Madison college shooter Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow’s residence raided by SWAT group with stun grenades: Live updates

The teenage school shooter’s neighborhood was swarmed by cops following the massacre in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday afternoon.

Local residents recalled that at least 10 police cars and a SWAT truck arrived at the 15-year-old’s home, which is eight miles from the Abundant Life Christian School.

Stun grenades were thrown into the property, causing ‘flash bangs’ to ring out across the street. One neighboring resident told NBC that he and his wife went into the basement during the raid.

The home’s main door had been removed, and the windows damaged, according to CNN affiliate WTMJ.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the suspect’s home had been searched on Monday – and police are seeking additional search warrants.

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.

Somber worshipers at Blackhawk Church in Middleton, Wisconsin, were seen embracing one another and praying for the victims of Monday’s school shooting.

Police said they were unaware of any previous interactions with the 15-year-old suspect.

Locals have gathered at Blackhawk Church to mourn the victims of Abundant Life Christian School on December 16, 2024 in Middleton, Wisconsin.

Many mourners were seen deep in prayer, with their hands together, during the somber vigil.

The first 911 call was made at 10:57am on Monday morning, informing law enforcement that there was a shooting at the religious school in Madison, Wisconsin.

Police arrived on scene at 11am on the dot – and by 11:05am, they had found the shooter injured, and recovered the weapon.

Two people who were shot in Monday’s school shooting are still in hospital fighting for their lives.

Ther conditions were described as critical.

They are both students, police confirmed.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes says it was not clear if Abundant Life Church School shooter Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow was transgender and that it does not matter.

Barnes slammed speculation over Rupnow’s gender on social media after he was asked about it.

‘I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,’ he said.

‘I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify.’

He added that it didn’t really matter for the time being and that it was ‘just not helping.’

‘For what we’re 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.

It is not yet confirmed if Rupnow’s family – who are cooperating with the investigation – were gun owners. They are currently looking into anything she may have left behind.

Barnes said they’re currently speaking with the shooter’s father at one of their facilities and that he’s cooperating.

She turned the deadly weapon on herself after gunning down multiple students inside the school on Monday morning.

Two people – one student, one teacher – have died, and two others are in critical condition.

Police said they are aware of a manifesto allegedly written by the 15-year-old shooter circulating on social media.

However, cops said they haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic.

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.’

The police chief said that Rupnow’s father is currently talking to cops.

His home in Madison, Wisconsin, was swarmed with police cars this evening.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said police are ‘trying to determine what he may know or may have not known about what happened today, but again, he lost someone as well.’

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said that he ‘doesn’t know’ if Natalie Rupnow was transgender – and said that he doesn’t think it ‘matters,’ after rumors swirled online following the tragic shooting.

‘It is of no consequence at this time,’ he told a press conference on Monday night.

Police revealed on Monday night that a second-grade student was forced to call 911 to inform cops that there was a shooting occurring at their school.

The gunfire erupted in a study hall – which was populated by kids of all grades, cops said.

Police identified the Madison, Wisconsin school shooter who killed a teacher and a student before turning the gun on herself as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha.

A student at the Abundant Life Christian School, Rupnow opened fire in a study hall on Monday killing two victims and injuring several others, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes confirmed Monday night.

The suspected shooter was a teen who attended the school and was found wounded by police from a self-inflicted gunshot. She died on her way to a local hospital.
Barnes said that a second-grade student was the one who called 911 to the school.

Both WMTV and WISN noted SWAT teams and other investigators outside a house on Delaware Boulevard in Madison.

The shooter’s name, age and gender remain unknown beyond reports by CNN that she was a 15-year-old girl. Police do not yet have a motive but Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the shooter opened fire that it was ‘in a learning part of the school.’

Barnes said the shooter’s family is cooperating with police.

A student at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, opened fired on Monday killing two victims and injuring several others.

The bloodbath resulted in three casualties – one student, one teacher and the shooter – and six others transported to area hospitals which include children just days before Christmas break.

The suspected shooter was a teen who attended the school and was found dead by police from a self-inflicted gunshot.

Their source added that the shooter ‘had been dealing with problems and expressed some of those in writings, which they are now reviewing.’

The suspected shooter at Abundant Life Christian School does not appear to have broken into the campus to carry out the attack.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said: ‘We believe that the shooter was at school. We have no information that there was some type of breach to the school.’

