Wisconsin school shooting: Police to provide update as investigation continues

As details on Monday Shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, authorities are expected to provide an update on the investigation Tuesday afternoon.

The update is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT Tuesday, according to officials. It will stream in the player above once it begins.

He private christian school shooting It left several people injured and three dead, including the alleged 15-year-old shooter, who was a student at the school. According to authorities, the alleged shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Detectives spoke with the shooter’s family Monday night and They searched the shooter’s house in Madison as they worked to determine the motive, authorities said.

Authorities arrived at the school, which serves kindergarten through high school students, around 11 a.m. Monday, about four minutes after a second-grade student called 911 to report a shooting.

“Let that sink in,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes repeated twice at a news conference Monday. Barnes added that the shooting occurred in a study hall with students from various grades.

At 11:05 a.m. local time, officers alerted school staff that the shooter was down and that a weapon had been recovered.

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The anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety’s website shows there have been at least 202 shooting incidents on school grounds, resulting in 56 deaths and 147 injuries, in 2024. That data does not include the latest shooting in Madison.

The deadliest school shooting in 2024 occurred in September in Apalachee High School in Georgia.

Last year, 45 people were killed in 158 school shootings, the Everytown for Gun Safety website shows. According to the data, sixty-seven people were killed in 181 school shootings in 2022.

What is the Abundant Life Christian School?

Abundant Life Christian School It is nondenominational and has about 420 students from preschool through high school, according to Barbara Wiers, director of primary and school relations at Abundant Life Christian School.

The school serves about 200 families from about 56 different churches in the greater Dane County area, according to its website, including the greater Madison area and its surrounding communities.

Wiers said at a news conference Monday afternoon that the school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures, including cameras. He also said that weapons are not allowed on campus and that the school regularly practices safety routines.

“When they heard 'lockdown, lockdown,' they knew it was real,” he said.

Wiers said just before the school year they had done retraining at the Madison Police Department, so it was "very new for the teachers."

The school asked for prayers in a post on its Facebook page on Monday.

What we know about the suspect

Barnes on Monday identified the person responsible for the Shooting at Abundant Life Christian School like Natalie Rupnow, who called herself Samantha. Evidence suggested the teen died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, although the Dane County Medical Examiner's Office had not yet released an official cause of death as of Monday night.

Barnes said they were speaking with the shooter's father at one of their facilities and that he is cooperating.

“He lost someone too. So we're not going to rush the information, we're going to take our time and certainly do our due diligence,” Barnes said.

As of Monday night, the motive was unclear.

"Many of you have asked me why this is," Barnes said. "Why did this happen? What do we know? What was the motivation? I don't know, but I will tell you this, our detectives are working hard in the investigative process to find as many answers as we can so we can further prevent these things happen, not only in this community, but in other communities in our country.

Speaking to CNN, Barnes said authorities were trying to put together a timeline of the shooter's final hours before going to school.

Barnes said they have asked the ATF to expedite determining the origin of the gun used in the shooting and how the 15-year-old girl came into their possession. He said he is not sure if the gun was owned by his parents or in his possession.

When asked if his parents could be charged with a crime, Barnes said they were voluntarily giving information, but he also wanted to see if the parents were negligent. But right now, he said that doesn't appear to be the case.

In recent years there have been two high-profile cases in Michigan and Georgia of parents facing criminal charges after their children were accused of school shootings.

What we know about the victims

According to Barnes, in at least three people died in the shooting, including the alleged teenage shooter. A teacher and another teenage student also died, police said.

Six other people — five students and a teacher — were injured, Barnes said. Of those, two students were last listed in critical condition, police said. The others were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

First responders in Madison, Wisconsin, were training when a school shooting occurred.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway spoke at a news conference and offered his condolences to the victims and their families, who will be provided support in the coming days.

"This is an incredibly sad day for our community," the mayor said. "As you may have heard, there is no danger to our community at this time, but our entire community has been affected by this tragic incident."

Rhodes-Conway urged anyone in need of mental health support as a result of the shooting and subsequent coverage to contact 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, by phone or text.

"It is incredibly important that we take care of our community during this very difficult time," he said. "We all have a role in preventing gun violence. Our entire community needs to be part of the solution here."

In a statement released Monday, President Joe Biden He said his team reached out to local officials to offer more support, while saying it is "unacceptable that we cannot protect our children from this scourge of gun violence."

"We cannot continue to accept it as something normal," said the president. "Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom. Students across our country should learn to read and write, not have to learn to duck and cover."

'Why did they do that, why?'

Several students, parents and community members asked questions as the search for a possible motive continued Monday night.

"I was scared and why did they do that? Why?" said one student, Adler Jean Charles.

Adler said shots were fired while he was in English class.

"We heard them and then some people started crying and then we just waited until the police arrived," he said.

For hours, Adler and her classmates waited at a nearby medical clinic used as a reunification center. His mother told him NBCChicago about the moment he recognized that his children were safe.

"It's joyful and tearful at the same time," said Mireille Jean Charles, mother of Adler and two other students. "Because one of them could be there dying... all three of them came out safe and sound, which is a blessing, and I don't take that for granted."

"This is not right," added Mireille Jean Charles. "If your kids are in school they're not okay, if they're in church they're not okay. If they're outside, they're not okay. Where are they going to be safe?"