Crime & Justice

Cops ID Teen Girl Accused of Killing Two People at Christian School in Madison

TERRIBLE TRAGEDY

Wisconsin police believe 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow was responsible for a mass shooting that killed two and injured six at a private Christian school in Madison.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Police in Wisconsin have identified the suspect believed to be responsible for shooting and killing two people, and injuring six more at a small Christian school in Madison on Monday morning.

Natalie Rupnow, a 15-year-old student who also went by the name Samantha, was identified as the suspected shooter at the Abundant Life Christian School, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told a press conference Monday night.

Children prepare to board a bus bound for the reunification center where they'll meet their parents after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. December 16, 2024.
Children prepare to board a bus bound for the reunification center where they'll meet their parents after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Cullen Granzen

Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a local hospital. Authorities said they believe she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but the official cause of death will be determined by the local medical examiner.

The shooting occurred at a mixed-grade study hall at the small school, which serves around 300 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. At an earlier press conference Monday, Barnes said the suspect was attending school that day. “The shooter was at school. We have no information that it was some type of breach.”

Families attend a prayer service to mourn the victims of Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin.
Families attend a prayer service to mourn the victims of Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. Scott Olson/Scott Olson/Getty Images

“We are still working to determine a motive. Detectives have talked to her family members this evening, as well as conduct a search of the shooter’s home here in Madison,” Barnes said. The police chief said that the suspect’s parents were cooperating with investigators, and later said they allowed them to search her room.

Barnes also addressed some of the rumors circulating online, including whether the suspect identified as transgender.

“I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,” he said. The police chief also said they have not been able to determine the authenticity of a “manifesto” that had been circulating online.

Barnes also said they were speaking to the suspect’s father at a police facility: “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.”

Students evacuate a church building near the site of a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin.
Students evacuate a church building near the site of a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin. Scott Olson/Scott Olson/Getty Images

Authorities said they arrived at the scene moments after receiving a 911 call from a student at Abundant Life.

“A second grade student called 911 to report a shooting had occurred at the school,” Barnes said. “Let that soak in for a minute.”

Officers were dispatched to the school at 10:57 a.m., and arrived just minutes later.

“At 11:05, officers inside the school alerted people that the shooter was down and that gun had been recovered,” Barnes said. None of the officers fired their weapons during the response.

The police chief said the firearm was a handgun, but also said he has not yet seen it and could not confirm any more details about the weapon. “It may still be on property, because you have to be very careful about how you take things from the scene,” he added.

A sixth grader at the school recounted to CNN hours after the shooting how the events unfolded from his perspective. “We heard them [gunshots], and then some people started crying,” the Abundant Life student said. “We just waited till the police came, and then they escorted us out to the church.”

Students are escorted from a church next to the Abundant Life Christian School and loaded on busses to be taken to a reunification center.
Students are escorted from a church next to the Abundant Life Christian School and loaded on busses to be taken to a reunification center. Scott Olson/Scott Olson/Getty Images

Two people—a teacher and a student—were pronounced dead at the scene.

Another six people were injured, Barnes confirmed. Two victims, both identified as fellow Abundant Life students, remain in critical condition. Another student and a teacher were hospitalized and are currently in a stable condition.

Two more students were discharged from the hospital earlier on Monday.

None of the victims’ identities have been released.

“Today is a sad, sad, day,” Barnes said at the first press conference after the shooting. “Not just for Madison, but for our entire country.”

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