Prosecutors won’t charge officers who killed armed student outside Wisconsin school

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The police officers who shot and killed an armed student as he was trying to get…

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The police officers who shot and killed an armed student as he was trying to get into a Wisconsin middle school won’t face criminal charges, prosecutors announced Monday.

Damian Haglund, 14, was carrying an air rifle that looked like a real firearm, refused multiple commands to drop the weapon and pointed it at an officer at least twice, threatening the officers’ lives, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said in a statement.

According to the statement, Village of Mount Horeb police received a call May 1 about a person walking past a home carrying a gun near the village’s middle school.

An officer saw students running from the middle school as he approached and saw Haglund pulling on one of the school’s doors. He was carrying what appeared to be a rifle.

The officer, who isn’t named in the statement, thought Haglund would get inside the school and hurt students. The officer began yelling at Haglund to drop the weapon and move away from the school, but Haglund kept pulling on the door.

Haglund then started walking toward and pointing the rifle at the officer despite continued warnings to put it down.

More police arrived and shots were fired. Haglund was apparently wounded, fell to the ground, got up and pointed the rifle at the first officer again. More shots were fired and Haglund fell again.

He pointed the rifle at the first officer again from the ground. The officer then fired his rifle at Haglund, according to the statement.

The state Department of Justice released hundreds of pages of investigative files Monday that identify the officers who opened fire as Tyler Stephens, Carson Stoddard and school resource officer Steve Rosemeyer.

Investigators recovered around 24 shell casings from the scene, suggesting the officers fired multiple rounds at Haglund.

A state Department of Justice special agent wrote in a search warrant application that he and other agents went to Haglund’s home and discovered a long message written in black marker on Haglund’s bedroom wall.

“Hi COPS!” the message read. “To the officer who has to shoot me: I’m sorry, its not your fault. don’t forget that.”

Haglund also left notes behind in his room, including: “Dear Mom, this was not your fault, live your life; DH.”

One of Haglund’s friends told the agent that Haglund had been bullied the previous year and knew lots of details about prior school shootings.

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Haglund’s first name. It is Damian, not Damien.