A teacher and a teenage student were killed and six others wounded in a shooting at a Wisconsin school, police say.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the suspect, a teenager who was a student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, was also among the dead. At least two students have life-threatening injuries.

"Today is a sad day not only for Madison, but for our entire country," Mr. Barnes said. "We need to do a better job in our community."

He said that the police had not identified a motive for the shooting, and that the suspect's family was cooperating with the investigation.

Officers responded to a 911 call of an active shooter at the Christian school around 11:00 local time (17:00GMT).

Police say they found the shooter already dead when they arrived at the scene and that no officer fired a weapon.

Several victims had gunshot wounds, and were transported to the hospital.

Mr Barnes said two students were in a critical condition in hospital with life-threatening injuries. Four others are in hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.

He said the police recovered a handgun from the scene. The shooting was confined to one place, but it is not clear if it was in a classroom or a hall.

Officials say there is no ongoing risk to other schools or the surrounding community. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

Residents were asked to avoid the area and roads were closed around the school.

A reunion center was set up next to the school building to reunite students with their parents.

"Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will always be a victim," Mr Barnes said.

He said officers responded to the scene while training at a law enforcement training center three miles from the school.

"What started as a training day turned into a real day," he said.

The incident also led to a large response from emergency officials. Madison Fire Chief Chris Carbon said 15 ambulances responded to calls of the shooting.

Abundant Life Christian School has approximately 400 students from kindergarten through high school.

"Please pray for our Challenger Family," the school wrote in a Facebook post.

Local city officials responded to the shooting at a news conference Monday afternoon.

"Get out, get help, this doesn't have to be a reality for our community," said Dane County Executive Melissa Agard.

The Governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, said that he was closely monitoring what happened.

"We are praying for the children, educators, and the entire Abundant Life school community as we await more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond," said Evers in a commentary on X.

President Joe Biden has been notified, the White House says, and senior officials are in contact with local authorities.

Shootings are common in the US, and schools are no exception.

The K-12 Violence Project, a non-profit organization that works to reduce violence through accessible and actionable research, has counted more than 300 shootings in 2024. , regardless of the number of victims.

According to the news organization EducationWeek, 38 school shootings have resulted in death or injury across the US this year. There were 69 victims in total - including 16 deaths - before today's shooting.