A suspect was arrested Thursday after Wisconsin police said a teenager attempted to enter an elementary school in Kenosha while possibly armed.
According to authorities, someone attempted to enter Roosevelt Elementary School in Kenosha “with suspicious bags.” When approached by school staff in the building’s foyer, the individual escaped to a nearby neighborhood, according to officials.
The school was put on “secure hold,” and just after 2 p.m. Thursday, authorities reported a 13-year-old was apprehended.
Though they did not confirm whether a weapon was on the adolescent at the time of the altercation, they suspected guns were in the backpack he was carrying.
“We believe that this was an armed suspect with a firearm, and there was no legitimate reason to enter the school,” Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton said in a press conference after the arrest.
Police released a video of the teen practicing “rudimentary techniques” with a rifle, and evidence suggested that he made several internet searches connected to school shootings, authorities said.
“Today we experienced something that all school staff and families fear — a potential school shooting,” Kenosha Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Jeff Weiss told a press conference, according to NBC affiliate station TMJ4. “Today we are thankful.”
Weiss stated that the school’s “safety work” before to the disaster “prevented further tragedy.”
Officials asked parents to speak with their children and “if you see something, say something.”
Roosevelt Elementary is fewer than two miles from where a teenager killed two men on August 25, 2020, during protests against the death of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by Kenosha police.
Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of all charges by a jury little under 15 months after the tragic killings. Rittenhouse, who is now 21, testified in his own defense, claiming the fatal shootings were self-defense.