The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a Wisconsin religious school brought two guns to the school and made contact with a man in California who authorities and court documents say were planning to attack a government building, made public Wednesday.
Police are still investigating why a 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison was shot killed a teacher and a student on Monday before she shot herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. Two other students who were shot were in critical condition on Wednesday.
“We may never know what she was thinking that day, but we will do our best to add or provide our public with as much information as possible,” Barnes said.
Meanwhile, a California judge on Tuesday issued a restraining order under California's red flag law against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man, effective until December 23. The hearing was scheduled for January 3.
The order indicated that the man sent messages to Natalie Rupnow, accused in the Wisconsin attack, about the attack on a government building. Police notes included in the arrest warrant show that the California resident was planning a mass shooting with Rupnow.
The notes show he told FBI agents that he told Rupnow he planned to arm himself with explosives and attack a government building. He did not specify which building or when he planned to carry out the attack.
The student victim was an avid reader and loved art
It was unclear Wednesday evening whether the man was in custody.
In an obituary published Wednesday, the murdered student was identified as Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, of Madison. According to her obituary, she was a freshman and “an avid reader who loved art and sang and played keyboards in the family worship band.”
The name of the murdered teacher has not been revealed.
Barnes said the medical examiner would release the names of those killed, but state law prohibits releasing the names of those injured.
Barnes said police, with help from the FBI, searched online records and other resources and spoke to the attacker's parents and classmates to try to determine a motive.
Police do not know whether anyone was targeted or whether the attack was planned in advance, he added.
Although Rupnow had two guns, Barnes said he did not know how she obtained them and declined to say who bought them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decisions have been made on whether Rupnow's parents could face charges in connection with the shooting, but they are cooperating, Barnes said.
Online court records show no criminal charges against her father, Jeffrey Rupnow, or her mother, Mellissa Rupnow. They are divorced and share custody of their daughter, but court documents show she lived primarily with her father. Divorce records show that Natalie was in therapy in 2022, but it was not stated why.
Female shooters are rare
The shooting was the latest in dozens of shootings that have occurred across the United States in recent years, with a particularly deadly shooting taking place in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas.
However, research shows that the Madison attack is an exception because only about three percent of all mass shootings in the U.S. are committed by women.
School shootings have become almost a daily occurrence in the United States, with 322 such shootings this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. That's the second-highest total in any year since 1966 – surpassed only by last year's 349.
School shootings involving teenage girls are extremely rare in the U.S., and most of them are committed by men in their teens and 20s, said David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database.
Emily Salisbury, associate professor of social work at the University of Utah, studies criminology and gender issues. She said women tend to direct their anger at themselves because American culture has taught them that women don't hurt people, which causes eating disorders, self-harm and depression.
Salisbury said it's difficult to speculate without knowing all the facts in the Rupnow case, but referring to the level of violence the girl demonstrated suggests she has experienced significant trauma or experienced violence herself.
“More provocation and incitement is needed for girls and women to become violent,” Salisbury said. “There is a very high probability that she has experienced violence in her life, which can lead to serious mental illness.”
Abundant Life is a non-denominational Christian school – kindergarten through high school – with approximately 420 students.
Salisbury said the public should not assume that teaching religion in school means students are above bullying and ostracizing each other.
“They're kids,” Salisbury said. “While these (religious) values may be taught or discussed in the classroom as part of the school's culture, children are online all the time. “Children create their own culture through social media.”