The Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department says when a deputy went to check on a man at his home, he heard a shot and called for backup.

Deputies say they were called to the home at 126 West Hawthorn Street in Strum just before 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon because the man was inhaling something. After the shot was fired an elementary school, only blocks away, was told to keep the students left there inside.

What was originally just a call to check on 31-year-old Nicholas J. Wampole turned tense for one deputy Thursday afternoon.

"When the deputy arrived on scene he heard one gun shot in the garage area of the residence," says Lt. Wayne Dahl with the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department.

He says after that shot the deputy called for backup. The shot went into the ceiling and roof of the garage.

"From there we summoned the assistance of the Strum Police Department. We were able to make phone contact with the subject and he came out with out further incident," says Dahl.

While officers were on scene trying to figure out what was happening, they wanted to keep kids at a nearby school safe, so they called the superintendent to keep them inside. The superintendent says classes weren't in session but about 30 kids get bussed to strum elementary so they can walk home from there. The students were kept inside the school for about 25 minutes before being given the all clear.

Deputies say after interviewing Wampole they learned a domestic incident took place prior to the shot being fired. Dahl says officer’s first concern in any shooting is safety.

"First and foremost is the protection of the public to make sure no one gets hurt or anything like that," says Dahl.

He says a handgun was recovered from the home. He says a woman and two children were outside of the home at the time of the shot as well but he says no one was hurt. He says it's still unclear what the man was inhaling.
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ORIGINAL STORY:

Officers are outside a home in Strum, talking to a man after a shot was fired at a home today.

Trempealeau County deputies tell us they were called to the home on County Highway V in Strum this afternoon. They say a man was suspected of inhaling something in a garage. That's when the officer responding heard a gun shot and called for back up. They don't know if the shot was fired at the officer or not. No one is under arrest at this point.

The Eleva-Strum superintendent tells us officers asked the school to keep kids inside the Strum Elementary school on 8th Street until further notice. That lasted from about 3:30 p.m. to 3:55 p.m. when officers called to say they could leave. Officers didn't tell school leaders why, just that they didn't want the kids walking home at that point.

School was out of session at the time but 30 kids happened to be at the school before they left for home. The superintendent says it wasn't a lockdown situation.

We have a crew in Strum and will bring you the latest as we get it and on WEAU 13 News at 6 and 10.