the shooter who killed A Wisconsin religious school student and teacher brought two guns to school and was in contact with a man in California who authorities say planned to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents released make public on Wednesday.
Police were still investigating why the 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shot and killed a classmate and teacher Monday before shooting himself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Wednesday. in the Associated Press. Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition Wednesday.
A Southern California judge on Tuesday issued a restraining order under California’s gun red flag law against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man. The order requires the man to turn in his weapons and ammunition to police within 48 hours, unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others.
Carlsbad is north of San Diego.
According to the warrant, the man told FBI agents he had been texting Natalie Rupnow, the Wisconsin shooter, about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives. The warrant does not say which building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. She also does not detail her interactions with Rupnow, except to state that the man was planning a mass shooting with her.
KFMB-TV, CBS affiliate in San Diego informed that law enforcement searched the man’s home Tuesday night after the judge signed the warrant.
Police, with the help of the FBI, were searching online records and other resources and talking to the shooter’s parents and classmates to try to determine a motive for the shooting, Barnes told the AP.
Police do not know if anyone was targeted in the attack or if the attack was planned in advance, the chief said. Police said the shooting happened in a classroom where a study hall was being held with students from various grades.
“I don’t know if he planned it that day or if he planned it a week before,” Barnes said. “To me, bringing a gun to school to hurt people is planning. And so we don’t know what premeditation is.”
On a City of Madison website providing details about the shooting, police revealed Wednesday that two guns were found at the school, but only one was used. A law enforcement source previously told CBS News that the weapon used appears to have been a 9mm handgun.
Barnes told the AP he did not know how the alleged shooter obtained the guns and declined to say who bought them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decision has been made on whether Rupnow’s parents could face charges in connection with the shooting, but they have been cooperating, Barnes told the AP.
Abundant Life is a non-denominational Christian school offering classes from preschool through high school. About 420 students attend the institution.
Dan County Medical Examiner’s Office identify the two murdered people Wednesday as Erin West, 42, and Rubi Vergara, 14.
An online obituary at a local funeral home he stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, a brother and a large extended family. He described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboards in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.