Two people were killed and others injured in a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday. The shooting happened days before the Christmas holiday. Police said a student who opened fire, who was a 15-year-old girl, was also dead.
Here are some things you should know about the shooting in Wisconsin's capital city:
What happened in Madison?
The shooting happened late Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School. Police said Monday evening that a second-grader called 911 to report the shooting.
Police Chief Shon Barnes said Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha, opened fire in a study hall, killing another student and a teacher and wounding six others.
The teacher and student were pronounced dead at the scene, he said. Their names have not yet been released. Two injured students remained in critical condition Monday evening, police said. A teacher and three students were taken to a hospital with less serious injuries, but two of them were released Monday evening.
Rupnow also died, probably by suicide, Barnes said. The responding officers did not fire their weapons, he said. A police official previously said the shooter was 17 years old, but police said Monday night the shooter was 15 years old.
Investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm handgun, a police official told the AP. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The school website indicates that Friday was supposed to be the last scheduled day of classes before the holidays.
President Joe Biden called the shooting “shocking and irresponsible” in a statement and called on Congress to act immediately.
“From Newtown to Uvalde, from Parkland to Madison and so many other shootings that go unnoticed, it is unacceptable that we cannot protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” Biden said. “We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom. Students across our country should learn to read and write – not learn to duck and hide.”
Nine public schools in Madison were closed for several hours as a precaution after the shooting.
What is known about the school?
According to Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School, Abundant Life Christian School is non-denominational and has about 420 students from preschool through high school.
She said at a news conference Monday afternoon that the school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures, including cameras. She also said that weapons are not allowed on campus and that the school regularly conducts security measures.
“When they heard 'Lockdown, Lockdown,' they knew it was real,” she said.
Wiers said they completed retraining with the Madison Police Department just before the school year, so it was “very fresh for the teachers.”
The school asked for prayers in a post on its Facebook page Monday.
“Prayers requested! There was an active shooter incident at ALCS today,” the post reads. “We are in the middle of tracking. We will share information as widely as possible. Please pray for our Challenger family.”
The school's website says it was founded in 1978 “to provide students with academic excellence in a Christ-centered context.” The website says the school is accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International.
Have religious schools been targeted elsewhere?
The shooting came less than two weeks after a gunman seriously injured two kindergarten students at a small religious school in Northern California and then killed himself. Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said Glenn Litton was mentally ill and believed he was taking “countermeasures” in response to America's involvement in violence in the Middle East by targeting children on Dec. 4.
Litton, 56, gained entry to the Feather River School of Seventh-day Adventists in Oroville, Calif., by pretending he wanted to enroll a fictitious grandchild, Honea said. He shot two kindergarten boys aged 5 and 6 with a handgun, critically injuring them. According to authorities, Litton was subsequently found dead just a few feet from the school yard.
It was unclear why Feather River School was targeted.
How many school shootings have there been this year?
The anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety's website shows that there were at least 202 shootings on school grounds in 2024, resulting in 56 deaths and 147 injuries. This data does not include the recent shooting in Madison.
The deadliest school shooting in 2024 occurred at Apalachee High School in Georgia in September. According to authorities, 14-year-old student Colt Gray opened fire with a semi-automatic assault rifle. Four people were killed and nine others were injured, seven of them shot. A grand jury then indicted Gray and his father, Colin Gray — who was accused of giving his son access to the gun — on murder and other charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Last year, 45 people died in 158 school shootings, according to the Everytown for Gun Safety website. According to the data, 67 people died in 181 school shootings in 2022.
School shootings in recent years, including deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas, have sparked heated debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children grow up with the habit of being active in their schools Complete target practice in the classroom. But school shootings have done little to change the nation's gun laws.
Guns were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit organization that addresses health care issues
