Antigo police officer to be honored by United States Attorney General

WASHINGTON D.C., (WSAW) Antigo Police Officer Andrew Hopfensperger Jr. will be awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor by United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Sessions approved the honor for Hopfensberger for saving many lives during a gunman's assault on students at a prom in April 2016.

Hopfensberger and another officer were patrolling the Antigo High School grounds April 23, 2016 during the high school prom, when 18-year-old Jakob Wagner opened fire on four students leaving the prom.

Two students were shot, neither shot was fatal.

The officers responded immediately and less than 20 seconds later, Hopfensberger returned fire, killing Wagner.

Hopfensberger is credited with saving the lives of those four students and potentially many more lives.

Hopfensberger, along with several other first responders from across the country approved by Attorney General Sessions, will receive their honor at a future ceremony.

The Medal of Valor is the highest national award for public safety officers and is given to recognize an act of extraordinary valor above and beyond the call duty.

Other recipients are:

-Corporals Rafael Ixco and Chad Johnson and Deputies Shaun Wallen and Bruce Southworth (San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department), and Officers Nicholas Koahou and Brian Olvera (San Bernardino Police Department) for their heroic efforts to end the December 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California.

-Lieutenant William Buchanan (Avery County Sheriff's Office, North Carolina) and Emergency Medical Technician Sean Ochsenbein (Putnam County Rescue Squad, Tennessee) for their poise in rescuing a trapped driver from a burning car in February 2016.

-Firefighter/Harbor Patrol Officer David Poirier Jr. (Redondo Beach Fire Department, California) for single-handedly rescuing three injured people from dangerous surf in February 2016.

-Chief Douglas Schroeder (Hesston Police Department, Kansas) for ending a deadly workplace assault by a gunman in February 2016.

-Engineer Stephen Gunn (Peoria Fire-Medical Department, Arizona) for rescuing a man from a burning house without regard for his own safety in April 2016.

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