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15-year-old student identified as Wisconsin school shooter
Authorities identified the suspect in the shooting at Madison Abundant Life Christian School as student 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow.
Authorities said three people are dead, and six others were wounded after a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday morning.
The suspect in the shooting at Madison Abundant Life Christian School was identified as student Natalie Rupnow, according to KMSP. The 15-year-old went by the name "Samantha," and was pronounced dead while being transported to a local hospital. She died of a self-inflicted gunshot.
The other two deceased are a teacher and a teenage student.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said of the six injured, two students are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. Four other students were wounded – their injuries are non-life threatening. Two of the survivors have been released from the hospital.
"It was a traumatic experience, that I had to get here as soon as possible," said parent Bethany Highman, who rushed to the school after learning of the shooting. Her daughter was not injured.
"I pray for the hearts of the students, teachers, staff members," she said.
Barnes said every person in that school community was impacted by Monday's violence.
"Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. This type of trauma doesn't go away, and we need to piece together what exactly happened," he said.
Police are working to determine Rupnow’s motive. Officers have talked with her family.
Barnes said a handgun was recovered at the scene.
Although the shooting happened at a private school, nine public schools in Madison were locked down as a precaution for several hours.
President Joe Biden, in a statement, called the shooting "shocking and unconscionable," and urged Congress to act immediately.
"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," Biden said. "We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write -– not having to learn how to duck and cover."
What is known about the school?
The Abundant Life Christian School is a small non-denominational school with about 420 students from kindergarten to twelfth grade, according to school officials.
Abundant Life Christian School is nondenominational and has about 420 students from pre-kindergarten through high school, according to Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School.
She said at a news briefing Monday afternoon that the school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures including cameras. She also said the school regularly practices safety routines.
"When they heard ‘lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real," she said.
Wiers said just before the school year, they had done a retraining with the Madison Police Department, so it was "very fresh for faculty."
The school asked for prayers in a post on its Facebook page on Monday.
"Prayers Requested! Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS," the post said. "We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able. Please pray for our Challenger Family."
The school’s website said it was founded in 1978 "to offer students academic excellence in a Christ-focused context." The website said the school is accredited through the Association of Christian Schools International.
How many school shootings have happened this year?
The website for the anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety shows that there have been at least 202 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 56 deaths and 147 injuries, in 2024. That data doesn’t include the latest shooting in Madison.
The deadliest school shooting in 2024 happened in September at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Authorities said 14-year-old student Colt Gray opened fire with a semiautomatic assault-style rifle. Four people were killed and nine more were hurt, seven of them shot. A grand jury subsequently indicted Gray and his father Colin Gray — who was accused of giving his son access to the gun — on murder and other charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Last year, 45 people died in 158 school shootings, the Everytown for Gun Safety website shows. Sixty-seven people died in 181 school shootings in 2022, according to the data.
School shootings in recent years, including deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas, have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms. But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws.
Firearms were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.
Cal State East Bay adjunct faculty member Lisa Hill is an expert in youth psychology and teaches in the area of criminal justice and social work. Said it's important to work on prevention by addressing students' emotional and mental health needs.
"Really looking at kids and acknowledging kids when they appear to be in a crisis, when they have a mental health crisis. Depression and anxiety is on the rise, so part of school resources should include counseling for every student," Hill said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.