MOUNT HOREB, Wis. — No criminal charges will be issued for the three law enforcement officers who were involved in a Mount Horeb Middle School incident in May, the Dane County District Attorney said Monday.

A male student enrolled in the Mount Horeb Area School District was outside of the middle school May 1, 2024, with a weapon. The student was not able to enter the school, but the school district was on lockdown for hours.

Police arrived at the school after the suspect was reported. Officers asked the subject to drop the weapon. The suspect did not comply and pointed the weapon at officers.

Officers shot and killed the suspect. No one else was injured as a result of the incident.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said law enforcement executed a “comprehensive, full response.” Per policy, some officers were put on leave, Kaul said at the time.

The suspect’s weapon was later determined to be a Ruger .177-caliber pellet rifle. 

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said in a statement exonerating Mount Horeb police officers Tyler Stephens, Carson Stoddard and Steve Rosemeyer the 14-year-old suspect's air rifle looked like a real firearm and he refused repeated commands to drop the weapon.

The state Justice Department released hundreds of pages of investigative notes Monday connected with the May 1 shooting at Mount Horeb Middle School that showed the suspect had planned to “get the popular kids” for months.

Investigators found writings in his journal entitled “Battle Plan,” dated Jan. 26, three months before the attack. He planned to tell his mother that he was sick, steal a car, sneak into the school at lunch time, burn down the library and go after the popular kids, according to the documents. He then planned to escape and die, the documents said.

Three days later, he wrote that the attack would take place May 1 because the weather would be warmer and he wouldn't have to hide in muddy fields, according to the documents.

Investigators also discovered a message written on his bedroom wall in black marker that read: “Hi COPS! To the officer who has to shoot me: I’m sorry, its not your fault. don’t forget that.”

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

Surveillance video shows the suspect ramming the end of the air rifle against the locked glass front doors of the school in an apparent attempt to break in. One student described how the suspect nearly got into the cafeteria by ringing a bell from the outside. Someone unlocked the door but quickly locked it again after seeing he had the rifle behind his back, state agents said in the documents.

Students ran into the neighborhood. Rosemeyer told investigators they appeared to be in “pure fear and running for their lives.”

Rosemeyer found the suspect trying to pull open a door and opened fire along with Stephens and Stoddard after the suspect refused commands to drop the air rifle, according to the investigative documents.

Stoddard told investigators that the suspect had a rifle pointed at Rosemeyer during “90% of the incident.” Stoddard said he feared that the teen would kill students if he got inside the school.

Investigators recovered around two dozen shell casings from the scene, suggesting the officers fired multiple rounds at the teen. Police found 6,000 BBs, a homemade explosive known as a Molotov cocktail, fireworks and a vial of uranium ore in the suspect's backpack.

School surveillance video shows the suspect lighting off a firework and tossing it away as he's walking toward the middle school. Investigators said the uranium appears to be designed for testing Geiger counters and was available for public sale online.

The Mount Horeb Police Department issued a statement Monday saying Ozanne's decision not to charge the officers marks another step as the community continues to heal.

"We cannot express how proud we are of the courage all the officers and first responders displayed that day," the statement said. “They responded to an armed subject on school grounds and did not hesitate or delay. The response showed how many remarkable people are willing to put their lives on the line for our children and the community.”

Kaul issued his own statement, saying he was glad to see the community come together with compassion after the incident.

Mount Horeb Area School District Superintendent Steve Salerno posted a message Monday on Facebook, saying the investigative files should help the community understand what happened.

“It is a difficult, heartbreaking read; however, it repeatedly emphasizes the heroism of so many — most especially the very first responding law enforcement professionals,” Salerno said.

A friend whose name was redacted from the files told agents that the suspect was friendly and liked to joke around. The friend said kids outside his friend group thought he was weird and would push him around. Another classmate told investigators that the suspect had been bullied the previous school year, but not this one, and also knew a lot about school shooters.