MADISON, Wis. — (AP) — A teenage student opened fire at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday, killing a teacher and another teenage student in the final week before Christmas break. The shooter also died, police said.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes did not give details about the age or gender of the suspected shooter who also wounded six others at Abundant Life Christian School, which has 420 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. Of those wounded Barnes said two of them were in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. The other four had non-life-threatening injuries, and a hospital spokesperson said two were discharged Monday evening.
Authorities identified the suspected shooter as a 15-year-old female student. She was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes identified the shooter as Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha.
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Detectives talked with family members of the shooter Monday evening and searched the shooter’s home in Madison as they worked to determine a motive, according to Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes.
Barnes said they’re currently speaking with the shooter’s father at one of their facilities and that he’s cooperating.
“He lost someone as well. And so we’re not going to rush the information, we’ll take our time and certainly do our due diligence,” Barnes said.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said a second-grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. Monday to report a shooting at the school.
“Let that sink in,” Barnes repeated twice at a news briefing. Police arrived within four minutes, he said. The shooting occurred in a study hall, police said.
Authorities have identified the suspected shooter who killed two people at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, as a 15-year-old female student.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes identified the shooter as Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha. She was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Lisa Adams, spokesperson for SSM Health, said two patients were discharged on Monday night and two others remain hospitalized at St. Mary’s Hospital in stable condition.
She said personnel at its medical clinic near the school “worked collaboratively with law enforcement in reuniting families.”
Two students remained in critical condition at a different hospital, according to Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes.
Madison’s police chief ended the agency’s third press conference of the day by asking people to focus their attention on the Abundant Life Christian School community.
“These children are now the latest group of survivors of a school shooting,” Barnes said. “This time, unfortunately, in Madison, Wisconsin.”
School officials have not yet decided if classes will start up again this week. Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School, said Monday began the last week of school prior to winter break.
She said their goal is to get the school’s staff together early in the week and then try to have some community opportunities for the students to reconnect.
Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School, said students “handled themselves magnificently.”
She said when the school practices safety routines, leaders always announce that it is a drill. That didn’t happen on Monday.
“When they heard ‘lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real,” she said.
Wiers said just before the school year, they had done a retraining with the Madison Police Department, so it was “very fresh for faculty.”
“This has obviously rocked our school community,” she said.
Wiers said the school has a total of 420 K-12 students. The school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures including cameras, she said.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes did not release more information about the suspected shooter, including age, gender or name.
Barnes said investigators may have enough information to release more detail later Monday. Authorities have planned a fourth press conference for about 8:30 p.m. CST.
Barnes also warned people against sharing unconfirmed reports on social media about the shooter’s identity.
“What that does is it helps erode the trust in this process,” he said.
School shootings by teenage females have been extremely rare in U.S. history, with males in their teens and 20s carrying out the vast majority most of them, according to David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database.
In a blog post last year, he pointed to a handful of school shootings that involved perpetrators who identified as female, including a 16-year-old girl who shot and killed two and injured several others at San Diego elementary school in 1979.
—By Ryan Foley
Well into Monday afternoon, parents were directed to a medical clinic building about a mile from the school to pick up their children.
Some left holding their young children against their chests, others squeezing kids’ hands or shoulders as they walked side by side.
One family draped an adult-size coat around a young girl’s shoulder as they left the building to a parking lot still teeming with police and law enforcement vehicles.
President Joe Biden called the shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School “shocking and unconscionable” in a statement Monday.
“We need Congress to act. Now," he said.
“From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings that don’t receive attention - it is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot continue to accept it as normal,” he said. “Every child deserves to feel safe in their class room. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover.”
He said that he and his wife, Jill, are praying for the victims. He thanked first responders who arrived quickly and said the FBI is supporting local law enforcement efforts. His team has also reached out to local officials to offer further support, at his direction.
He said that while his administration has taken aggressive action to combat the gun violence epidemic, more is needed:
“Congress must pass commonsense gun safety laws: Universal background checks. A national red flag law. A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
The shooter who killed a teacher and a student Monday at a private Christian school in Wisconsin was a 17-year-old female student, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. Police in Madison, Wisconsin, said the shooter apparently was dead by suicide when officers arrived.
