(updates with police chief, standoff continuing)
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A student with a loaded handgun took a class of 23 high school students and a teacher hostage on Monday in the town of Marinette, Wisconsin, and police were trying to talk him into surrendering, the police chief said.
Marinette Police Chief Jeff Skorik said there were no injuries so far in the incident and negotiators were communicating with the classroom via telephone, mostly with the teacher.
"We are hoping to be able to eventually speak with the student and resolve this matter," Skorik said.
Police were dispatched to the Marinette high school after a call at 3:48 p.m. local time, the official said.
At least 40 emergency personnel were on the scene and the school has been surrounded and the perimeter secured, he said.
Witnesses said there were numerous police cars and fire trucks on the scene and and the parking lot nearby was filled with people, many of them students.
The high school has about 800 students, according to its web site.
Marinette is about 50 miles north of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb and Greg McCune, Editing by Peter Bohan)
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