Local authorities have identified the shooter in the deadly Dec. 16 shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin.
In a press conference on Monday evening, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes identified the shooter as 15-year-old female student Natalie Rupnow. She went by the name Samantha at the school.
Police are in the process of searching the suspect’s home.
“He lost someone as well,“ Barnes said of the shooter’s father. ”And so we’re not going to rush the information. We’ll take our time and make sure we do our due diligence.”
Barnes added that Rupnow died en route to hospital from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound after she attempted to kill herself on the scene. She was found among those injured by the police officers who were first on the scene.
A teacher and a teenage student were killed at the scene. Six others were injured, including a teacher and five students who were transported to the local UW Health Hospital or St. Mary’s Hospital. Two of the injured students are in critical condition.
The teacher and the three other students sustained non-threatening injuries. Two have been discharged and two are in stable condition.
“At this time, we believe there was only one shooter involved,” Barnes said.
The shooting occurred during study hallway when a mix of students from different grades were present. Barnes said the 911 call reporting the shooting was made by a student in 2nd grade, meaning they were likely only 7 or 8 years old.
The school remains closed as an active crime scene.
There was, as yet, no known motive for the violence. A document about the shooting is circulating on social media but police said they have not verified its authenticity.
“This is a group of people trained to help victims of mass violent incidents,” he said. The crime response program is open to victims’ calls both during work hours as well as after hours.
“I don’t know how we can minimize what has happened today but we’re going to do the best we can to provide services to all these children, and staff—we cannot forget the staff who bravely took care of their students during this harrowing time.”
Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School, said students “handled themselves magnificently.”
She said the school’s goal is to have staff get together early in the week and have community opportunities for students to reconnect before the winter break but it’s still to be decided whether they will resume classes this week.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, both Democrats, called for legislative action to “reduce gun violence.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has ordered that the national and state flags fly at half-staff until Sunday.
“As a father, a grandfather, and as governor, it is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home,” he said. “This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
