The FBI is investigating a potential manifesto linked to the 15-year-old girl accused of a deadly school shooting in Wisconsin, which left a teenager and a teacher dead before she took her own life.
Natalie Rupnow, a student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, allegedly opened fire with a handgun inside a study hall, killing two people and injuring six others before shooting herself.
Rupnow succumbed to her self-inflicted gunshot wound while being transported to the hospital, and two other students remained in critical condition as of Monday night, according to police reports.
The reasons behind Rupnow’s actions are still unclear, but Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes confirmed that authorities are aware of a document believed to be written by Rupnow, which was posted online by someone “alleged to have a connection with the [suspect].”
“We haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic,” Barnes told CNN. He added that the person who shared the document has not been located, but the FBI has been given the details and will investigate further.
The six-page document, titled “War against Humanity,” was uploaded on X (formerly Twitter) by an unverified account claiming to have received it from Rupnow’s boyfriend.
The document was attributed to Samantha Rupnow, which police have confirmed is the name the alleged shooter used. Barnes confirmed that law enforcement had been in contact with Rupnow’s parents, who are cooperating with the investigation into how their daughter obtained the weapon.
“We also want to look at if the parents may have been negligent. And that’s a question that we’ll have to answer with our district attorney’s office,” he told CNN. “But at this time, that does not appear to be the case.”
The shooting took place shortly after 11 a.m. when police were called to the school following an emergency call made by a second-grade student.
Investigators believe that Rupnow used a 9mm pistol, which left several people dead and injured, an official told the Associated Press. A teacher and three students were hospitalized with less serious injuries, with two of them later being released.
The school, which serves around 420 students from kindergarten through high school in the state capital, does not have metal detectors, a feature that many U.S. schools have adopted following several deadly campus shootings, according to the school’s director.
Eight-year-old Nora Gottsckalk, who was waiting for lunch when the shooting started, witnessed a teacher she knew screaming in pain.
“She was screaming, ‘Ah, my leg, help, help!’” Gottsckalk recalled to WISC. “I was really scared, and I was really sad.”
Bethany Highman, the mother of a student, rushed to the school and was relieved to see her daughter was safe through a FaceTime call.
“As soon as it happened, your world stops for a minute. Nothing else matters,” Highman said. “There’s nobody around you. You just bolt for the door and try to do everything you can as a parent to be with your kids.”
Barnes remarked, “Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. “Those types of trauma don’t go away,” he continued. “Right now my heart is heavy for my community and we have to figure out what happened here and it doesn’t happen in any other place that should be a refuge for students.”
President Joe Biden quickly condemned the violence, calling it “shocking and unconscionable.”
“It is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” President Biden said in a statement. “We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom. “Students across our country should be learning how to read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover.”
Mass shootings by female assailants are exceedingly rare. The vast majority of such attacks are committed by male perpetrators, and only nine female students have carried out school shootings since 1999, according to a Washington Post database.
Madison police are expected to hold a press conference at 1 p.m. local time on Tuesday, when the identities of the victims may be released. A candlelight vigil is planned for later that evening in the city.
{Matzav.com}