Police have identified 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha, as the shooter who killed two people and wounded several others in a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School school in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday. It’s one of more than 320 shootings that have taken place on school grounds this year alone, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes said that the shooter died from a self inflicted gun wound.
While school shootings are widespread in the U.S., this one is unusual because of the identity of the suspected perpetrator: Authorities have identified her as a 15-year-old girl.
Data shows that female shooters — at schools and in general — are relatively rare.
An FBI review of active shooter incidents from 2000 to 2019 found that of the 345 total perpetrators, 332 were men and just 13 were women.
"What we do know is that this child obviously was very troubled. There's usually some type of warning signs that we all may have missed and so we have to understand that we have to come together as a community," Barnes said in an interview with "CBS Mornings" on Tuesday. "We have to wrap our arms around our children and understand what's going on in their lives."
What do we know about the victims of the school shooting?
Other than the suspected shooter, two people were killed — a teenage student and a teacher — officials said. At least six people were injured, including two who were in critical condition with injuries that were considered life-threatening.
Police have not yet publicly identified the victims. Names will not be released until after officers speak with family members who lost loved ones in Monday’s shooting.
2nd-grader called 911, police say
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said a second-grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. Monday to report a shooting at the school.
“Let that sink in,” Barnes repeated twice at a news briefing. Police arrived within four minutes, he said. The shooting occurred in a study hall, police said.
