Student who killed two people in shooting was in her first term at school
20 December 2024, 06:34
Police say Natalie Rupnow, 15, killed herself as well as a teacher and fellow pupil in the shooting in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin 15-year-old who shot and killed a teacher and a fellow pupil was in her first term at the school but seemed to be settling in, a school official said.
Abundant Life Christian School (ACLS) student Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, of Madison, and teacher Erin West, 42, of DeForest, were killed on Monday.
Two other pupils who were shot remained in hospital on Thursday in a critical condition.
Families of the victims remembered them as people of faith who had deep connections within the Christian school.
Barbara Wiers, the school’s director for elementary and communications, said the attack lasted eight minutes and the community’s faith and connection to one another has sustained them as they struggle with the possibility that the shooter’s motive might remain undetermined.
“Are we broken right now? Yes. Are we bruised and battered? Yes,” she said. “But we will laugh again, and He will turn our mourning into joy again. And we will go on.”
Police say pupil Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow injured herself at the school and died at a Madison hospital. Police have said her motivation for the attack remains a key part of their investigation.
This was her first term at ACLS, Ms Wiers said.
The school was working with her family on attendance, but teachers had no significant concerns, she said.
“I pray for this family because right now they’ve lost a daughter and they are wounded,” she said.
“And they’re dealing with the fact that their daughter did this terrible thing and hurt these other people. It has to be one of the loneliest, bitterest places to be.”
Rubi Vergara’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday at City Church, which is adjacent to the school, and Mrs West’s funeral is on Monday at Doxa Church in Madison, where she was a member, according to obituaries.
“ALCS is a better school for the work of Erin West,” the school said in a statement.
She worked three years as a substitute teacher before accepting a staff position as the sub coordinator and in-building substitute teacher, according to the statement.
“She served our teachers and students with grace, humour, wisdom, and — most importantly — with the love of Jesus,” the school said. “Her loss is a painful and deep one and she will be greatly missed not just among our staff, but our entire ALCS family.”
Rubi 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 loving.
“Rubi was a blessing to her class and our school,” the school said. “She was not only a good friend, but a great big sister. Often seen with a book in hand, she had a gift for art and music.”
Rupnow brought two guns to the school.
A man in California told authorities he had been messaging her about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives, according to a restraining order issued against him on Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law.
The order required the 20-year-old Carlsbad man to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours, but it’s unclear Thursday whether he complied, would be charged or was in custody.
The order did not say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also did not detail his interactions with Rupnow except to state that the man was plotting 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 the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said on Wednesday.
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged, but they have been cooperating, he said.
