Following the devastating school shooting in Wisconsin, the suspected 15-year-old shooter has been identified.
The attack at Abundant Life Christian School left the close-knit community in shock and mourning.
Students had arrived on the 28-acre campus Monday morning, preparing for their last week of school before the holidays, which was set to include festive activities like a holiday concert and Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, per CNN.
The shooting began at 10:57AM in a confined area of the school.
Within three minutes, a Dane County Sheriff’s deputy and a Madison police officer arrived on the scene, entering the building to confront the situation.
Medics, coincidentally conducting training nearby, quickly joined the response.
“When officers arrived, they found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said.
A teacher and a student sadly lost their lives and six others were injured.
Two of the injured students remain in critical condition, while a teacher and two other students sustained non-life-threatening injuries, per AP News.
The shooter, identified as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name "Samantha," reportedly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities pronounced her dead en route to the hospital.
A second-grade student made the 911 call that alerted police to the shooting, which unfolded in a classroom used for mixed-grade study hall.
Police are still working to uncover a motive for the shooting. Barnes stated that Rupnow’s family is cooperating fully with investigators, though no manifesto or clear explanation for her actions has been confirmed.
The suspect’s father has been interviewed by police, but no charges are currently planned against the family. Investigators also conducted a search of the suspect’s home on Monday, reportedly using stun grenades during the operation.
Per the Independent, Joe Biden, who was briefed on the school shooting on Monday, said: “It’s shocking and unconscionable. We need Congress to act. Now... Jill and I are praying for all the victims today, including the teacher and teenage student who were killed and those who sustained injuries.”
Sixth-grader Adler Jean-Charles explained the horror from inside the K-12 school in Madison as gunshots began ringing out.
“We heard them. And some people started crying. And then we just waited until the police came and they escorted us out to the church,” he said. “I was scared and [thinking], ‘Why did they do that? Why?’”
He continued: “I was in English and they said it was a lockdown drill, so we went to the side of the building and we went to the church after they came and got us.
“They gave us some food and then waited for them to transport us to the hospital and get our moms and dads.”
His mother Mireille Jean-Charles choked back tears as she explained the trauma inflicted on her son, his classmates and herself.
“Thank God they were safe,” she said. “But the trauma. It’s a lot, as I’m sure they lost friends and teachers, which is not OK. I don’t think they will be OK for a long time, and I’m not.”
According to CNN, this is the 83rd school shooting in the United States this year.