Waukesha police say they arrested a 17-year-old male in a backyard armed with a rifle near Waukesha North High School.
On Friday April 14, 2023, at approximately 12:56 p.m., Waukesha police received a call about "a male with what was described to officers as a rifle was observed in the backyard in the 200 blk of Greenmeadow Dr," police wrote in a news release. That's near Waukesha North High School.
"Students were able to give a great description of the male and immediately notified the School Resource Officer," the release says. "The Waukesha North H.S. Administrative team place the school on a SECURE status. A SECURE status is when the learning environment status quo with the exception of a heightened awareness by staff, ensure no students or staff are outside and locking of the outside doors."
A significant police response "deployed to the area to safeguard the schools. After the area schools were secured, officers methodically searched the area for the suspect. Officers were able to engage in dialogue with the suspect to get him to peacefully surrender," the release says.
The suspect was "taken into custody without any further incident. A firearm was recovered from the scene. Members of the police department were relaying real-time information, utilizing ReadyOP, to the leadership teams of the surrounding schools so they could make the best safety decisions," according to the release. "This is important as district officials do not want to disrupt the learning environment any more than necessary. The real-time information provided, allowed district officials to reduce any potential stress or anxiety for the student learners."
Police added: "This is a true testament to the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s - 'SPEAK UP SPEAK OUT' campaign. The students observed something and said something about it. These courageous students are the ones who helped safeguard the community today, to those amazing students, Thank you! We want to thank the Waukesha North Administrative team and the School District of Waukesha for their vigilance of training in school safety protocols.
Waukesha police Capt. Dan Baumann wrote, "The investigation is still on going, we still have our team in the area collecting evidence. Charging decisions and identification, if released, wont be done until Monday at the earliest. It goes without saying that the training and preparation we have with the school district paid off. To the officers who tenaciously investigated and kept those children safe, we sincerely thank you. No one will be available for comment."
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