The shooter’s name, age and gender remain unknown beyond reports that she was a 15-year-old girl. Police do not yet have a motive but Barnes said the shooter opened fire that it was ‘in a learning part of the school.’

The shooter’s family is confirmed to be cooperating with the investigation by Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes.

School staff and police are praising the surviving students of the shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School for their behavior in response to the unspeakable tragedy.

Police have confirmed that a student killed a teacher and another student and injured a teacher and five other students before turning the gun on themselves.

Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School, said students ‘handled themselves magnificently.’

She said when the school practices safety routines, leaders always announce that it is a drill. That didn’t happen on Monday.

‘When they heard ‘lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real,’ she said.

Wiers said just before the school year, they had done a retraining with the Madison Police Department, so it was ‘very fresh for faculty.’

Wiers said their goal is to get the school’s staff together early in the week and then try to have some community opportunities for the students to reconnect.

‘Whether we will return to classes this week — because this was our last week, we were done on Friday — is still to be determined,’ she said.

The suspected shooter at Abundant Life Christian School does not appear to have broken into the campus to carry out the attack.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said: ‘We believe that the shooter was at school. We have no information that there was some type of breach to the school.’

The shooter’s name, age and gender remain unknown beyond reports that she was a 15-year-old girl. Police do not yet have a motive but Barnes said the shooter opened fire that it was ‘in a learning part of the school.’

‘I did not, again, go into the school so I don’t know the exact nomenclature of where it happened but it happened in a learning part of the school,’ Barnes added.

The suspect, who attended the school, was found deceased by police with a self-inflicted gunshot.

An unidentified teenage student and teacher were killed.

Six others were injured, two life-threatening, according to the Madison Police Department. At least two students remain critically injured in hospital.

A handgun was also discovered by officers at the school.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the shooter’s family is cooperating with police.

The surviving students of the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, were reunited with their families, Police Chief Shon Barnes confirmed.

Students were escorted from a church next to the Abundant Life Christian School and loaded on busses to be taken to a reunification center on Monday in Madison, Wisconsin.

He said that a local health center shut down for the day to offer a space for students to be brought to their families.

Staff and teachers ‘selflessly stayed back to make sure our kids were okay’ and are still in the reunification process, Barnes added.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Monday that six people were wounded in the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in the Wisconsin capitol.

He said that two of the injured have been hospitalized and are in critical condition with ‘life-threatening’ injuries.

‘Of the injured and taken to local hospitals, two students remain in critical condition. Their injuries are life threatening,’ Barnes said.

‘A teacher and three other students were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries,” he added. ‘Two of those victims, two of those survivors, have been released from the hospital.’

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said he still could not give an update on the age, gender and name of the shooter at Abundant Life Christian School.

He said there would be an update later Monday night where they hoped to confirm that information.

They understood that there was ‘information circulating’ on the internet but could not affirm that data.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes plans to give an update at a news conference at a fire station about Monday’s shooting at a Christian school that left a teacher and student dead. The shooter is also dead.

Barnes is expected to be joined by other city and county officials.

Students were escorted from a church next to the Abundant Life Christian School and loaded on busses to be taken to a reunification center on Monday in Madison, Wisconsin.

A student and teacher were shot and killed and the alleged shooter, who police say they believe to have been a student at the school, was found dead at the scene, according to published reports.

Six others were injured with two in critical condition, the reports said.

Law enforcement sources are confirming that the shooter was a 17-year-old female, per CNN. Police later confirmed at a press conference that she was 15.

They also confirm that the student at Abundant Life Christian School died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

An unidentified teenage student and teacher were killed.

Multiple additional injuries have been reported, some life-threatening, according to the Madison Police Department. At least two students remain critically injured in hospital.

The governor Wisconsin has ordered the state and national flag to half-staff for the next six days in the wake of the Madison school shooting.

Tony Evers, a Democrat, said that ‘there are no words to describe the devastation and heartbreak’ for the three victims, their families and all others involved.

‘As a father, a grandfather, and as governor, it is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home. This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it,’ he added.

Doc Rivers, the NBA Champion head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, offered his disgust with the apathy in the wake of shootings like the one that happened in Madison Monday, just 80 miles west of where the Bucks play.

