Wisconsin school shooting: Motive appears to be 'combination of factors'
WI school shooting: PD looks at suspect's social media
Madison police provided an update on Tuesday about the shooting at Abundant Life Christan School, which left three people dead, including the suspected shooter, and six others injured. Authorities say the motive appears to be a "combination of things," and investigators are looking into the teenager's social media activity leading up to the shooting.
MADISON, Wis. (FOX 9) - A shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, left three people dead, including the 15-year-old suspected shooter, and six others injured.
In an update on Tuesday, Madison police said detectives are looking into the suspected school shooter's online activity and added the motive appears to be a "combination of factors."
Madison police provide update on Tuesday
What we know: Madison Police Chief Shon F. Barnes and other officials provided an update on the school shooting during a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
Chief Barnes first clarified a few details that were reported during Monday’s press conference. Police said a second-grader called 911 to report the shooting, but Chief Barnes clarified that after looking at the computer-aided dispatch system, it was a second-grade teacher who made the call.
Furthermore, a document circulating on social media, which some call a "manifest", cannot be verified at this time. Detectives are working to determine where the document originated, and who shared it, according to police.
Detectives are searching for documents that have been taken from the suspect's home, who police identified as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow. They're also searching computers to see if the document originated from the suspect. Police will provide more details on this matter when available.
Suspected shooter's online activity and motive?
During the press conference, Chief Barnes explained some people had reached out about social media activity prior to the school shooting.
Detectives are looking into the suspected shooter's online activity, but police did not share details about her social media accounts or the activities in question.
Authorities are requesting anyone who knew her, or may have "insights into her thoughts and feelings," to contact Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.
What we don't know: While the motive is still in question, police say it appears to be a "combination of factors", and detectives are looking into whether bullying may have played a role.
Barnes said he cannot share exact details about a possible motive at this time due to the ongoing investigation.
Swatting calls to Madison area schools
During the press conference, Chief Barnes said schools in Madison School District were targeted by swatting calls. Police are investigating where the calls originated, but don't believe there is a threat to the schools.
What they’re saying: "We do not believe that there are any current threats to any Madison area schools and will continue to investigate these calls and any threats of violence as they come in," said Barnes. "Let me be clear on this point. Making false threats is a crime, and we are working with the district attorney to prosecute these crimes as information is gathered."
Police did not provide further details about the threat or how many schools were targeted.
Abundant Life Christian School shooting
Madison, Wis. school shooting: 2nd-grader reported shooting
FOX 9's Rob Olson shares the latest on a school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. Authorities have identified the shooter as a 15-year-old girl, Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha. She was a student at the school.
Timeline: Here's what happened on Monday, Dec. 16:
- 10:57 a.m.: A second-grade teacher called 911 reporting a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. Police later said the shooting happened during study hall with a mix of grades in the classroom.
- 11 a.m.: A Dane County Sheriff's deputy arrived at the scene, followed by an officer with the Madison Police Department. Shortly after, authorities entered the school.
- 11:05 a.m.: Authorities reported recovering a gun inside the school and informed others that the shooter was down. The Madison Fire Department arrived on scene and started working with officers who were providing aid. Police started setting up a reunification center for parents and students.
- 11:13 a.m.: The Madison Police Department released a notice about the school shooting.
- 11:14 a.m.: Law enforcement worked to clear students, teachers and staff members from the building.
- 11:23 a.m.: Bomb dogs arrived at the scene and started searching the school.
- 11:26 a.m.: The fire department started transporting victims to the hospital for their injuries. Police noted EMS arrived on scene approximately 20 minutes earlier and were working with officers.
- Press conferences: Law enforcement held four press conferences at 12:15 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
What we don’t know: Police did not provide further details about which grades were in the study hall.
The school is a private Christian school that is not under the authority of the public school system. Abundant Life Christian School is a K-12 school with about 390 students.
Who is Natalie (Samantha) Rupnow, the suspected shooter?
What we know: Madison police identified the suspected shooter as 15-year-old student Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha.
Police say it appears she died from a self-inflected gunshot wound, and she was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital. The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the official cause of death.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said investigators spoke with the family members of the shooter Monday evening, and they have searched her home, located in Madison.
Authorities are still working to determine a motive behind the shooting, but believe only one shooter was involved.
Who are the shooting victims?
Dig deeper: Three people have died — a teacher, a teenage student and the suspected shooter — and six others were hurt, police said.
Of the six injured, two students remain in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. A teacher and three other students were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and two have since been released.
READ MORE: Madison, Wisconsin school shooting: What’s known about the victims
Police initially reported that three people had died as a result of the shooting, but during a news conference on Monday, authorities said five people were deceased. Police later issued a correction on their Facebook page clarifying that three people had died.
Police have not yet identified the victims or shared further details about those injured.
Police recently practiced this
Local perspective: Madison's police chief indicated his officers were trained for a situation like this school shooting as recently as two weeks ago. Those officers are trained to "stop the killing, to stop the dying and find who is responsible." Officers did not fire their weapons.