Madison police have named the mass shooter at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison as Natalie Rupnow, a student at the school who also went by the name Samantha Rupnow. Two people were killed and Rupnow died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the police chief says.
Chief Shon Barnes also revealed that the mass shooting took place in a study hall, a 2nd grader called 911, and authorities are talking to Rupnow’s father but don’t believe the parents have criminal culpability.
A manifesto circulating online has not been verified, but police are trying to do so, Barnes said. He said police don’t know whether the shooter was transgender and are working to determine the motive.
- Police arrived to find multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds.
- Three people including the shooter are dead.
- Shooter was 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow “who went by the name Samantha. She was a student at the school. Evidence suggests she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
- A teacher and a teenage student were pronounced dead at the scene.
- 6 other students and a teacher were injured and taken to area hospitals.
- Two students remain in critical condition and have life-threatening injuries. A teacher and three students were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Two people were released. The other two are in stable condition.
- Only one shooter was involved.
- Police are working to determine a motive. Detectives talked to family members and conducted a search of the shooter’s home in Madison.
- The shooting happened in a classroom inside a study hall with mixed grades.
- A document about the shooting is circulating on social media “but we have not verified its authenticity.”
- Police are asking people not to hold a vigil at the school tonight as it’s an active crime scene still.
- A 2nd-grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting occurred at the school. 911 dispatchers are trained in how to speak with children. “It makes my heart skip a beat to think about that… the child was able to do that.” 2nd grader was in a different classroom than the shooting.
- A deputy with the Dane Co Sheriff’s office was first to arrive three minutes later, followed by a Madison police officer 24 seconds later, and immediately entered the school.
- Officers “bravely entered the building as soon as they arrived.”
- 11:05 a.m. the shooter was discovered down.
- First responders may have saved lives. Bomb dogs cleared the facility. EMS was at the scene at 11:05 a.m.
- The locked Google doc that is circulating online – police haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic but are aware it was posted. They haven’t located the person who said they have a connection to the shooter and need to do so to verify it. (Note- we’ve read this. It’s an alleged manifesto and very disturbing. The locked Google doc was posted on an X page that people are alleging belonged to the shooter. Another X page has posted the alleged manifesto saying the shooter’s boyfriend provided it.)
- How the shooter got the gun is still under investigation. The parents are cooperating. “We are currently speaking with the father at one of our facilities, trying to determine what he may knew or may not have known.” They aren’t going to “rush the information” because he “lost someone as well.”
- They are only speaking with the father. The home on Delaware Blvd. is the shooter’s home.
- Chief doesn’t know whether Natalie/Samatha was transgender or not and he doesn’t think “it was important at all.” Whether the suspect was transgender is something that “may come out later.” Note: It begs the question of how he can saying anything isn’t “important at all” if he also says he doesn’t know the motive yet….
- Gun was a handgun.
- Chief doesn’t know if police ever had interaction with Natalie/Samantha before. He said he isn’t personally aware of any, though.
- Whether there was bullying can’t be answered right now.
- “She’s still a child” so some information can’t be shared, Barnes said of the shooter.
- There is no reason to believe the parents committed a crime at this time, according to Barnes.
- The police are still going through evidence at the home so they don’t have a complete list of things collected. The search warrant didn’t need to be executed because the parents cooperated.
- DOJ’s office of school safety director said there’s a contagion effect. Over 350 tips came in since 2020 about planned school attacks that can be averted
Previous story before update:
Seven people were taken to the hospital with injuries from the shooting at 10:57 a.m. local time on Monday. The injuries range from minor to life-threatening.
“Today is a sad, sad day,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference shortly after noon. “Not only for Madison but our entire country.”
Barnes said he was dismayed at what occurred, especially near Christmas. Barnes said the Madison Police train for school shootings quarterly, most recently two weeks ago.
Police did not fire their weapons and the injuries to the shooter were believed to be self-inflicted, Barnes said.
“This is something that we all prepare for but hope we never have to do,” Barnes said.
Barnes added that the Madison Police are working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine the origin of the shooter’s gun.
Barnes said that he believes every person in the building is now a victim and will be a victim forever.
“I am closely monitoring the incident at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers wrote on social media. “We are praying for the kids, educators, and entire Abundant Life school community as we await more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond.”
