Three injured in Idaho middle school shooting
Rigby, Idaho.
(Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user UltraSparky)Three people were injured in a shooting at a southeast Idaho middle school on Thursday in the town of Rigby, according to police. A suspect has been taken into custody.
“Today we had the worst nightmare a school district could encounter. We had a school shooting here at Rigby Middle School,” Jefferson School District Superintendent Chad Martin told KIFI-TV, a local news station. “What we know so far is the shooter has been apprehended. There is no further threat to the public or the students.”
Ambulances were dispatched to the school around 9:15 in the morning, where two students and one adult suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to school officials. They are now in stable condition at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, the Idaho Press reports.
None of their names have been released.
One of the injured people was an adult school custodian, Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Anderson said.
Students were evacuated from Rigby Middle School to a neighbouring high school. They are sheltering in a gymnasium, where schools officials have said parents can come collect their children.
Sheriff’s deputies, paramedics, and fire department personnel are currently on the scene evacuating the school and treating the injured.
Parents reported to local media that their children began texting them once shots were fired and Rigby Middle and High School, across the street from each other, went into lockdown.
Idaho officials said they are monitoring the situation.
Governor Brad Little said on Thursday he was “praying for the lives and safety of those involved” in a tweet on Thursday.
I am praying for the lives and safety of those involved in today's tragic events. Thank you to our law enforcement agencies and school leaders for their efforts in responding to the incident. I am staying updated on the situation. https://t.co/IF4ECgWhaV
— Brad Little (@GovernorLittle) May 6, 2021
“I am monitoring the heartbreaking events in Rigby today and my heart goes out to all of those involved in this tragedy,” Idaho congressman Mike Simpson tweeted on Thursday. “To the first responders and our heroic teachers and faculty who are keeping our children safe, thank you.”
I am monitoring the heartbreaking events in Rigby today and my heart goes out to all of those involved in this tragedy. To the first responders and our heroic teachers and faculty who are keeping our children safe, thank you. https://t.co/CjZqWic5Ug
— Cong. Mike Simpson (@CongMikeSimpson) May 6, 2021
Rigby is a small town of a few thousand about an hour’s drive from Yellowstone National Park, and reportedly hasn’t had a school shooting since 1989.
Prior to the Rigby incident, there have been at least six school shootings in 2021, already nearly equalling 2020’s total of 10, according to Education Week, though those numbers are well below pre-pandemic levels.
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