Sheriff: Girl shoots 3 at Rigby Middle School; teacher disarms her
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RIGBY, Idaho (KIFI) - UPDATE 5:30 p.m. Idaho Falls Police and the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office are assisting the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office serving a search warrant at a residence in Idaho Falls relating to the Rigby Middle School shooting incident.
UPDATE 4:00 p.m. Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Anderson said at a press conference Thursday at approximately 9:08 a.m., a sixth-grade female student retrieved a handgun from her backpack and fired multiple rounds inside the school and out.
She injured two students and a school employee. Two victims were shot inside, and one was shot outside.
He said during the shooting, a teacher disarmed the student and detained her until law enforcement took her into custody.
Dr. Michael Lemon, trauma medical director at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, said all three received non-life-threatening extremity injuries. He said the adult has been treated and released. The bullet went cleanly through the limb, he said. The two pediatric patients are in fair condition and will be monitored overnight.
He said one pediatric patient was shot once in an extremity and may require surgery in the future. The second was potentially shot twice. There were two injuries: one to an upper extremity and one to a lower extremity.
Officials said the three are expected to survive their injuries.
"This is a very difficult and trying time for our community," Anderson said. "We've had amazing support from partners across the state that have arrived to not only assist in the investigation but give us support with what we need."
He said the details of the investigation are being thoroughly investigated right now by Idaho State Police, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Bonneville Sheriff's Office, the FBI, Idaho Falls Police Department, Rigby Police Department, Rexburg Police Department and Madison County Sheriff's Office.
Anderson said the student lives in Idaho Falls but attends Rigby Middle School. He didn't release her name.
Anderson said they do not have a lot of details as to why this happened. He said they are following all leads.
"This is the worst nightmare a school district could ever face," Jefferson School District Superintendent Chad Martin said. "We prepare for it, but we are never truly ready for it. Our hearts and our prayers go out to the victims and their families and all those involved."
Jefferson School District 251 will not have school Friday.
"We want to especially thank our community," Martin said. "The vast support we have received is overwhelming, and we are grateful to live in a community that cares about their students, schools and are willing to offer that support."
Sheriff Anderson said the female is in the custody of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at this time.
Prosecutor Mark Taylor said they will not be making any definitive prosecuting decisions until the investigation is complete. He said appropriate charges will be filed at that time, and the charges that could be filed are three counts of attempted murder.
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 gunfire, but one student was injured by ricocheting debris from the first shell.
In 1989, a student at Rigby Junior High pulled a gun, threatened a teacher and students, and took a 14-year-old girl hostage, according to a Deseret News report. Police safely rescued the hostage from a nearby church about an hour later and took the teen into custody. No one was shot in that incident.
ORIGINAL: The Jefferson County Sheriff and Jefferson School District Superintendent will be holding a press conference at 4 p.m. after a shooting at Rigby Middle School Thursday injured three.
You can watch it below.
Two students and one adult suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Central Fire Chief Carl Anderson says they were taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. EIRM said there are no condition status updates at this time.
