Shooting at Idaho middle school injures 3; student captured
Police tape marks a line outside Rigby Middle School following a shooting there earlier Thursday, May 6, 2021, in Rigby, Idaho. Authorities said that two students and a custodian were injured, and a male student has been taken into custody.
(AP Photo/Natalie Behring)
RIGBY, Idaho (AP) — A shooting at an eastern Idaho middle school Thursday injured two students and a custodian, and a male student has been taken into custody, authorities said.
The victims' injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Anderson said.
“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 said. “What we know so far is the shooter has been apprehended. There is no further threat to the students.”
Police were called to the school around 9:15 a.m. Multiple law enforcement agencies were on scene.
Students were evacuated to a nearby high school, and parents lined up to be reunited with their children.
Rigby is a small city about 95 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Yellowstone National Park. Rigby Middle School has about 1,500 students in sixth through eighth grades, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
“I am praying for the lives and safety of those involved in today’s tragic events,” Gov. Brad Little said in a prepared statement. “Thank you to our law enforcement agencies and school leaders for their efforts in responding to the incident.”
The attack appears to be Idaho's second school shooting. In 1999, a student at a high school in Notus fired a shotgun several times. No one was struck by the bullets, but one student was injured by ricocheting debris from the first shell.