—By Alanna Durkin Richer
In Las Vegas, Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers opened a news conference Monday by talking about the shooting.
“Not a lot to say. Just a shame this keeps happening,” Rivers said, unprompted and before any questions could be asked. “Kids can’t go to school safe, and it just seems like we don’t do anything about it. Not going to get up here on the podium and give a long speech — except for it’s just bad and that we are thinking about them.”
Las Vegas was the site of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history in 2017, when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival.
The Bucks are in Las Vegas for Tuesday’s NBA Cup tournament championship game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes noted “At this time, yes,” the shooter’s family is cooperating.
“I’m feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas,” he said. “Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. ... We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened.”
Barnes said detectives were, “working hard to find as many answers as we can.”
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes identified the weapon police found as a handgun.
He said the gunfire was confined to one space. He didn’t specify whether it was a classroom.
Someone from the school called 911 to report an active shooter, Barnes said.
He said the police training center is three miles from the school, and staff responded from there.
“What began as a training day became an actual day,” he said.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said he didn’t immediately know the shooter’s motive but added that detectives were “working hard to find as many answers as we can.”
Barnes said he was not releasing any information about the shooter, including name or gender.
Barnes declined to say anything about the shooter, partly out of respect for the student’s family.
“That’s still someone’s child that is gone,” he said.
A teacher and a teen student were killed in the shooting at a Wisconsin school by a fellow student, police chief says.
In addition to the deceased, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said six other students are being treated at area hospitals, including two in critical condition with life-threatening injuries and four with non-life threatening injuries.
Lisa Adams, a spokesperson for SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, said the hospital has received patients from the shooting but declined to provide further details.
“We are praying for all affected by today’s tragic incident at Abundant Life Christian School and our community as a whole. We are grateful for the first responders who acted swiftly today,” she said. “SSM Health is dedicated to serving our community. We remain committed to providing support and assistance in any way we can.”
Emily Greendonner, a spokesperson for UW Health, said it is also receiving patients from the shooting and setting up areas for patients’ families. UW Health is affiliated with the University of Wisconsin.
The Abundant Life Christian School asked for the community’s prayers on its Facebook account Monday after a school shooting left at least three people dead, including the shooter.
“Prayers Requested! Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS. We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able.
Please pray for our Challenger Family,” school staff posted on the Abundant Life Christian School Facebook page.
Hundreds of commenters offered prayers from around the country, some from former students, former teachers and alumni.
The school of about 390 students noted on its page in previous posts that this was the last school week before holiday break. Commenters also issued well wishes and prayers on videos of students on school trips and singing at the annual Christmas choir concert from recent weeks.
Bethany Highman rushed to the school that her daughter attends as soon as her mom, who lives near the school, called her about the shooting. Highman said she was able to briefly FaceTime with her daughter, so she knows she is safe.
Highman said she doesn't really know any details about what happened.
“We’re just as hungry for what’s going on as I’m sure all of you are,” she said.
Highman said it is surreal because you never expect to go through this even though it does happen.
“I bring my daughter to school knowing well that this happens in the world. That people are struggling. And I pray for my daughter’s safety and I pray for the entire school’s safety. I pray for the hearts of the students, the teachers, the staff members. It’s a very real thing.”
Highman’s world stopped when she got the call about the shooting.
“As soon as it happened, your world stops for a minute. Nothing else matters. There’s nobody around you. You just bolt for the door and try to do everything you can as a parent to be with your kids.”
Highman said she is angry about the shooting and devastated for the families who lost loved ones.
Monday's was the the latest among dozens of school shootings across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas.
The shootings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms.
But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws. Firearms were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.
Investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
— By Alanna Durkin Richer
Police have updated the death toll for the shooting.
Police often caution when disclosing the number of victims after a shooting that the information is preliminary and could change. That is not uncommon, especially as investigators gather additional information and details about injuries.
“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,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement.
Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have responded to the scene to assist local law enforcement.
Abundant Life Christian School is nondenominational and has about 390 students, from kindergarten through high school, according to its website.
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This story has been updated to correct that Abundant Life Christian School includes students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, not kindergarten through 12th grade. This story also corrects the age of the suspected shooter. The suspected shooter was 15. Authorities previously said she was 17.
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