(Madison) The motive behind the shooting that killed a teacher and student and injured others at a Wisconsin school Monday appears to be a “combination of factors,” the local police chief said Tuesday as he called on citizens to share what they might know about the 15-year-old girl who attacked a study hall before shooting herself in the head.
Published yesterday at 5:36 p.m.
Scott Bauer
Associated Press
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes provided no details on a possible motive, although he said the bullying at Abundant Life Christian School would be investigated.
Mr. Barnes said police had not confirmed the authenticity of a manifesto that could have been written by Natalie Rupnow and which could shed light on her fatal actions.
Chief Barnes provided a hotline number for anyone who may have known the teen and her feelings. Investigators are also looking into his online activity.
In addition to the two deaths, six people were injured, including two students who remain in critical condition.
Authorities refused to release the identities of the victims. “Leave them alone,” said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.
Abundant Life School in Madison, Wisconsin’s capital, is a non-denominational Christian school – kindergarten through high school – serving approximately 420 students.
Not an exercise
Barbara Wiers, director of elementary school relations, said that when practicing safety routines, school leaders always announce that it is a drill. It didn’t happen on Monday, the last week before the Christmas holiday.
“When they heard ‘lockdown,’ they knew it was real,” she said.
Mme Wiers said the school does not have metal detectors, but uses cameras and other security measures.
Chief Barnes said the first 911 call reporting an “active shooter” came shortly before 11 a.m. Monday morning from a second-grade teacher – not a second-grade student, as he had reported. publicly on Monday.
First responders, who were in training about 3 miles away, then rushed to the school for this “real emergency,” Chief Barnes said. They arrived three minutes after the initial call.
Investigators believe the teen used a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Students from the school and their families were reunited at a health clinic about a mile away. Parents pressed their children to their chests while others squeezed their hands and shoulders as they walked side by side.
“Senseless violence”
In a statement, President Joe Biden addressed the tragedy by calling on Congress to pass universal background checks, a national “red flag” law and certain gun restrictions.
“We can never accept senseless violence that traumatizes children, their families and tears apart entire communities,” Mr. Biden said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said it was “unthinkable” that a child or teacher would go to school and never return home.
The school shooting is the latest of more than 100 across the United States in recent years, including deadly shootings in Newtown, Conn., Parkland, Fla., and Uvalde, in Texas.
The shootings have sparked heated debates over gun control in the United States and stressed parents whose children grow up accustomed to active shooter drills in their classrooms.
But school shootings have done little to bring about changes to state laws.
Guns were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that studies health issues.
Guns were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that studies health issues.
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