15-year-old girl named as shooter at Christian school in Wisconsin

Police officer walks near Madison private school where shooting killed two plus shooter

Police officer walks near Madison private school where shooting occurred

(Image credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images)

published 17 December 2024

What happened

A 15-year-old female student fatally shot a teacher and teenage student Monday at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, and wounded six others, police said. The shooter, identified as Natalie Rupnow, was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital, and "evidence suggests that she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference.

Rupnow, who also went by Samantha, opened fire during a mixed-grade study hall in the small K-12 private school, and it was a second grader who called 911 to report the shooting, Barnes said, adding: "I want to let that soak in for a minute." Two of the six surviving victims were hospitalized in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, he said. But "every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever." Police were still trying to nail down a motive.

School shootings have become a "macabre routine in the United States," Reuters said, though Monday's "rampage was a rarity in that it was carried about by a girl." Such shootings have "set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms," The Associated Press said, but they have "done little to move the needle on national gun laws." President Joe Biden called the shooting "shocking and unconscionable" and said: "We need Congress to act. Now."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.