MOUNT HOREB, Wis. (WMTV) – One year ago, on May 1, 2024, panic permeated throughout the Village of Mount Horeb. A teenager, armed with what looked like a real gun, was trying to get into the middle school.
“Honestly, looking back it’s a blur,” said Chief of Police Doug Vierck in his first interview about that day. “I had stepped out to lunch and got a phone call that the incident was happening, so I rushed back.”
The doors to the middle school were locked and the student couldn’t get in the building. Police responded and told him to drop the weapon as he stood outside the building. Authorities say he ignored their commands and say he instead motioned toward them with the gun and that’s when three officers opened fire. The boy was killed.
“I know talking to officers, none of them wanted that to happen. None of them want to take that action but we also have to be trained and willing to take that action if it’s in defense of others and to save a life. So, it’s a catch-22, so to speak,” said Chief Vierck, who also had a child inside the middle school that day…