Police have identified the suspected shooter who killed a student and a teacher at a private school in Wisconsin on Monday as a 15-year-old girl who was a student at the school.
Six others were injured at Abundant Life Christian School when officials said the suspected teenage shooter, identified by the Madison Police Department as Natalie Rupnow, opened fire just before 11 a.m.
Rupnow, who went by Samantha, was also killed in the shooting, Madison Chief of Police Shon Barnes said during a press conference. She died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound while being transported to an area hospital, Barnes said.
The official cause and manner of death will be determined by the Dane County Medical Examiner, Barnes said.
Police believe there was only one shooter involved, and a motive for the shooting is unclear, Barnes said. Rupnow’s parents are “fully cooperating” with investigators, Barnes said, adding that investigators have searched the family home.
A handgun was recovered from the scene, but Barnes did not specify any other details about the weapon.
Barnes said Monday evening officials were aware of a document circulating online and were looking to learn more.
“A document about this shooting is circulating at this time on social media, but we have not verified its authenticity,” Barnes said.
Barnes also addressed rumors regarding the suspected shooter’s gender identity.
“I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not,” Barnes said.
“I don’t think that whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may have wanted to identify,” he said. “And I wish people would kind of leave their own personal biases out of this.”
Police responded to a report of an active shooter at the private K-12 school at 10:57 a.m., Barnes said. The call was made by a second grade student, he said.
“Let that soak in for a minute,” Barnes said during a Monday press conference. “A second grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school.”
At the time of the shooting, emergency personnel were at a training center learning to respond to similar scenarios, Barnes said.
“So what began as a training day became an actual thing,” he said.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers located multiple victims with gunshot wounds, Barnes said. The shooting occurred in a classroom during study hall with students of multiple grade levels in the room, he added.
Police have not released additional details about the teacher and the student who were killed. It is unclear if the two victims were targets, police said.
