A teenage student opened fire with a handgun Monday at a private Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and another teenager during the final week before Christmas break. The shooter also died, police said. The shooter also wounded six others at Abundant Life Christian School, including two students who were in critical condition, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. A teacher and three students had been taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, and two of them had been released by Monday evening. "I'm feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas," Barnes said. "Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. ... We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened." The shooter was a 17-year-old female student, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The official was not authorised to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. Police said the shooter was dead by apparent suicide when officers arrived. Barnes declined to give details about the shooter, partly out of respect for the family. With a few rare exceptions, a 17-year-old can't legally possess a gun in Wisconsin. Barnes said investigators may have enough information to release more detail about the shooter in another press conference later Monday. He also warned people against sharing unconfirmed reports on social media about the shooter's identity. "What that does is it helps erode the trust in this process," he said. Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school " kindergarten through high school " with approximately 400 students in Madison, the state capital. Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations, said the school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures including cameras. She said the school had done a safety retraining with the Madison Police Department just before the school year, so it was "very fresh for faculty." When the school practices safety routines, leaders always announce that it is a drill. That didn't happen Monday.