Suspected teenage gunman killed by police ahead of possible mass shooting

An armed teenage boy in Wisconsin was killed by local police outside of a middle school on Wednesday, preventing what could have been another mass shooting.

The teenager has not been identified, but was confirmed to be a student in the Mount Horeb School District. The alleged shooter did not breach the school, but gunshots were fired, and no students or faculty were injured.

"The threat has been neutralized outside of the building," a post from the district's Superintendent Dr. Steve Salerno reads, according to USA Today. "Law-enforcement is circulating throughout the middle school to confirm the safety of all students."

One student said his class fled the school on in-line skates, and ran to a nearby convenience store and gas station to hide in the bathroom, according to the Associated Press. 

“I don’t think anywhere is safe anymore,” 32-year-old Alison Kelly, the student's mother, told the outlet.

The shooting was first reported late Wednesday morning, but officials kept the school on lockdown throughout the afternoon as an investigation was conducted. The Wisconsin village of Mount Horeb is home to around 7,600 people.