UPDATE on Oct. 25, 2023: A statement from Dr. Chris Reuter, Superintendent of the Germantown School District, confirms that students will return to Kennedy Middle School on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 in the wake of a police shooting earlier this week. The statement also confirmed that Kennedy Middle School staff is already being welcomed back to the building for preparations.
GERMANTOWN – In an update provided this afternoon, Germantown officials said that Kennedy Middle School will be closed “until further notice” by the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation. The DCI is leading the investigation into the incident on the evening of Monday, October 24, where Germantown police shot and killed a man who had been acting erratically and had climbed onto the roof of the school.
Germantown School Superintendent Chris Reuter said that all Germantown schools except Kennedy will reopen on Wednesday, October 25, with Tuesday spent working with staff to make sure the return to school is smooth for both students and staff.
“We worked as a district team this morning with the Department of Justice crisis prevention team and they walked us through some protocols for reentry so we can reestablish our safe, caring, learning, loving environment for all kids and all staff,” Reuter said at a press conference this afternoon.
Reuter said that he understands parents who may want to keep their children out of school on Wednesday, and promised to excuse those absences district-wide.
According to a press release from the DOJ, just after 6:30 p.m. on Monday, officers with Germantown Police Department responded to a report of a subject acting erratically in the parking lot of Kennedy Middle School. He attempted to enter the school, but the entrances were locked and he was unable to enter the building.
Between 50 and 70 students were in the building at the time of the incident.
The man had no known relationship to the community or school and was driving a vehicle with out-of-state plates that broke down and was at a nearby car repair business. The subject was also acting erratically at the car repair business, which he left on foot to head to the school.
Once law enforcement arrived on scene, the man climbed onto the roof of the school and two officers pursued on foot. He shot at the officers while on the roof, and they returned fire, hitting and killing him despite lifesaving measures from those officers and first responders from the Germantown Fire Department. A third officer also discharged their firearm.
Germantown Police Chief Mike Snow said at the press conference that they’re confident in the safety of students, calling it an “isolated incident.” Snow said all four officers who responded, including the one who did not fire his gun, are on administrative leave per department policy.
“When they received the report of shots being fired, they flew to the scene. They knew potentially children were in danger, and they were ready to risk their lives to make sure that did not happen,” Snow said. “Their efforts were just nothing short of heroic.”
Snow also celebrated the department’s partnership with the school district to make sure lockdown drills are regularly performed.
“The school district is committed to training, they’re committed to working with us to make sure that these students know what to do and last night they demonstrated that almost flawlessly,” Snow said. “That did not happen by accident.”
Now, after dozens of students and staff were locked down and evacuated, Reuter is hoping to carefully navigate the return to school for all on Wednesday.
“We look forward to welcoming children back tomorrow,” Reuter said.
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