Police are investigating why a teenage girl brought a handgun to a small Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin and opened fire, fatally shooting a student and a teacher and wounding several others — casting the tight-knit religious community into mourning just days before the school was set to close for Christmas.

Two people were killed, and another six were injured, including two students in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said in a news conference on Monday. A teacher and two other students sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities identified Natalie Rupnow, 15, who went by the name “Samantha,” as the shooter, according to Barnes. Evidence suggests the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said, and confirmed she was pronounced dead while en route to the hospital.

A second-grade student made the 911 call to report the shooting, police said Monday.

“How does any 15-year-old get a hold of a gun? Or anyone for that matter? We get into the philosophical questions of guns and gun safety,” Barnes said at the news conference.

Federal and local law enforcement are combing over the crime scene, working to uncover the suspect’s motive and preparing to support the heartbroken school community as they find themselves at the center of a distinctly American tragedy.

The attack at Abundant Life is at least the 83rd school shooting of 2024, surpassing 2023 for the most school shootings in a single year since CNN began tracking such shootings in 2008. Of the 83 school shootings this year, 56 have been reported on K-12 campuses and 27 on university and college campuses. The deadliest school shooting of the year was in Winder, Georgia, where four victims were left dead at Apalachee High School.

“I hoped that this day would never come in Madison,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said Monday. “It is not something that any mayor, any fire chief, any police chief, any person in public office ever wants to have to deal with.”

 Madison Police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said five other people were injured, with those injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening. Barnes said his department believes the shooter was a student at the school. Mandatory Credit:WISC via CNN Newsource
 

 

How the shooting and response unfolded

Just hours before the shooting began, students from kindergarten to high school filed onto the school’s 28-acre campus to sit through the last week of classes before Christmas vacation. They had a week of festivities to look forward to, including a holiday concert and an Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, according to the school’s website.

The suspected shooter entered the school at the beginning of the day with the rest of the students, police said.

As the school day got underway, the shooter pulled out a handgun and opened fire on their peers, Barnes said. The shooting was “confined to one space,” the chief said, adding later it was a “classroom in a study hall of students from mixed grades.”

At 10:57 a.m., a second-grade student called 911 to report the shooting, Barnes said. “Let that soak in for a minute,” he remarked.

A deputy from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office was the first to arrive on the scene at 11:00 a.m., followed by the first Madison police officer just 24 seconds later, who immediately entered the school.

Medics with the police department were conducting training about three miles away and raced to respond to the shooting, Barnes said.

“They left the training center immediately and came down here — and doing in real time what they were actually practicing for,” Barnes said.

“When officers arrived, they found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” Barnes said. Within minutes, officers reported the shooter was down and a gun had been recovered.

Police cleared the school building and all students were accounted for and reunited with their families, Barnes said.

“They were clearly scared,” Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life, said of the students when they realized it wasn’t a drill. “When they heard ‘lockdown, lockdown’ and nothing else – they knew it was real, but they handled themselves brilliantly.”

Sixth grader Adler Jean-Charle, who was in class with his twin brother at the time of the shooting, said, “We heard them and then some people started crying. Then we just waited until the police came to escort us out to the church.”

He recalled hearing two gunshots, and questioned, “Why did they do that?” Adler said he felt a sense of relief upon seeing his mother afterward, “I was happy and safe.”

Who is the suspect?

15-year-old Natalie Rupnow attended the private school along with some 420 students in grades Kindergarten through 12, according to school administrators. The school’s website boasts “smaller class sizes” catering to students from about 200 families in the Dane County area.

Police emphasized the need for greater responsibility on social media regarding posts about the shooter, when asked about her gender identity, and urged people on the internet to leave out their personal biases.

“I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,” Barnes said. “I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify.”

Ongoing investigation as police seek motive

Federal and local investigators are working to determine the shooter’s motive and details about the firearm used in the shooting.

While police have not revealed any prior interactions with Rupnow or any known issues, they said they are exploring all avenues to uncover a motive and are actively engaging with Rupnow’s family, who are fully cooperating.

Authorities have been unable to identify the authenticity of a manifesto, Barnes said.

“We’re certainly aware that it’s been posted and the person who posted it, alleged to have a connection with the victim,” he said, adding authorities have not located the person who made the post, but have shared information with the FBI for help.

The suspect’s father is speaking with police at one of their facilities, Barnes said, adding police are trying to determine what he may or may not know. Authorities do not intend to charge the parents of the suspect “at this time,” Barnes announced.

Law enforcement officials are working to interview witnesses, and students are being encouraged to speak only when they feel ready, the police chief said.

“We’re not going to interrogate students. We’re going to give them an opportunity to come in and speak to what they may have saw when they feel ready, which is why some of these questions can’t be answered,” Barnes said.

The suspect’s home was searched Monday and police are seeking additional search warrants, Barnes said.

A heavy police presence was reported at a home in northern Madison Monday night. Barnes confirmed it is related to the shooting investigation but provided no further details.

Neighbors saw police throw stun grenades, which detonate with a bright flash and loud bang, into the home earlier in the afternoon, CNN affiliate WTMJ reported. Video shared with CNN showed the home decorated with Christmas lights and cordoned off with police tape. The main door had been removed and the windows damaged.

President Joe Biden called for more government action to address gun violence after the shooting, including universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“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,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “Every child deserves to feel safe in their class room.”

“Many of you have asked me about the ‘why’ of this. ‘Why did this happen? What do we know? What was the motivation?’” Barnes told reporters Monday. “I do not know, but I will tell you this: Our detectives are working hard in the investigative process to find out as many answers as we can so that we can further prevent these things from happening, not only in this community, but in other communities around our country.”

“I think we can all agree that enough is enough. We have to come together to do everything we can to support our students, to prevent press conferences like these from happening again and again and again,” Barnes said.

A grieving community

The attack has “rocked” the Abundant Life community, which sees itself as a large family, Wiers, a school official, said.

“We know it affects not just our school community, but Madison and the greater area and all schools,” Wiers told reporters. “So our hope is that there will be some good that comes out of this as we can learn and grow and continue to support schools.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County will host a vigil at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

“Because what affects one part of the body, affects all of it, as we know the Bible says,” she said. She said the school family believes God was not surprised by the shooting and is “going to do something mighty with it.”

Abundant Life posted on its social media to ask that the public, “please pray for our Challenger Family” as they grapple with the attack.

CNN’s Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Josh Campbell, Alex Leeds Matthews, Gillian Roberts, Betsy Klein and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.