Victims’ names not yet released as investigation continues into Abundant Life Christian School shooting

The names and ages of the victims in Monday’s shooting at Abundant Life Christian School remain undisclosed after an emotional press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the shooting, in which a teenage student and a teacher died, is still under investigation. He said the shooter’s motives were likely a “combination of factors” that are still being probed.

“Everyone was targeted in this incident, and everyone was put in equal danger,” he said.

Barnes clarified the first emergency call that came through to dispatchers was made by a second grade teacher — not a second grade student, as he had previously reported.

The shooter was identified Monday night as Natalie Rupnow, a 15-year-old student at the school, who went by the name of Samantha. She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Barnes said, and her family is cooperating with law enforcement.

Barnes said a widely circulated online document, described by some outlets as a manifesto from the shooter, has not been verified. He said that that document, as well as Rupnow’s online activity, is under investigation, and called on the public to share any information they might have about Rupnow’s recent emotions and behavior.

Barnes praised the response from first responders, including police and fire departments from across Dane County.

Six additional people were injured in the shooting, including five students and a teacher. Two of those victims have life-threatening injuries.

At Tuesday’s press briefing, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said the only positive aspect of Monday’s tragedy was seeing how teachers and first responders took care of students and community members. She said educators and students across the city returned to school Tuesday morning feeling fearful.

“Our job now is to take care of ourselves so we can take care of each other and our community,” she said.

Monday’s shooting is at least the fifth time this year that gunfire took place at a Wisconsin school, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, an advocacy group. That includes the attempted shooting in May at Mount Horeb Middle School, 25 miles southwest of Madison, in which police killed a student with a pellet gun before he entered the school building.

According to a CNN analysis, there have been at least 83 school shootings across the country this year, including 56 at K-12 schools, with at least 38 fatalities.

Dane County Executive Melissa Agard, a former state legislator, became emotional when she said that gun violence is the top cause of death among American children.

“That’s a legacy we cannot accept,” she said. “We are going to work like hell to prevent future tragedies.”

Madison-area schools were open on Tuesday, but Agard said some families chose to keep their children home.

“It didn’t feel like a day that they could go to school,” she said.

The Madison Metropolitan School District sent an email to families earlier Tuesday morning, saying hoax phone calls had been made to several schools reporting a “person in crisis outside their building with a weapon.”

Barnes said the calls are under investigation, but law enforcement does not believe the schools are under threat.