Officials investigating Monday’s fatal shooting at a school in Wisconsin had little new information to share a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes corrected another piece of information that was erroneously put out on Monday, telling reporters that the initial 911 call alerting police to the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School came from a second grade teacher and not a second grade student.
A teacher and a student were killed in the study hall shooting Monday morning, and six others — one teacher and five students — were wounded. Two of the students were in critical condition, and Barnes said their conditions had not changed.
The shooter, identified as 15-year-old student Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. The shooter was initially said to be 15, then 17, then back to 15 on Monday.
Barnes said that investigators continue to probe for a motive in the shooting, including searching electronic devices or any other writings from the teen shooter. He said the motive appeared to stem from a “combination of factors.”
A supposed “manifesto” circulating online has not been confirmed as authentic, he said. He also said that investigators are looking at rumors that bullying may have played a role in Rupnow’s decision to open fire, and he asked that anyone with information about her state of mind contact CrimeStoppers.
Officials have not named any of the victims in the shooting, and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway took issue on Tuesday with reporters who complained about having to wait for that information.
These are folks that are deeply impacted by trauma and a grieving,” she said when first asked for identifications, noting that the decision would come from law enforcement.
But as reporters pushed, Rhodes-Conway grew visibly upset.
“It is absolutely none of y’all’s business who was harmed in this incident,” she said. “Please have some human decency and respect for the people who lost loved ones or were injured themselves or whose children were injured. Just have some human decency, folks! Leave them alone. Let them grieve. Let them recover. Let them heal. Don’t feed off their pain.”
County Executive Melissa Agard, a former state legislator, also spoke at the news conference and provided a personal touch.
“I do have a sonm and it was hard for him to go to school this morning,” she said, “and then his school was locked down” by one of several false threats called into Madison schools Tuesday morning.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Flowers and candles are placed outside the Abundant Life Christian School Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in Madison, Wis., following a shooting on Monday. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)]
