Police have identified the shooter at Wisconsin’s Abundant Life Christian School as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha.
Rupnow died on her way to the hospital from a self inflicted gunshot, according to the Madison Police Department.
This is the initial news conference held by Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes. Some information released at this time was later determined to be incorrect:
She was initially identified as 15 and then erroneously as 17 by anonymous law enforcement sources.
Rupnow was a student at the the school, WTMJ reported. She killed another student and a teacher and wounded another teacher and five students in a mixed grade study hall before turning the weapon on herself. Two of the wounded, both teenagers, were in critical condition Monday night.
Two of the other victims had been released from the hospital by Monday evening.
Wisconsin Police Chief Shon Barnes said a second grader made the initial 911 call just before 11 a.m., and police arrived within 4 minutes.
“Let that soak in for a minute,” Barnes said. “A second-grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school.”
A motive for the shooting remained unclear Monday night. Police said there were rumors of a “manifesto” circulating in the community, but that document has not been confirmed to be legitimate.
Police were on the scene at Rupnow’s Madison home and said that her family is cooperating with the investigation.
“The parents are fully cooperating, we have no reason to believe that they have committed a crime at this time,” Barnes said, according to ABC News.
Several vigils were held Monday night, but police asked that such events not take place at the school, which was still an active crime scene.
Abundant Life is a small Christian school with about 420 students in grades K through 12. A school spokesperson said that the school did not have metal detectors, and Barnes said that in his view schools should not have to have such things.
“We have come together and make sure that this doesn’t happen in any other place that should be a refuge for students in our community,” he said.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, shootings on school campuses this year killed 56 people and wounded 107 more prior to Monday, the Associated Press reported.
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[Featured image: A child is embraced at the SSMI Health Center, set up as a reunification center, following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)]
