Natalie Samantha Rupnow arrived at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday morning - and just hours later, she opened fire on a study hall, killing two and injuring six others, before turning the gun on herself.
Police identified 15-year-old Rupnow as the shooter at the Madison, Wisconsin-based private school and claimed that the attack had been pre-meditated.
A law enforcement source told CNN that Rupnow had been dealing with problems and expressed some of those in writings, which they are now reviewing. A manifesto, that cops have not confirmed is linked to the teen, was published on social media.
The shooter, who went by the name Samantha, was present from the start of the school day and eventually opened fire on a room full of students from various grades, according to Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes.
Cops confirmed that shooter Rupnow was not on their radar and had no prior interactions with her before today, though they said a probe would confirm that.
It was not immediately clear to Barnes or investigators which grade Rupnow attended at the school, which serves students from the age of three to the end of high school.
When authorities arrived, Rupnow was found wounded from a self-inflicted gunshot after the rampage, and was pronounced dead on her way to a local hospital.
Barnes said that a second-grade student was the one who called 911 to the school.
Natalie Samantha Rupnow arrived at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday morning - and just hours later, she opened fire on a study hall, killing two and injuring six others , before turning the gun on herself
Children are led away from the murder scene in an attempt to reunite with their parents. All the surviving students were eventually brought to their families
It is not yet confirmed if Rupnows family - who are cooperating with the investigation - were gun owners.
Police raided her Delaware Boulevard home on Monday night to find anything she may have left behind. A door appeared to have been battered down and left on the ground and CNN reported that officers had thrown stun grenades into the home.
Barnes said theyre currently speaking with the shooters father at one of their facilities and that hes cooperating.
The parents are fully cooperating, we have no reason to believe that they have committed a crime at this time, Barnes said, before offering empathy for her father.
He lost someone as well. And so were not going to rush the information, well take our time and certainly do our due diligence.
The chief added that he had no knowledge of any previous interactions with Rupnow: I think if there were, we certainly would have had some type of intervention, but Im not aware of that.
Police said they are aware of a manifesto allegedly written by the 15-year-old shooter circulating on social media.
However, cops said they havent been able to verify that its authentic.
Police raided her Delaware Boulevard home in Madison on Monday night to find anything she may have left behind
A door appeared to have been battered down and left on the ground from the police raid
Chief Barnes told the press conference on Monday night: A document about this shooting is circulating at this time on social media, but we have not verified its authenticity.
We havent been able to verify that its authentic. Were certainly aware that its been posted and the person who posted it, alleged to have a connection with the victim, Barnes said.
The chief also waded into online speculation over the shooters gender or possible status as a transgender person.
Barnes slammed speculation over Rupnows gender on social media after he was asked about it.
I dont know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And quite frankly, I dont think thats important at all, he said.
I dont think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify. He added that it didnt really matter for the time being and that it was just not helping.
For what were doing right now, today, literally eight hours after a mass shooting in a school in Madison, it is of no consequence at this time (what gender the shooter was), he said.
He also claimed that he had no knowledge of any previous interactions with Rupnow: I think if there were, we certainly would have had some type of intervention, but Im not aware of that.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes slammed speculation over Rupnows gender on social media after he was asked about it
Salvation Army officials offered disaster relief to the survivors of the shooting
Police got a 911 call at 10:57am Monday morning, and within three minutes, county sheriffs deputies had arrived at Abundant Life Christian School, which educates about 420 students. Local police arrived seconds later.
At 11:05am, they said that theyd found the shooter wounded and recovered the weapon. Rupnow was pronounced dead en route to the hospital.
Simultaneously, fire department workers got to the scene and began to care for the victims. Currently, two students are hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and are said to be in critical condition.
A teacher and three other students were also hospitalized with less serious wounds. Two of them were released Monday evening.
Victims have yet to be identified, pending family notification.
Governor Tony Evers said on X: I am closely monitoring the incident at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison.
We are praying for the kids, educators, and entire Abundant Life school community as we await more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson said on X: My sincere condolences and prayers for all the victims of the tragedy at Abundant Life Christian School. I will continue to closely monitor the situation.
A police officer stands guard in front of Abundant Life Christian School following the tragedy
Authorities said that Rupnows parents were cooperating with the investigation and did not suggest they were going to be charged with a crime themselves
The school was just days away from closing for Christmas Vacation and students were gearing up for Monday nights basketball game.
Abundant Life Christian School posted a prayer request on Facebook in the wake of the shooting.
Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS. We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able, the school said.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the school shooting. Senior White House officials said they are in touch with local counterparts in Madison to provide support.