Shooter at Wisconsin Christian School Confirmed as 15-Year-Old Girl [WATCH]

A 15-year-old student has been identified as the shooter responsible for a deadly attack at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday.

The shooting left a teacher and a student dead, with two other students fighting for their lives and several others injured.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes confirmed the shooter as Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, a student at the K-12 private Christian school.

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Rupnow entered the campus with a handgun around 11 a.m. and opened fire in a classroom during study hall.

Authorities pronounced one student and a teacher dead at the scene.

Another teacher and five students were wounded in the attack, with two students currently in critical condition, Barnes reported during a press conference Monday night.

Rupnow sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound during the incident and was pronounced dead while being transported to the hospital.

Investigators are working to confirm reports of a manifesto allegedly belonging to Rupnow that has been circulating online. “We haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic, we’re certainly aware that it’s been posted,” Barnes said.

He added that the Madison Police Department is collaborating with the FBI to authenticate the document and examine its contents.

On Monday evening, SWAT teams searched Rupnow’s family home, located about eight miles from the school, and conducted a thorough investigation of the premises, according to WISN.

Barnes said authorities are still working to determine a motive for the shooting.

Investigators have been interviewing Rupnow’s father, but Barnes noted there is currently no evidence suggesting that her parents committed a crime.

“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 stated.

During the chaos, students reportedly remained calm and responsive. Barnes highlighted that a second-grader in a nearby classroom called 911 as the shooting began.

Police arrived at the scene within three minutes of the call, a response time Barnes said helped contain the situation.

Addressing speculation circulating on social media regarding Rupnow’s gender identity, Barnes said the detail was not relevant to the investigation. “Whether or not she was, he was, they were transgender is something that may come out later, but for what we’re doing right now, today, literally eight hours after a mass shooting in a school in Madison, it is of no consequence at this time,” he said.

Barbara Wiers, a school official, praised the students’ behavior during the incident, saying they “handled themselves magnificently.”

The shooting drew national attention, including a response from Joe Biden, who used the tragedy to renew calls for stricter gun control legislation.

“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. We cannot continue to accept it as normal,” Biden said in a statement.

“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.”

HE LITERALLY JUST PARDONED HIS SON FOR GUN CRIMES! https://t.co/IpGvieaSAI

— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) December 16, 2024

Abundant Life Christian School, located in Madison, has approximately 400 students enrolled in grades K-12.

Investigators continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including how Rupnow obtained the firearm used in the attack.

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