Police say it appears that the motive behind the shooting that left two dead, along with a suspect, at a private school in Wisconsin was “combining things”.
Madison Police Chief Sean Barnes did not release details Tuesday about the allegations that led a 15-year-old girl, identified by authorities as Natalie Rupnow, to shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in downtown Madison.
Six people were also injured in Monday’s shooting. Rupnow is believed to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Chief Barnes said at a press conference that investigators are asking anyone who knows the suspect to come forward with information.
“Right now, identifying the motive is our priority,” he said. “But at this point it seems the intent was a combination of things.”
“We are asking anyone who recognizes him or has information about his feelings leading up to yesterday to contact Crime Stoppers in the Madison area.”
The police are looking at the suspect’s social media as part of the investigation.
Chief Barnes said that the investigators also spoke with the students of Abundant Life Christian School to understand what the bullying could have been.
The condition of the injured has not changed since Monday night. Two people are in hospital in a life-threatening condition and two are in a stable condition. The other two have been released from the hospital.
The two victims who were shot dead were a young student and a teacher. None of the victims have been called by the authorities.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said officials will share information when they can.
“It’s absolutely none of ya’ll’s business who was injured in this incident,” he said when they answered a question from a reporter at a press conference.
“Please show dignity and respect to the people who lost their relatives or were injured or their children were injured.”
Chief Barnes on Tuesday also clarified that the 911 call reporting the shooting came from a second grade teacher and not a second grade student, as previously reported.
He apologized for the mistake and said that he misread the police log about the incident.
He also said that there are a number of schools in the area that were attacked by false threats, known as swatting, on Tuesday morning. The police do not believe that there are any threats in those schools.
“We are a society and we must not allow violence or any act of violence to define us,” he said.
“We refuse to let hate, destruction prevail in this city, but instead we will honor our survivors, our victims, with love and support the Madison way.”
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