MADISON, Wis. – Identifying a motive for the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School remained the “top priority” for law enforcement in Madison as residents gathered for solemn vigils to honor a teacher and student killed in the shooting Attack killed, as well as several who were killed injured.
According to police, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow opened fire in a study hall at the private Christian school, striking several people in a classroom. Rupnow died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound en route to a hospital, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said, noting that the medical examiner has not yet announced the official cause of death.
Investigators analyzed the handgun found at the crime scene as well as the suspect's electronic devices, social media accounts and alleged writings that were circulating on the Internet, Barnes said. He said investigators were interviewing relatives and friends of the suspect to determine whether bullying was one of “several factors” that motivated the shooting.
Officials also said it was too early to say where the suspect got the gun and whether Rupnow's parents might see the charges.
Two students were in critical condition Tuesday afternoon, Barnes said. Three other students and a teacher suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
More: Grieving Wisconsin community struggles to understand shooting: Lives 'torn apart'
Abundant Life Christian School victims honored at vigil
Across Madison, churches and nightly vigils were filled with people grieving and coming to terms with the city's second school shooting in less than a year. On Tuesday evening, hundreds of people gathered in the state's downtown area for a public vigil organized by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County. They helped each other light candles and signed three crosses placed around the site.
Charles Moore, executive director of Impact Christian Schools, which oversees religious schools like Abundant Life, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY 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 few minutes. Lives have been torn apart.”
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told the crowd that the city would never be the same and urged people to rely on each other on the difficult road ahead.
More: Madison mayor pleads with reporters: “It’s none of your business who got hurt in the shooting.”
“Let’s be a community where when we see someone in need, we are the first to reach out and offer resources where they are needed,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Let us be a community that cares for one another. That’s our focus now, caring for everyone affected by this gun violence.”
Contributor: Sophie Carson, Claire Reid, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Police search for clues to motive after Wisconsin school shooting
