MADISON, Wis. – A teacher and a teenager were killed and six students were injured in a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, police said.

The police had briefly mentioned a higher death toll, but later revised the information.

The suspect, a teenage student at the school, was also dead, police said. The suspect used a handgun, police said.

A motive is unclear, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference.

Of the six students injured, two were in critical condition and had life-threatening injuries, Barnes said. Four other students suffered non-life-threatening injuries, he said.

“But those are just the physical injuries we know about. We know that this was in the middle of the school day, and so there will be other injuries that we will have to deal with for a very, very long time,” Barnes said.

Officers responded to an active shooter report around 10:57 a.m. The suspect was dead when police arrived and no officers fired their weapons, Barnes said.

The shooting was “confined to one room,” but it was not clear whether it was a classroom or a hallway, the chief said.

“I’ve never seen so many police cars in my life – just blue and red lights lining the school and the streets. Firefighters, paramedics, everyone was there,” John Diaz de Leon told ABC News Live in the normally quiet area. “I saw groups of children coming into the church hall from school in groups, probably while they were in lockdown, clearing the building and gradually taking the children out little by little.”

He said he saw officers with long guns at the scene and older students running from the school across the parking lot.

“Later, the younger students were let out, very slowly and more orderly, holding hands, to walk across the parking lot,” he said.

In fact, the police were gathered nearby for an exercise. So they arrived quickly and were well prepared.

The school was evacuated, Barnes said.

“Our commanders, including the fire chief, and I were in commander training less than two weeks ago and ran through the exact same scenario for another fictional location. And that’s how it all came into play today,” Barnes said. “Stop the threat, stop the killing, find the threat.”

Officials are working to reunite students with their parents. Approximately 390 students from kindergarten through 12th grade attend the school.

“My mother obviously lives nearby and looks after my children. So she called me and told me she saw a lot of police, and obviously my daughter goes here, and my nieces and nephews, my sister, so she called me on the phone. She told me, ‘Please stay calm.’ So I was already trying to prepare mentally,” Bethany Highman said.

Filming took place a week before the holidays.

The police chief said he began his career as a teacher.

“We owe it to our community to do everything we can to ensure this happens (Schools are) “Not only is it a special place, but it’s a safe place,” he said.

“I hoped this day would never come in Madison,” said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.

She emphasized the need to prevent gun violence and said she wants the community and country to ensure that “no officer ever has to stand in this position again.”

“This is not a place any fire chief or any of us would ever want to be. And I can’t believe I’m standing here today talking about this incident,” said Madison Fire Chief Chris Carbon.

“It’s hard for me to put into words what they encountered,” another fire official said.

Wisconsin Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly emphasized the need for change, saying in a statement: “This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to protect our children and our educators to ensure that such Horrors will never happen again. We will. We will not rest until we find solutions that make our schools safe.”

“The time for change is long past,” Underly said.

A reunion center was set up for parents and students. Panicked relatives rushed to the center to find their students.

“I just left and drove here. I called my husband and he made his way here,” said one mother.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., wrote on social media: “My sincere condolences and prayers go out to all the victims of the tragedy at Abundant Life Christian School. I will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wrote: “I am closely following the incident at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison. We pray for Abundant Life’s children, educators and entire school community as we wait for more information and are grateful to the first responders who are working quickly to respond.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., tweeted: “I have been informed of the active shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison and my condolences go out to all those affected. “My office is in contact with local and state officials and I stand ready to assist law enforcement and anyone affected.”

According to the White House, President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting.

In a statement he said:

“Today, families in Madison, Wisconsin mourn the people killed and wounded at Abundant Life Christian School. It’s shocking and incomprehensible.”

“We need Congress to act. Now.”

“From Newtown to Uvalde, from Parkland to Madison and so many other shootings that go unnoticed, it is unacceptable that we cannot protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Everyone.” The child deserves to feel safe in their classroom. Students in our country should learn to read and write – not learn to hide.

“Jill and I are praying today for all the victims, including the teacher and teenage student killed and those who sustained injuries. We are grateful for the first responders who arrived quickly on the scene, and the FBI is supporting local law enforcement efforts.” At my direction, my team reached out to local authorities to offer additional assistance if needed.

“My administration has taken aggressive action to combat the gun violence epidemic. We passed the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years, I took more executive actions to reduce gun violence than any other president in history, and I created the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House. But more is needed.

“Congress must pass common sense gun safety laws: Universal background checks. A national red flag law. A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”

“We can never accept senseless violence that traumatizes children and their families and tears entire communities apart.”

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 112 school shootings so far this year in which at least one victim was injured or killed.

As of Dec. 16, there have been 487 mass shootings in 2024, including the most recent in Wisconsin. This time last year there were 641 mass shootings.

This is the eighth mass shooting in Wisconsin so far this year and the second mass shooting in Madison this year.

The Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are injured or killed – excluding the perpetrator – counted 656 mass shootings in 2023, 646 in 2022, 689 in 2021 and 610 in 2020.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC7 Chicago’s John Garcia and Liz Nagy contributed to this report.