Wisconsin Shooting Likely a 'Combination of Factors'

Following the deaths of a teacher and student at Abundant Life Christian School in, Madison, Wisc., police chief Shon Barnes indicated that the motive appears to be a “combination of factors” for a 15-year-old female student’s attack on a study hall.

The shooter, Natalie Rupnow, 15, turned her weapon on herself, ending her life without explanation, although police are said to be reviewing writings penned by the teenager. The shooter died enroute to the hospital. This could shed light on her actions, police said.

The violence erupted at the school shortly before 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 16, when a second-grade teacher called 911 to report gunshots at the non-denominational school campus. First responders arrived three minutes after the first call for help. They had been involved in a training exercise three miles from the school.

Identification of the deceased is pending as law enforcement notifies family. In the initial stages of the investigation, police believe a 9mm pistol was used in the shooting. Both the shooter and the weapon of choice are a departure of what has happened most of the time there is a campus shooting. The identities of the six injured students also are being withheld currently. Two of the injured students have been released from the hospital. Two remain in critical condition.

Madison Metropolitan School District superintendent Joe Gothard said it was not enough that the district work on safety, but that those affiliated with the school need to connect every day.

“We need to make a commitment that we know we’re there for one another, hopefully to avoid preventable tragedies like yesterday,” Gothard said.

Dozens of school shootings have been recorded in recent years, especially deadly outcomes at Newtown, CT; Parkland, FL; and Uvalde, TX. According to David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, females involved in campus shootings are extremely rare while males in their teens and early twenties carry out most of the shootings.

Authorities have spoken with family members, all of whom have been cooperative.

This story will be updated throughout the day as latest information is received. It is unclear if school will continue this week, just days before the Christmas break.

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.