Wisconsin police say search for motive behind school attack remains 'top priority'
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin medical examiner's office identified the victims in the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School on Wednesday, days after the deadly attack rocked the close-knit community and the rest of the country.
The Dane County Medical Examiner's Office on Wednesday evening released the names of Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, of Madison, Wisconsin, and Erin West following forensic autopsies. Vergara was a freshman at the private Christian school and West was a substitute coordinator, according to the staff directory.
Police say Natalie "Samantha" Rupnow, 15, opened fire during a study hall at the private Christian school, striking several people in a classroom. Rupnow died en route to a hospital of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes, noting the medical examiner has not yet released the official cause of death.
As the investigation into the shooting progresses, Barnes revealed Wednesday that the suspect had two handguns with her when she opened fire on a study hall. He said investigators were also analyzing the suspect's social media activity interviewing relatives and friends as they sought to determine a motive for the shooting.
Two students who suffered life-threatening injuries in the attack remained in the hospital as of Wednesday evening, according to Madison police. Four others who suffered non-life-threatening injuries have all been discharged.
Police: Suspect had two handguns at time of shooting
Barner told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the Paste BN Network, on Wednesday that the suspect had two handguns with her, though they believe she used only one firearm during the attack.
“We believe, preliminarily, that one of these handguns was the sole weapon used to commit this heinous act, and the other was not used,” Barnes said, noting a ballistics report would ultimately determine how many of the guns were used.
A “major part” of the investigation is determining how she obtained the guns and from whom, Barnes said, noting he has asked the ATF to trace their origins.
He said that with information currently available to police, authorities could not determine whether the suspect targeted a specific person.
“The shooter made a decision to walk into that study hall with mixed high school students and open fire,” he said. “Everyone in that room had an equal chance of dying that day.”
– David Clarey and Alison Dirr
California man accused of plotting an attack with Wisconsin shooter
About 2,000 miles away from Madison, authorities in Southern California detained a 20-year-old man accused of “plotting” to coordinate a mass shooting at a government building in conjunction with the Wisconsin school shooter, according to court records.
FBI agents detained Alexander Paffendorf, of Carlsbad, California, according to an emergency gun violence restraining order reviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the Paste BN Network.
According to the order, FBI agents "saw the messages from Paffendorf to Rupnow."
"During an FBI interview, Paffendorf admitted to the FBI agents that he told Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building," the order says.
– Drake Bentley, Will Carless, David Clarey and Alison Dirr
Two victims identified in Madison school shooting
The student and the teacher killed in the tragic shooting have been identified after their sudden deaths sparked a wave of shock and grief across their community.
Preliminary findings indicate both Vergara and West died due to firearm-related trauma, according to the medical examiner's office.
Vergara's family had previously authorized the release of her obituary earlier Wednesday, according to Gunderson East Funeral and Cremation Care.
The daughter of Vicente and Jennifer Vergara, Rubi Patricia Vergara is described in her obituary as an avid reader who loved art, singing, and playing the keyboard in the family worship band. She "shared a special bond with her beloved pets," a cat named Ginger and her dog Coco, the obituary added.
– Jessica Van Egeren and Alison Dirr
Abundant Life Christian School victims honored in vigil
Throughout Madison, churches and nightly vigils have been filled with people grieving and processing the city's second school shooting in less than a year. On Tuesday night, hundreds of people gathered at the state Capitol downtown for a public vigil organized by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County. They helped each other light candles and signed three crosses set on the grounds.
Charles Moore, executive director of Impact Christian Schools, which oversees religious schools including Abundant Life, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the Paste BN Network, "it's hard to comprehend the shock" of what happened.
"There are still some very, very injured children in the hospital," Moore said. "It doesn't end on the first day, in the first couple of minutes. Lives have been torn apart."
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told the crowd the city would never be the same and urged people to rely on each other during the difficult road ahead.
"Let us be a community where, when we see someone who needs help, that we are the first to extend our hands and to offer resources where they are needed," Rhodes-Conway said. "Let us be a community that takes care of each other. That is where our focus is right now, on caring for everyone who has been impacted by this gun violence."
Details emerge about the suspected shooter
Court records shed some light on the suspected shooter as police investigate what motivated the deadly rampage earlier this week.
The suspect’s parents, Jeffrey and Mellissa-Abagail Rupnow, married and divorced more than once during her lifetime, court filings indicate, finalizing their most recent separation in the summer of 2022.
Their daughter cycled between her parents' homes during the proceedings, with records indicating at one point that she would move between them every few days. The parents shared joint legal custody with primary placement with her father, who kept a home in Madison.
A mediated agreement says the parents "report a generally positive co-parenting relationship." The document also makes brief reference to their daughter attending therapy, with her mother agreeing to participate as recommended by the therapist.
Children's health researchers have warned that there are numerous factors at play when it comes to perpetrators of mass shootings. They have cautioned against drawing a direct link between mental health and mass violence, noting that the vast majority of people who seek therapy or have mental health concerns do not commit violence.
Justin Heinze, an associate professor of health behavior and health equity at the University of Michigan, said that while school shootings are extremely distressing, they are comparatively rare compared to other firearm deaths, so drawing data from such incidents warrants caution.
“I'll tell anybody who asks me that there is not necessarily a profile,” he said. “I cannot give you individual characteristics, or some patterns of behavior, or some life experiences that produce with any real accuracy, who might end up perpetrating an event like this."
– Alison Dirr, David Clarey, Will Carless and Natalie Eilbert
Contributing: Claire Reid, Alison Dirr, David Clarey, Jessica Van Egeren and Natalie Eilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Will Carless and Minnah Arshad, Paste BN