Residents of Madison, Wis., were mourning on Tuesday after the attack at Abundant Life Christian School that one day earlier left a teenage student and a teacher dead and six other people injured.
The shooter, identified by the police as a 15-year-old female student, also died.
As a makeshift memorial grew on a sidewalk outside the school, families were left wondering how something so terrible could happen at the tight-knit private school that they sought out for its academics and Christian values.
“It becomes a real community, a family in a sense,” said Michael Skalitzky, who has three grandsons enrolled at Abundant Life. “I just could never visualize that happening in that school.”
Plans for a vigil and a prayer service took shape on Tuesday as community members prayed for the families who lost their loved ones and for the recovery of the surviving victims, including four who remained hospitalized.
Madison residents were awaiting more information on the conditions of those victims, as well as what investigators had learned about the shooter. The city’s police chief, Shon F. Barnes, was scheduled to provide updates on Tuesday afternoon.
Abundant Life was founded in 1978 and grew rapidly in recent years, interviews and state records showed, with many families using a state voucher program that covers private school tuition for eligible students. A school official said on Monday that about 420 students were currently enrolled, up from the roughly 290 students that state records showed were enrolled three years ago.
In interviews, parents of Abundant Life students cited a range of reasons for choosing the school, including its academics, strong sports teams and its emphasis on Christian faith.
“The teachers are hands on, willing to stay after school,” said one parent, Nick Ives, as he reunited Monday with one of his sons after the shooting.
Nick Cardarella, whose wife works at Abundant Life and whose stepsons are students, said that the school had an inviting atmosphere.
“It’s come as you are,” he said. “There is that religious element, but they’re not pushy in any kind of way.”
Much remained unknown about the shooting, which unfolded on Monday morning just hours after students returned for the final week of classes before Christmas break.
A second grader called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting inside the school, Chief Barnes said, stopping during his news conference to express his dismay that someone so young had to notify the authorities.
Law enforcement officers began arriving three minutes later. Chief Barnes said that the officers immediately went inside and began searching for the shooter, whom they found at 11:05 a.m. with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The authorities identified the shooter as Natalie Rupnow, 15, who went by Samantha and was a student at Abundant Life. Officials said that she used a handgun in the attack. It was not clear how she acquired the gun.
Chief Barnes said that he was not aware of the suspect having had any prior contact with law enforcement. He said that her parents were cooperating with investigators, and “we have no reason to believe that they have committed a crime at this time.” Attempts to reach the shooter’s parents were not immediately successful.
The victims had not been publicly identified as of Tuesday morning. On Monday night, two surviving victims were still hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. The six surviving victims included five students and a teacher, officials said.
Around Madison, population 280,000, even those without a direct connection to Abundant Life said the violence was on their minds. Coco Chen, 20, a University of Wisconsin student, said that “even though you’re scared, your life has to keep going on.”
Barbara Wiers, an official at Abundant Life, said that students and staff members had trained regularly to know how to respond to an attack. Cameras in the building were regularly monitored, she said, but the school did not have metal detectors or a police officer on campus.
As families struggled to make sense of the attack, many said they were leaning on their Christian faith.
“It’s a very tight-knit community with not only excellent academics, but our love for Jesus and trust in God is the foundation,” said Hannah Lease, whose two sons are Abundant Life students. “That’s what keeps us going during this time.”
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