Officials are trying to determine why a 15-year-old girl allegedly opened fire He went to a Christian schoolA student and a teacher were killed in a horrific crime that shocked the community of Madison, Wisconsin.
suspicious, Natalie Rupnow by Samanthadied of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before officers arrived at Abundant Life Christian School Monday morning, police said. The officers did not fire a weapon.
Two students were hospitalized in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, police said, while three other students and a teacher suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Police escort students after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School on December 16, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Police have not yet suggested a motive for the attack or said whether the victims were specifically targeted.
The suspect’s parents are cooperating with the investigation, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told ABC News on Tuesday.
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the SSM Health clinic, where parents are meeting with children after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School on Dec. 16, 2024 in Madison, Wis.
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“They were cooperative. Despite this tragedy, they still lost a child. They still lost a family member,” Barnes said. “It’s safe to say that they probably have more questions than anyone because they knew him. They lived with him and so we wanted to hear from them what kind of kid he was.”
His father is being questioned by investigators, Barnes said. He said that he does not know if the mother was interrogated, pointing out that she has been out of town.
A police officer stands guard outside Abundant Life Christian School on December 16, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Kindergarten through 12th grade students attend a Christian school. Police said the shooting took place “in a classroom of a classroom full of students from multiple grade levels.”
“I was in the hallway, and I was changing from my shoes to my boots to go to lunch because I have a break, but then I heard gunshots and screams,” a sophomore girl. he told ABC Chicago station WLS.
A second-grader also called 911, Barnes said.
“Let that soak in for a minute,” Barnes added. “A second grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at the school.”
A family leaves a shelter after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 16, 2024.
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President Joe Biden called the shooting “shocking and senseless” and called on Congress to act immediately.
Biden urged Congress to pass “common sense” gun safety laws, including universal background checks, a national red flag law and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Police direct traffic outside Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, after a shooting on Dec. 16, 2024.
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“It is unacceptable that we cannot protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” Biden said in a statement, adding, “We cannot continue to take it for granted.”
Biden also cited his administration’s efforts to combat the gun violence epidemic in the US, including the establishment of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, while stating that more needs to be done.
Worshipers of Blackhawk Church gather to pray for victims and survivors of a shooting at Madison’s Abundant Life Christian School, Dec. 16, 2024, in Middleton, Wis.
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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement, “There are no words to describe the devastation and heartbreak we feel,” calling the shooting “a terrible tragedy.”
Evers said he and his wife “are praying for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were so senselessly taken and for the educators, staff and entire Abundant Life school community.”
“It’s unthinkable for a child or an educator to wake up one morning and go to school and never come home,” he said. “This should never have happened, and I will never accept this as the face of reality, nor will I stop working to change it.”
ABC News’ Briana Stewart contributed to this report.
