Police name 15-year-old girl as suspect in Wisconsin school shooting that left teacher and student dead

17 December 2024, 07:16 | Updated: 17 December 2024, 07:19

A 15-year-old suspected of killing two people and critically injuring six others in a Wisconsin school shooting has been named by police.

Police identified the Madison, Wisconsin school shooter as 15-year-old student Natalie 'Samantha' Rupnow.

A teacher and a student were killed in the shooting, Rupnow is believed to have died in an ambulance following the attack.

She was reportedly found wounded from a self-inflicted gunshot in the wake of the killings.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes confirmed that two of the six people injured in the rampage remain in critical condition.

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The attack took place at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, the capital of the Midwestern state, on Monday.

Chief Barnes said police are currently working with Rupnow’s father, who cooperating with authorities, to determine what led to the attack.

It is yet to be confirmed if Rupnow’s family are gun owners.

“He lost someone as well. And so we're not going to rush the information, we'll take our time and certainly do our due diligence,' Barnes said.

Barnes added he had no knowledge of any previous incidents involving Rupnow.

“I think if there were, we certainly would have had some type of intervention, but I'm not aware of that,” he said.

“We know that the suspect shooter was a teenage student who attended the school,” Barnes added.

“Again, as difficult as today is, that's still someone's child that's gone, that's still someone that has to deal with what happened today. And so we want to make sure that we can ensure as much cooperation as we can,” he added.

“Why did this happen? What do we know? What was the motivation?

“I do not know.”

Abundant Life was not a place where authorities expected this kind of violence to occur, Barnes told reporters on Monday.

“We do not know that the shooter had any prior contact with law enforcement. But I did do a check of the school,” he said.

“There were some calls, but they were like 911 hang-ups, things of that nature. There was nothing that suggested that the school was a place that violence would occur.”

A handgun was discovered at the scene of the shooting, police confirmed.

Police arrived on the scene at around 11am local time (5pm UK time). The school is near a police training centre.

Officers did not fire their weapons during the incident.

The school has about 390 students, from nursery to secondary school, according to its website.

Mr Barnes added: "I'm feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas.

"Every child, every person in that building is a victim, and will be a victim forever. These types of trauma don't just go away.

"My heart is heavy for Madison and we have to come together as a community and find out what happened here and make sure it doesn't happen in any other place that should be a refuge for students in our community."

Wisconsin governor Tony Evers said: “We are praying for the kids, educators, and entire Abundant Life school community as we await more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond".

Officers added in a statement: "This remains an active and ongoing investigation.

"More information will be released as it is available. We currently need people to avoid the area."

Joe Biden has been informed of the situation.

Madison is a city of around 280,000 people. It is about 150 miles north-west of Chicago. Abundant Life Christian School is on the east side of the city.