MADISON, Wis.—The 15-year-old Wisconsin girl who shot and killed a teacher and a fellow student on Monday was only in her first semester at school but seemed to be adjusting, a school official said Thursday as the families of the victims remembered. them as people of faith who had deep connections within the Christian school.
Abundant Life Christian School student Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, of Madison, and teacher Erin West, 42, of DeForest, were killed Monday. Two other students who were shot remained hospitalized Thursday in critical condition.
Barbara Wiers, the school’s director of elementary and communications, told The Associated Press that the attack lasted eight minutes, less than the school’s usual snack time. He said the community’s faith and connection to each other has sustained them as they grapple with the possibility that the shooter’s motive remains undetermined.
“Are we broken right now? Yes. Are we bruised and battered? Yes,” he said. “But we will laugh again, and He will once again turn our grief into joy. And we will continue.”
Police say student Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow committed suicide at school and died at a Madison hospital. Police have said the motive for the attack remains a key part of their investigation.
This was Rupnow’s first semester in the ALCS, Wiers said. The school was working with his family on attendance, but teachers had no major concerns, he said.
“I pray for this family because right now they have lost a daughter and they are hurt,” he said. “And they’re dealing with the fact that their daughter did something terrible and hurt other people. It has to be one of the loneliest and most bitter places.”
Vergara’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday at City Church, which is adjacent to the school, and West’s funeral is Monday at Doxa Church in Madison, where he was a member, according to obituaries posted Wednesday and Thursday.
West had worked at the school for four years and is the mother of three daughters, according to her obituary. He enjoyed camping with his family, attending school sporting events, serving at the Doxa Church and spending time with his daughters and the rest of his family, according to the obituary.
“ALCS is a better school for Erin West’s work,” the school said in a statement.
West worked three years as a substitute teacher before accepting a staff position as an assistant coordinator and substitute teacher within the building, according to the release.
“She served our teachers and students with grace, humor, wisdom and, most importantly, the love of Jesus,” the school said. “Her loss is painful and profound and she will be greatly missed not only by our staff, but by our entire ALCS family.”
Vergara was a freshman at the school and “an avid reader, loved art, singing, and playing keyboard in the family worship band,” according to her obituary.
The school described her as gentle and caring.
“Rubi was a blessing to her class and to our school,” the school said. “She was not only a good friend, but also a great big sister. “She was often seen with a book in her hand, she had a gift for art and music.”
Attempts to obtain comment from relatives of West and Vergara have been unsuccessful.
The shooter brought two guns to school. A man in California told authorities he had been sending her messages about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives, according to a restraining order issued against him Tuesday under California’s red flag gun law. The order required the 20-year-old Carlsbad man to surrender his guns and ammunition to police within 48 hours, but it was unclear Thursday whether he complied, would be charged or if he was in custody.
The order did not say which building he was targeting or when he planned to launch the attack. She also did not detail her interactions with Rupnow, except to claim that the man was planning a mass shooting with her.
A spokesperson for the Carlsbad Police Department said federal authorities were leading the investigation and “we do not believe there is a threat to our city.”
Police, with help from the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and talking to the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Wednesday.
Police do not know if anyone was targeted or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said.
While Rupnow had two guns, Barnes said he does not know how he obtained them and declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decision has been made about whether Rupnow’s parents could be charged, but they have been cooperating, Barnes said.
Online court records show no criminal cases against his father, Jeffrey Rupnow, or his mother, Mellissa Rupnow. They are divorced and share custody of their daughter, but she lived primarily with her father, according to court documents.
Abundant Life is a non-denominational Christian school of approximately 420 students offering classes from kindergarten through high school.
Adam Rostad, who lives near Madison, attended ALCS from kindergarten through high school. His grandfather was the pastor of the church who helped establish the school, and his mother and aunt worked there.
Rostad said Thursday that although he graduated about 20 years ago and doesn’t even consider himself a “church person” anymore, the ALCS is a family.
He has compiled a list of about 440 people who are eager to cook or buy gift cards for those affected and is coordinating with the school and church to make sure that is the best way to help.
“Bullets don’t really care what your faith is, or if you have one,” Rostad said. “They really don’t.”
By Scott Bauer, Giovanna Dell’orto and Todd Richmond.
