Teen gunman was ‘bullied’, recently split from girlfriend

THE US teenager who opened fire outside of his high school during the formal on Saturday had been “bullied” and was reeling from a recent breakup with a student there.

Nikita Deep, 16, embraces a family friend at Antigo United Methodist Church following a morning service Sunday, April 24, 2016, in Antigo, Wis. According to police Jakob E. Wagner, 18, opened fire with a high-powered rifle outside of the a prom at Antigo High School late Saturday. Deep is class president at the school and was involved in the coordination of the prom. (Jacob Byk/The Marshfield News-Herald via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

THE US teenager who opened fire outside of his high school during the formal over the weekend was reeling from a recent breakup with a student there.

18-year-old Jakob Wagner unleashed a hail of bullets outside Antigo High School in Wisconsin on Saturday night, wounding two students before being fatally shot by a police officer in the parking lot.

A former classmate, Dylan Dewey, has now revealed that Wagner was dating a girl from school, although they had recently broken up. Mr Dewey, who graduated from Antigo High last year, told NBC News that the teen was “fun to be around”.

“When we talked, it was always a good time,” Mr Dewey said. “He would laugh and smile when around his friends.”

Fellow student confirms this is Jakob Wagner, the 18-year-old who shot 2 at an Antigo prom. https://t.co/DGnrezuS70 pic.twitter.com/eoMPxZcs24

— Journal Sentinel (@journalsentinel) April 24, 2016

Another former classmate said that Wagner “was bullied a lot” at school and was teased about his poor hygiene, among other things.

“Ever since we were younger, he was one of the kids you kind of watched out for,” 19-year-old Emily Fisher told the Wausau Daily Herald.

“If someone was going to shoot the school, we thought it was going to be him.”

Ms fisher said the bullying, which may have been violent, occurred since at least middle school and persisted through high school.

Nikita Deep, 16, embraces a family friend at Antigo United Methodist Church following a morning service on Sunday. Picture: Jacob Byk/The Marshfield News-Herald via AP

Friends said Wagner, who opened fire with a high-powered rifle as students exited the building, was reportedly interested in guns and weapons and made replicas of them in art class.

Dakota Mills, who has known Wagner since the sixth grade, said he wanted to become a hunter and completed a hunter safety course. It is not clear if he owned his own gun.

“For him to do that, something just isn’t right. He was a good kid,” Ms Mills said.

Nikita Deep, a student who was attending the formal on Saturday night, said police officers came into the school and moved students to a corner of the building. They were not released until about 2am, three hours after the shooting.

“We heard there was a situation, but I thought it was some kind of drug bust,” Deep, 16, said. “Then they flipped the lights and then about 12 officers came in and are armed. We were all frightened.”

Wagner was shot by a police officer at around 11.15pm and died about two hours later in the intensive care unit after “lifesaving measures” failed, police said.

The two victims, a female from out of state, and a male who brought her to the formal as his date — were treated for non-life-threatening wounds.

Wagner said on his social media accounts he graduated from Antigo last year, but Interim district administrator Donald Childs said the teenager did not graduate with his class and was still working on his diploma.

Students and staff returned to Antigo High School for classes on Monday after authorities deemed the school of 750 pupils to be safe. “There will also be heightened police presence around the high school for the next few days to lend support,” the Unified School District of Antigo posted on its website.

News of the shooting has spread quickly on social media since late Saturday.