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The terrified boy has revealed the horror that had taken place at his school in Wisconsin when a teenage student opened fire, killing a teacher and another student before turning the gun on herself.
Officers were called to an active shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shortly before 11 a.m. Monday morning after a second-grader called 911, Madison Police Department Chief Shon Barnes said.
Police said the gunman, identified as 15-year-old student Natalie Rupnow, opened fire on staff and students with with a gun, killing a teacher and a student.
Six other victims were wounded – including two students who are now fighting for their lives in critical condition – before the shooter died of a self-inflicted wound.
Some of the students who survived the attack spoke about the terrifying ordeal, with one boy simply asking, “Why?”
Adler Jean-Charles, a sixth-grader at the school, was in English class when the shots rang out. The class of 11 and 12 were escorted past the school after being told they were going through a lockdown drill.
“We heard them. And some people started crying,” Jean-Charles said in an interview with CNN on Monday. “And then we just waited for the police to come and escort us to the church.”
He added: “I was scared and [thinking]’Why did they do that? Why?”
After receiving food and water, Jean-Charles said his class was taken to a local hospital to meet with parents and guardians.
His mother, Mireille Jean-Charles, choked back tears as she explained the trauma inflicted on her son, his classmates and herself.
“Thank God they were safe,” she said. “But the trauma. It’s a lot, because I’m sure they’ve lost friends and teachers, which isn’t right. I don’t think they’re going to be OK for long, and I’m not.”
Eight-year-old Nora Gottschalk told CNN she was getting ready for lunch when she saw a teacher shot in the attack.
“I was getting ready for lunch, it was basically lunch time, and then I just heard yelling,” the girl told News 3 Now while holding a SpongeBob lollipop. “And then there was the teacher… and she shouted: ‘Ah, my leg, help, help!’
Gottschalk added, “I was really scared and I was really sad.”
Another second-grader, Noah, risked his life by crawling out from under a table where children were hiding to close a curtain to seemingly block the killer’s view, the girl said.
“He risked his life to bring down the black curtain,” Nora explained, adding that Noah is fine.
Police are now investigating the motive behind the attack and have been quick to dispel internet rumors about it the gender of the shooter identity.
“I don’t think what happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may have wanted to identify themselves,” Barnes said.
“I wish people would kind of leave their personal biases out of this.” We have people who have another school shooting in Madison. That is where my focus will be in the near future.”
A candlelight vigil will be held in Madison on Tuesday evening.
President Joe Biden, who was informed of the school shooting on Monday, said: “It is shocking and unconscionable. We need Congress to act. Now… Jill and I are praying for all the victims today, including the female teacher and teenage student who were killed and those who were injured.”