MILWAUKEE — The teenage shooter who killed a student and a teacher at a Christian school in Wisconsin on Monday brought two handguns to the attack, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wednesday night.
Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, who was a freshman at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, had two guns with her Monday when she opened fire on a study hall, Barnes said, killing two people and injuring six others. Evidence suggests Rupnow died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Barnes said previously, adding that police officers did not fire their weapons.
The police chief said many questions remain about her motive, as authorities investigate the teenager’s cell phone activity and how she obtained the firearms.
“We believe, preliminarily, that one of these handguns was the sole weapon used to commit this heinous act, and the other was not used,” Barnes said, noting a ballistics report would ultimately determine how many of the guns were used.
Police know the origins of the firearms and believe they can follow their path, but Barnes said he was wary of saying too much at risk of jeopardizing any potential criminal case. He said it was too early to say if charges would be filed in the shooting.
A “major part” of the investigation is determining how she got the guns and from whom, according to Barnes, who added that he asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace their origins.
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California man detained in connection to shooting
The Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, spoke with Barnes shortly after a California man was detained on suspicion of “plotting” to coordinate a mass shooting at a government building in conjunction with the Madison school shooter.
According to an emergency gun violence restraining order viewed by the Journal Sentinel, FBI agents interviewed Alexander Paffendorf of Carlsbad, California, in connection with the attack. During the interview, “Paffendorf admitted to the FBI agents that he told Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building,” the order states.
A spokesperson for the FBI San Diego field office declined to comment. The Carlsbad Police Department, which filed the petition for the order, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
School shooting victims
Barnes also spoke with Journal Sentinel as the people killed in the attack were publicly identified for the first time as Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, and Erin M. West, 42. As for the people injured in the shooting, Barnes said the hospital had stopped updating police about the conditions of the people who remain there, citing privacy laws.
He said to his knowledge those victims are still alive.
Earlier in the week, Barnes said two students remained in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. A teacher and three other students were initially hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Two had been released from the hospital as of Monday evening.
Barnes said he could not say that the shooter targeted a specific person and urged anyone with information about the case to contact police.
“The shooter made a decision to walk into that study hall with mixed high school students and open fire,” he said. “Everyone in that room had an equal chance of dying that day.”
He did not know whether she was assigned to be in that study hall.
Family history
Court records indicate Rupnow cycled between the homes of her parents — who married and divorced more than once during her lifetime, finalizing their most recent separation in the summer of 2022.
In the wake of the shooting, attention has also turned to the freshman student’s online presence. But details — including a manifesto some believe was written by her — remain unverified.
The police department is seeking a person who first posted the purported manifesto online, because “it was alleged that there was a direct link to that person.” If it’s true that person had direct contact with her, Barnes said they would have information valuable to investigators.
Investigators are conducting an analysis of the teenager’s cell phone to determine if the document originated from her device.
Contributing: Drake Bentley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Will Carless, USA TODAY