A Wisconsin school community has been left traumatized after a 15-year-old female student killed a teacher and another pupil in a shooting spree on Monday morning at a Christian school.
Police named Natalie Rupnow, also known as Samantha Rupnow, as the young woman who they believe killed two and injured six others at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin beginning around 11 a.m.
But even survivors lucky enough to escape with their lives “won’t be okay for a long time,” said one mother. An 8-year-old student who witnessed the panic and the wounding of a teacher told CNN: “I was really scared and I was really sad.”
Rupnow was found dead at the scene, with evidence of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to police. An official cause of death has not been determined, and police have not yet determined a motive.
In an interview with WISC, one mother of three Abundant Life students described how children, parents and staff are still reeling from the incident.
“Thank God, they were safe,” said Mireille Jean-Charles, who was reunited with her three sons after the shooting. “But the trauma — it’s a lot, because I’m sure they lost friends and teachers, which is not okay. And I don’t think they’ll be okay for a long time.”
By Monday evening, two victims remained in critical condition, and two of those with non-life-threatening injuries were released from the hospital. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes called the bloodshed a “sad, sad day” for the city. A second-grade teacher first alerted authorities to the shooting.
“I’m asking everyone to send your heartfelt wishes and prayers, and thoughts, yet again, to a community — but this time it’s my community,” he told reporters.
Police do not know whether the shooting had a specific target or motive.
“Whether they were targeted or not would speak to motivation and we don’t know that answer just yet,” Barnes told reporters that the contents of a document circulating online purportedly related to the shooter had not been verified.
Rupnow’s family is cooperating with police, Madison officials said on Monday night.
“We have no reason to believe they have committed a crime at this time,” Barnes said on Monday of the family.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said after the shooting that “the focus now is on supporting the victims and their families.” Dane County Executive Melissa Agard called today’s violence “unacceptable.”
It appeared the shooter was at the school the morning of the shooting, rather than breaking in before opening fire. The school does not have medical detectors.
“We believe the shooter was at school,” Barnes said. “We have no information that there was some kind of breach at the school.”
Madison police urged the public to disregard fast-moving, unverified online speculation the shooter was transgender.
“I don’t think that whatever happened today has anything to do with how she, or he, or they may have wanted to identify,” Chief Barnes said. “I wish people would kind of leave their own personal biases out of this. We have people who have yet another school shooting in Madison. That’s where my focus will be for the very near future.”
The school, which is located on Madison’s east side and has roughly 400 students in all, was founded in 1978 as a “community Christian school with the vision of providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment for families in the greater Dane County area,” the school’s website tells visitors.
This article was amended after police clarified who made the initial 911 phone call.
