In the wake of officer-involved shootings at Wisconsin high schools in back-to-back days, Gov. Tony Evers and AG Josh Kaul joined Dem lawmakers Tuesday in calling for elected officials to address gun violence.

According to the Oshkosh Police Department, a police officer at Oshkosh West High School Tuesday morning confronted an armed student and both were injured after what OPD described as an “officer-involved shooting.”

This comes one day after an officer at Waukesha South High School shot a student who brought a pellet gun to campus and aimed it at another student’s head, according to an account of the incident given by the Waukesha Police Department.

Evers in a statement said “we have to get to work to do everything we can to keep our kids and our communities safe.”

“The last two days tells us that we can’t keep pretending that this only happens in other communities or in other states–it’s happening here, too,” he said.

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, a Dem from Oshkosh and a graduate of the city’s North High School, said he was “profoundly saddened” by the second incident on a high school campus in as many days.

“I reject the premise that students today must simply learn to live with the constant prospect of terror and violence when they attend school,” he said. “In Wisconsin and across the country, we are deserving of leaders who are willing to step up and address this growing public health crisis.”

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes tweeted today, “wtf man. cc: @repvos @SenFitzgerald.”

Earlier this fall, GOP legislative leaders quickly gaveled in and out a special session Evers had called to take up bills to implement universal background checks and implement a “red-flag” law.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, in a statement Tuesday praised the “heroic actions” of law enforcement officers and touted a package passed last session designed to upgrade school safety.

“Listening to news reports describe how safety improvements were used yesterday is confirmation that Republicans and Democrats made the right choice in working together to fund that program,” he said.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, was not immediately available for comment.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, an Oshkosh Republican, said in a statement the incidents on consecutive days “remind us that we do not possess the capability to completely prevent someone from bringing a weapon to school.”

Johnson praised the “the swift and courageous action” of those who helped avert a wider-scale tragedy and highlighted a Department of Homeland Security website that will soon go online with school safety best practices.

“Let’s not let anyone’s vision of the ‘perfect’ solution prevent us from taking action that will do some good,” he said.

See Barnes’ tweet:
https://twitter.com/TheOtherMandela/status/1201901311983341568

See Evers’ statement:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2019/gov-evers-statement-on-shooting-at-oshkosh-west-high-school/

See Hintz’s statement:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/191203-Hintz.pdf

See Johnson’s statement:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2019/u-s-sen-johnson-statement-on-wisconsin-high-school-incidents/

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