‘You know, kids can’t go to school safe and it just seems like we don’t do anything about it. I’m not gonna get up here on the podium and give a long speech except for it’s just bad and that we’re thinking about them,’ Rivers said at a press conference on Monday.

Rivers publicly endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

Joe Biden demanded Congress act on a gun control bill in response to the shooting in Madison, Wisconsin Monday.

Biden said that ‘it is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom.’

He added that he and First Lady Jill Biden were praying for everyone involved.

White House National Security spokesman John Kirby offered the government’s condolences on the shooting.

He also promised support for the school would come from Washington for an investigation.

‘Just horrific news, and news that no family, no parent, no sibling, no son or daughter ever wants to hear, so, just terrible and we will continue to stay focused on the community there in Madison, and we’ll obviously offer whatever help may be required or needed of local and state authorities.’

He added that Biden has been briefed on the shooting and said they ‘are, as you would expect we would be, in touch with our local counterparts there in Madison to provide whatever support that they need.’

The shooter at Abundant Life Christian School has been identified as a female, according to police.

The suspect, who attended the school, was found deceased by police with a self-inflicted gunshot.

An unidentified teenage student and teacher were killed.

Multiple additional injuries have been reported, some life-threatening, according to the Madison Police Department. At least two students remain critically injured in hospital.

A handgun was also discovered by officers at the school.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the shooter’s family is cooperating with police.

Wiconsin police have refused to relase the age of the teen who opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School, killing two.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters the suspected shooter is ‘still someones child.’

‘There’s nothing new that I can tell you about the shooter at this time.

‘Again, as difficult as today is, that’s still someone’s child that’s gone, that’s still someone that has to deal with what happened today.

‘And so we want to make sure that we can ensure as much cooroperaiton as we can,’ Barnes added.

The family of the suspected shooter is cooperating with police, Chief Barnes said.

He confirmed earlier that the shooter, who was found dead, was a student at Abundant Life Christian School.

Barnes did not say if the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot or was killed by police.

Abundant Life Christian School did not have a school resource officer, according to Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes.

‘If they did, it would be a police officer and I know where they all are and they’re not in the schools right now,’ he said.

A handgun was discovered by officers at Abundant Life Christian School, according to Chief Barnes.

He did not reveal what kind of gun was found, but said that shooting was ‘confined to one space.’

Students are currently being interviewed by police, which is why, according to Barnes, questions remain unanswered.

‘We’re going to give them the opprotunity to come in and speak to what they may have saw when they feel ready,’ he added.

Bethany Highman, a parent of a studnet who attends Abundant Life Christian School, recalled what went through her head when she found out about the shooting.

‘And as soon as it happened, I mean, your world, it stops. For a minute, everything is – just nothing else matters.

‘There’s nobody around you, you just bolt for the door and try to do everything you can as a parent to be by your kids,’ Highman told The Capital Times.

Chief Barnes said happened in ‘one space’ in the building, but did not say whether it was a classroom or hallway.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said six students are being treated at area hospitals, including two in critical condition with life-threatening injuries and four with non-life threatening injuries.

‘Why did this happen? What do we know? What was the motivation?’ chief Shon Barnes said. ‘I do not know.’

Barnes added that detectives are working hard to find answers.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said in a press conference her focus was assisting the families affected by the school shooting on Monday.

She thanked first responders and the White House for reaching out to her office.

‘The most important thing right now is to make sure that we are centering the victims and their families and that we’re doing whatever we can to support them and help them heal,’ Rhodes-Conway said.

‘I am on record that we need to do better to prevent gun violence, and I hoped that this day would never come in Madison.’

Lisa Adams, a spokesperson for SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, said the hospital has received patients from the shooting but declined to provide further details.

‘We are praying for all affected by today’s tragic incident at Abundant Life Christian School and our community as a whole. We are grateful for the first responders who acted swiftly today,’ she said.

‘SSM Health is dedicated to serving our community. We remain committed to providing support and assistance in any way we can.’

Emily Greendonner, a spokesperson for UW Health, said it is also receiving patients from the shooting and setting up areas for patients’ families. UW Health is affiliated with the University of Wisconsin.

Madison police chief Shon Barnes gave an update on the school shooting shortly before 4pm EST.

