A 15-year-old student opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison Wisconsin. The shooter used a 9mm handgun to kill 2 and wound 6. The shooter did not survive the massacre. One student and one teacher were killed. An additional 2 students were in critical condition with 4 in less serious condition. 2 of the wounded have already been released from the hospital.
After the shooter started firing inside a study hall at a small Wisconsin Christian school dozens of officers descended on the scene. Law enforcement was alerted by a 911 call from a second grader. The murderer. Identified by police as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound by police and died en route to the hospital.
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school that houses approximately 420 students from pre-k to 12th grade in Madison, the state capital. Police Chief Shon Barnes 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.“
Barbara Wiers, the director of elementary and school relations at Abundant Life Christian School, said the school often practices safety routines. The school does not have metal detectors but does have other security measures like cameras. “When they heard, ‘Lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real,” she explained. She revealed that on Monday she knew it wasn’t a dill.
The police Chief said that no motive is known and that it’s unclear if the victims were specifically targeted. He told reporters: “I don’t know why, and I feel like if we did know why, we could stop these things from happening.” Luckily, first responders were training less than 3 miles away from the school and were able to quickly respond. They arrived within 3 minutes of the initial call.
Barnes said that the shooter’s father, as well as the rest of the family, was cooperating with police. “He lost someone as well,” Barnes said of Rupnow’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.” Police have searched the shooter’s home for clues related to the attack.
Bethany Highman, who is a student at Abundant Life Christian School, learned of the shooting over FaceTime. “As soon as it happens, your world stops for a minute. Nothing else matters,” she said. “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.” Another mother said that “I hoped that this day would never come to Madison.”
Parents we reunited with their children at a medical facility a mile away from the school. Some parents were seen holding their children by the shoulders weeping. Abundant Life asked for prayers over Facebook. According to school administrators, they have yet to decide if classes will resume this week. One of the parents said it was “unthinkable” that their children would go to school and never return.