Wisconsin: Two people were killed and others were injured in a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday. The shooting happened days before the Christmas break. Police said a student who opened fire, identified as a 15-year-old girl, was also dead. The latest shooting inside school premises has again exhibited the deadliest history of gun violence in the US.
Here are some things to know about the shooting in Wisconsin’s capital city:
What happened in Madison?
The shooting occurred late on Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School. Police said on Monday night that a second-grade student called 911 to report the shooting. Police Chief Shon Barnes said Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha, opened fire during a study hall, killing another student and a teacher, and wounding six others. The teacher and student were pronounced dead at the scene, he said. Their names have not yet been released. Two students who were hurt remained in critical condition on Monday night, police said. A teacher and three students were taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, and two of them had been released by Monday evening.
VIDEO: Wisconsin school shooting
Rupnow also died, likely by suicide, Barnes said. Responding police officers did not fire their weapons, he said. A law enforcement official previously said the shooter was 17 but police said Monday night the shooter was 15. Investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told the news agency Associated Press. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The school website shows that Friday was to be the last scheduled day of classes before the holiday break.
US President Joe Biden reacts to school shooting
US President Joe Biden, in a statement, called the shooting “shocking and unconscionable,” and urged Congress to act immediately. “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 classroom. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write -– not having to learn how to duck and cover.”
Nine public schools in Madison were locked down for a few hours after the shooting as a precaution.
What is known about the school?
Abundant Life Christian School is nondenominational and has about 420 students from pre-kindergarten through high school, according to Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School. She said at a news briefing on Monday afternoon that the school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures including cameras. She also said guns are not allowed on campus and that the school regularly practices safety routines. “When they heard ‘lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real,” she said.
Wiers said just before the school year, they had done a retraining with the Madison Police Department, so it was “very fresh for faculty.” The school asked for prayers in a post on its Facebook page on Monday. “Prayers Requested! Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS,” the post said. “We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able. Please pray for our Challenger Family.” The school’s website said it was founded in 1978 “to offer students academic excellence in a Christ-focused context.” The website said the school is accredited through the Association of Christian Schools International.
Have religious schools been targeted elsewhere?
The shooting comes less than two weeks after a gunman critically wounded two kindergartners at a tiny religious school in Northern California and then killed himself. Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said Glenn Litton was mentally ill and believed that by targeting children on December 4 he was carrying out “counter-measures” in response to America’s involvement in Middle East violence.
Litton, 56, gained entry to the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Oroville, California, by pretending he wanted to enroll a fictitious grandson, Honea said. He used a handgun to shoot and critically wound two kindergarten boys, ages 5 and 6. Authorities said Litton was found dead afterwards just meters from the school’s playground. It was unclear why Feather River School was targeted.
How many school shootings have happened this year?
The website for the anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety shows that there have been at least 202 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 56 deaths and 147 injuries, in 2024. That data doesn’t include the latest shooting in Madison.
The deadliest school shooting in 2024 happened in September at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Authorities said 14-year-old student Colt Gray opened fire with a semiautomatic assault-style rifle. Four people were killed and nine more were hurt, seven of them shot. A grand jury subsequently indicted Gray and his father Colin Gray — who was accused of giving his son access to the gun — on murder and other charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Last year, 45 people died in 158 school shootings, the Everytown for Gun Safety website shows. Sixty-seven people died in 181 school shootings in 2022, according to the data.
School shootings in recent years, including deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas, have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms. But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws. Firearms were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches healthcare issues.
(With inputs from agency)