It is thought a 15-year-old girl opened fire in a classroom at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin, ITV News Jay Akbar reports
A 15-year-old girl named Natalie Rupnow has been identified as the suspect who shot and killed a teacher and student at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, US, local police said.
Rupnow, known as “Samantha,” opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday morning, injuring six people, including two students in critical condition.
Police said Rupnow was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound when officers arrived and died on the way to a hospital.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said there had been no prior contact with the 15-year-old and added that her father and other family members are cooperating with police.
“The parents are fully cooperating, we have no reason to believe that they have committed a crime at this time,” he said.
Police have not yet identified a motive for the shooting or confirmed if the victims were specifically targeted, Barnes confirmed.
“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.
How the shooting unfolded
Police received the first report of an active shooter in a classroom at 10:57am on Monday from a second-grade student, aged seven or eight, who called 911.
“Let that soak in for a minute,” Barnes said. “A second-grade student called 911 at 10:57am to report a shooting at school.”
Officers arrived at the school within minutes and found the shooter was already down without firing their weapons. A 9mm pistol was recovered.
Barbara Wiers, the school’s director of elementary and school relations, said safety drills are always announced in advance, but that did not happen on Monday, just a week before Christmas break.
“When they heard, ‘lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real,” she said.
In a statement, President Joe Biden referred to the tragedy while urging Congress to pass universal background checks, a national red flag law, and specific gun restrictions.
“We can never accept senseless violence that traumatizes children, their families, and tears entire communities apart,” Biden said.
This school shooting is the latest among dozens across America in recent years.
According to KFF, a charity that researches healthcare issues, guns were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021.
Abundant Life Christian School is non-denominational and has about 390 students, from kindergarten through high school, according to its website.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
