“Right now, finding a motive is our top priority,” he said. “But at this point it appears that the motive was a combination of factors.”
“We are asking anyone who knew her or who could understand her feelings prior to yesterday to contact Madison Crime Stoppers.”
As part of the investigation, police are checking the suspect’s social media accounts.
Chief Barnes said investigators are also speaking with students at Abundant Life Christian School to see if bullying may have been a factor.
The condition of the victims has not changed since Monday evening. Two people are in hospital with life-threatening conditions and two are in stable condition. Two more left the hospital.
The two killed were a teenage student and a teacher. Authorities have not named any of the victims.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said officials will share information when they can.
“It’s absolutely none of your business who gets hurt in this incident,” she said during a heated debate after being asked a question by a reporter during a press conference.
“Please show human decency and respect for people who have lost loved ones or have been hurt themselves, or whose children have been hurt.”
Superintendent Barnes also clarified Tuesday that the 911 call about the shooting came from a second-grade teacher, not a second-grade student, as previously reported.
He apologized for the mistake and said he had misread the police log of the incident.
He also said there were many schools in the area that were targeted by false threats, known as hit and run, on Tuesday morning. Police do not believe there is a current threat to these schools.
“As a community, we must not allow violence or any act of violence to define us,” he said.
“We refuse to let hate and destruction win in this city, but rather we will honor our survivors, our victims, through love and support like Madison.”