The suspected shooter was a teen who attended the school and was found dead by police from a self-inflicted gunshot.

Baenwas said police are not releasing the shooter’s name or gender at this time.

Those killed were a teenage student and a teacher.

Chief Barnes did not release their names.

The shooting took place at Abundant Life Christian School, a private institution that teaches some 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

CNN has reported that the two victims in Monday’s school shooting were a teacher and a student, citing a top law enforcement source.

The third deceased person was the shooter, who appears to have killed themselves before police arrived at the school.

Investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Chief Shon Barnes said schools should not have to have metal detectors for safety after he was asked on Monday whether the private school had such protections.

‘Stop asking why schools don’t have bullet proof glass and metal detectors at all the doors,’ Barnes said.

‘Ask why schools HAVE to. That’s the question that needs to be asked.’

Hundreds of commenters offered prayers from around the country, some from former students, former teachers and alumni at Abundant Life Christian school.

The school of about 390 students noted on its Facebook page in previous posts that this was the last school week before holiday break.

Commenters also issued well wishes and prayers on videos of students on school trips and singing at the annual Christmas choir concert from recent weeks.

A bus carrying students was seen leaving the school as emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin.

Parents have been told to meet their children at a reunification center nearby.

Many social media users have started expressing outrage over the latest school massacre in the country.

‘I’m not going to give any information about who the victims are, whether they’re students, staff or parents, because we need to make sure that we can notify people, chief Barnes told the press on Monday.

A medical team with the Madison police department were training for police shootings near Abundant Life Christian school when they had to respond to gunfire at the private institution.

‘They left the training center immediately and came down here — and doing in real time what they were actually practicing for,’

said police chief Shon Barnes.

There have been at least 200 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in the US this year, according to Everytown research.

The shootings have resulted in 55 deaths and 147 injuries across the country.

Per CNN’s count, this was the 83rd school shooting in 2024.

Baldwin issued a message on X following the school shooting and offered her office’s assistance to those affected.

‘Prayers Requested!’ the private school posted online.

‘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.

Please pray for our Challenger Family.’

‘Officers located a juvenile who they believe was responsible for this deceased in the building,’ said chief Shon Barnes.

Barnes added that officers did not fire any shots at the school when responding to the incident.

Senior White House officials are in touch with local counterparts in Madison to provide support as needed, the White House said on Monday.

The shooting’s death toll has been updated to three, including the shooter, whose gender has not been revealed by police.

Police had previously wrongly stated that five were killed.

The shooter was reportedly a student at the school.

It’s unclear how many victims were students and how many were staff.

Chief Barnes said in a press conference that officias believe the juvenile who opened fire at the Madison Christian school.

Barnes did not disclose the juvenile’s gender.

Madison Police chief Shon Barnes said officers reponded to a call about an active shooter Monday morning.

The shooter was a juvenile but it’s unclear whether he was a student at the school.

‘Officers found multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds,’ Barnes said in a press congere.

About seven people were transferred to the hospital.

Three people including the juvenile shooter were killed.

Barnes did not say if the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot or was killed by police.

‘This remains an active and ongoing investigation,’ Madison police said in a statement.

‘More information will be released as it is available. We currently need people to avoid the area.’

Police had blocked off roads around the school Monday afternoon.

Local sources say the shooter killed himself although it’s unclear if he is among those who have been killed.

December 14 marked 12 years since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

That shooting left six adults and 20 small children dead.

The 20-year-old shooter had killed his mother before and committed suicide after the massacre.

People are comforted near Sandy Hook Elementary School, Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Conn.

Multiple children have been taken to the hospital following the shooting, CNN reported.

Local media have reported that police said the shooter is down.

Several reports said the shooter killed themselves but police have not confirmed that information.

Senator Ron Johnson sent consolences to the victims of Monday’s shooting.

Abundant Life bosses say they teach students from about 300 local families.

The school was set up in 1978 and charges between $6,000 and $10,000-a-year tuition.

Madison Police described the shooting as an ‘active scene’ although the shooter is reported to have killed themselves.

The shooting happened just as class was beginning for the week. Investigators are yet to share the identities of the shooter, the victims, or give a possible motive.

Two people have been killed after a shooter burst into a classroom at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday morning.

The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. It is unclear if the shooter is among the two cops say were killed.

Three other people were injured.