Updated December 17, 2024 at 11:35 AM ET
A teacher and a teenage student were killed in a school shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., on Monday, in an attack that also left at least seven others wounded.
Authorities in Madison said that two students are in critical condition with life-threatening injures, while three other students and a teacher sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Two of those students have since been released.
The shooting has left the Madison community in shock and searching for answers. In a statement, Gov. Tony Evers said he was praying for the families of loved ones whose lives were "so senselessly taken," and called the shooting a "gut-wrenching tragedy."
"As a father, a grandfather, and as a governor, it is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home. This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it," he wrote.
For now, there are more questions than answers about what led to Monday's events. Here is what we know so far.
When did it happen and how did police respond?
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters that at 10:57 a.m. local time, a second grader at the private school called 911 to report that a shooting was underway.
"Now let that soak in for a minute," Barnes said. "A second grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school."
Police were on the scene in three minutes, Barnes said. Some officers, he noted, were in active-shooter training that very morning just a few miles away.
What is known about the victims?
Police believe the shooting took place inside a study hall with students gathered from multiple grades. But aside from the number of victims, authorities have yet to release the names, ages or other identifying details about those who were killed or injured.
Who is the suspect?
Police identified Natalie Rupnow, 15, as the alleged shooter. Rupnow, who went by Samantha, was a student at the school. Authorities said she apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police say they are still working to determine a motive. A handgun was recovered at the scene, and authorities said they were working with federal officials to trace the origin of the gun. As of Monday, it remained unclear how the shooter acquired the weapon.
Barnes said the department has spoken with Rupnow's family and searched her home. He said Rupnow did not have any previous brushes with the law that he was aware of.
Female suspects are rare in school shootings. Since the 1999 killings at Columbine High School in Colorado, only eight other shooting suspects — or 4% — were female, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
What has been the response?
The Madison community was in mourning on Monday night. One mother, Mireille Jean-Charles, has three sons who attend Abundant Life: a ninth grader and a set of twins in sixth grade. Charles told Wisconsin Public Radio she was relieved that her children were safe, but she expects them to have emotional trauma for a long time.
"This is not OK. If your kids are at school, they are not OK. If they are at church, they are not OK. If they are outside elsewhere, they are not OK. Where, where are they going to be safe?"
Barbara Wiers, Abundant Life's elementary and school relations director, said the school does not have any firearms on campus and that students are not even allowed to shoot fake finger guns on the playground.
The school has cameras, and students are "visually scanned" as they enter the building, Wiers said. The school does not have metal detectors or a school resource officer, she said.
A community vigil was held outside Madison on Monday night for the victims and survivors of the shooting.
Across the state, flags were ordered to half-staff by the governor. And in a statement from the White House, President Biden called the shooting "shocking and unconscionable."
"From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings that don't receive attention — it is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence," Biden said. "We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their class room. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover."
What do we know about the school?
Abundant Life Christian School is a private academy that serves about 420 students from kindergarten to high school.
The school was set to close this week for Christmas vacation. It is not known if they will be able to come back to school before their break is over.
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