middle School in Rigby, Idaho, on May 6, 2021, authorities said. A suspect is now in custody, according to Local News 8.
She was disarmed by a heroic teacher, Krista Gneiting.
Jefferson School District 251 released a statement confirming there had been an “active shooter” incident at the middle school. According to journalist Adrian Luevano, three people suffered non life-threatening injuries: Two children and an adult. East Idaho News reported that, according to authorities, the three people shot were two students and a custodian, Jim Wilson.
The shooter’s name was not released.
Local News 8 also reported, preliminarily, that there are believed to be three victims, and parents can pick up their kids at Rigby High School. There is no word yet on the exact conditions of victims, what the motive is and who the suspect was. The television station described it as an “incident” but said it was a shooting on its Facebook page. There is no official word from authorities.
“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,” Chad Martin, the superintendent of schools, told KUTV.
The names of suspects and victims were not released.
Here’s what you need to know:
Reporters Filmed Live Video From the Scene
You can watch live reporting from the scene above.
One distraught mother described for the reporter how her daughter texted her that she loved her and there was a “real lockdown” at the middle school.
A reporter for Local News 8 said in a video report on Facebook students are all in the high school’s gymnasium. “We do have three confirmed victims. The suspect is in custody. I did see a man get taken away in an ambulance,” she wrote.
Ririe School District wrote on Twitter, “Due to the ongoing situation at Rigby Middle School, the Ririe School District has initiated the “Shelter-In-Place” procedure. There is no direct threat to our school district at this time – this is a precautionary measure. Classes will continue as normal with extra precautions.”
People on Facebook Also Described a Shooting
A woman wrote on Facebook, “heard this from a student at rigby….. 3 shot, One was transported by ambulance. One was shot in the leg. The shooter is…in custody…..” Those details have not been confirmed by authorities. The shooting broke out in the early morning hours on the west coast. The sheriff told East Idaho News that the suspected shooter is a male student but it was later revealed to be a girl.
“A friend just told me there was a middle school shooting in her town of Rigby, ID. Heartbreaking,” wrote another.
Devin Bodkin, an Idaho Education News reporter, wrote, “En route to Rigby Middle School following reports of shots fired. Still very unclear what is happening, but I’m told a suspect is in custody.”
Luevano wrote, “Students from the middle school are currently being evacuated to Rigby High School, where parents may pick them up. Students that are not picked up will be bused home.”
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