Ex-classmate: Wis. prom shooter was bullied about hygiene

ANTIGO, Wis. — The man who shot two students at Antigo High School's prom late Saturday

had been bullied since at least middle school and had expressed an interest in guns, according to a former classmate.

Jakob Wagner, 18, fired a rifle at the two students outside the school around 11 p.m. Saturday before police shot him. He later died at a hospital, while the victims survived with non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.

Wis. community praises quick police response to prom shooting

While investigators on Sunday were trying to piece together what prompted the shootings, a former classmate of Wagner's said that the man seemed like a nice, but socially awkward and troubled student when in school.

"He was bullied a lot," said Emily Fisher, 19, who graduated from Antigo High School in 2015.

Fisher said students ganged up on Wagner, called him names and may have been violent toward him, in part because of poor hygiene. The bullying occurred since at least middle school and persisted through high school, although to a lesser degree, Fisher said.

Fisher said she was not good friends with Wagner, but that she had given him some car rides home. They also were in the same art class during their senior year of high school.

Wagner would talk about guns and weapons, and made replicas of them in art class, according to Fisher. While she said an interest in guns is not unusual in Wisconsin, which has a strong hunting culture, Wagner's behavior was concerning to her.

"Ever since we were younger, he was one of the kids you kind of watched out for," Fisher said in a phone conversation from Menomonie, where she now lives. "If someone was going to shoot the school, we thought it was going to be him."

No one from the Antigo school district has released specific information about Wagner's background. Late Sunday, authorities said Antigo High School is safe for classes Monday but that students will return amid a "heightened police presence."

"Law enforcement agencies conducted a thorough search of the High School building and the on-site investigation has been completed," a statement posted at 5:15 p.m. on the Unified School District of Antigo website said. "The advice of these experts is to resume school on Monday so that students and staff can have access to support from counselors who will be available at all school sites.

"There will also be heightened police presence around the high school for the next few days to lend support."

Antigo is a city of about 8,000 people 150 miles north of Milwaukee, and the high school has about 800 students.

The Antigo Police Department identified Wagner as the gunman and said he was pronounced dead at 1:06 a.m. Sunday "after lifesaving measures at a nearby hospital." He started shooting people as they left the school about 11 p.m. Saturday, before an officer already on the scene shot him, authorities said.

The Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation was asked to take over the shooting investigation because an Antigo police officer killed the gunman, according to Justice spokesman Johnny Koremenos, who said Sunday afternoon that state agents "are busy assessing the facts at this time."

The latest in a decades-long string of U.S. school shootings drew immediate national attention, as high schools are holding proms across the country.

One female victim was treated for a gunshot wound at Aspirus Langlade Hospital in Antigo and released. The other victim, a male student, underwent surgery Sunday for non-life threatening injuries, according to police.

"The officer’s immediate response prevented further injuries and possible casualties," the police department said in a statement posted on Facebook. "The initial investigation and officer response indicate this was a lone shooter and a search warrant is being executed at his residence seeking any additional information pertaining to this incident."

Officers were patrolling the school parking lot during prom before the shooting started.

“The community is safe at this point,” Antigo Police Chief Eric Roller said during a press conference several hours after the incident.

The Antigo school district said Wagner had approached the school with a high-powered rifle and a large ammunition magazine. The district said in a statement that "quick actions" taken by police and district staff to secure the building "prevented what might have otherwise been a disaster of unimaginable proportions, and we are extremely grateful for their well-rehearsed response."

Nikita Deep, a junior, was attending prom on Saturday night and said police officers came into the school and moved students to a corner of the building. Students were not released until about 2 a.m., three hours after the shooting.

“We heard there was a situation, but I thought it was some kind of drug bust,” Deep said. “Then they flipped the lights and then about 12 officers came in and are armored. We were all frightened.”

Nikita’s parents, Dr. Noel Deep and Dr. Lakshmi Deep, were at home when they heard from their daughter about the incident and immediately went to the school.

“We were texting with other parents, and they were all there or on their way,” Lakshmi Deep said. “This was going to be a very fun night, and you never expect something like this to happen.”

News of the shooting has spread quickly on social media since late Saturday. In a sign of solidarity, many people changed their Facebook profile pictures to a modified version of the school district’s logo that read “Love & Prayers for AHS.”

Police have not said whether Wagner knew either of the victims or may have targeted them specifically.

Interim district administrator Donald B. Childs told The Associated Press on Sunday that it appears Wagner intended to go into the building and shoot at people at the dance.

“We have no reason to believe at this point it was targeting anybody specifically,” Childs said, adding that the shooting outside the entrance happened “from some distance.”

A person with the same name and spelling as Wagner's was listed in an Antigo newspaper as a high school senior in 2015 who made the honor roll in February of that year. On his Facebook page, Wagner displayed an interest in marching band and cats.

An autopsy on Wagner was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, Langlade County Coroner Larry Shadick said.

Counseling services will be available in all Antigo public schools on Monday for students and staff.

Reinhardt Balcerzak, a retired Antigo High School science teacher and member of the City Council, said he heard about the shooting when he turned on his TV Sunday morning.

"It hasn't even sunk in yet," Balcerzak told a journalist from the Wausau Daily Herald on Sunday morning. "I put on Good Morning America and that's the first thing I saw. I told my wife, 'I think that's Antigo.'"

He described Antigo students as "really nice kids" and said that when he taught there, the worst he ever worried about was the occasional fistfight.

"It just takes one or two that are angry about something," Balcerzak said in reference to the shooting. "It's too bad that's going to be the memory for those kids. I feel bad that's their last prom. I feel bad for the ones who were shot and their parents."

Within hours after the shooting, an Antigo Police Department Facebook post about the news had drawn dozens of comments, most praising the officers who responded.

"God bless all of you at the APD," one commenter wrote. "The quick response of the officers at the scene no doubt saved others from injury."

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker issued a statement along with his wife, giving credit to the responding officers and offering support for the community.

"Tonette and I send our thoughts and prayers to the students of Antigo High School, their families, and the community of Antigo," the statement said. "We pray for the full recovery of those injured, and we praise the response of the Antigo Police Department which undoubtedly saved lives."

Police officers in Antigo have trained for situations involving shooters at schools, Roller said.

The school district's official statement noted that extra precautions would be put in place this week to reassure students.

"The district believes that student safety is our main priority and thanks everyone for your positive thoughts for our community," it said.

Follow Jonathan Anderson and Nathan Vine on Twitter: @jonathanderson and @NathanAVine