The Wisconsin Christian school teacher killed in a school shooting on Monday has been identified as 42-year-old Erin M West.
She worked at Abundant Life Christian School as a deputy coordinator before being shot in an attack that also left people dead by 14-year-old Rubi Patricia Vergara and the shooter, 15-year-old Natalie “Samantha” RupnowThe Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office made the announcement Wednesday.
Six others were injured in the shooting and two were left in critical condition.
A motive for the shooting remains unclear and police say they do not know whether anyone was targeted in the attack or whether Rupnow planned the attack in advance.
“I don’t know if she planned it that day or a week earlier,” Madison Police Chief Shon F. Barnes told the Associated Press.
“To me, bringing a gun to school to hurt people is planning. And so we don’t know what the premeditation is.”
Then he revealed that Rupnow had two pistols with him, but used only one in the attackadding that he doesn’t know how she got the guns.
Erin M West, 42, worked at Abundant Life Christian School as a deputy coordinator before she was shot during a school shooting on Monday
The school shooting also killed 14-year-old Rubi Patricia Vergara
“We may never know what she was thinking that day, but we will do our best to add or provide as much information as possible to our audience,” he said.
Authorities raided Rupnow’s Wisconsin home after Monday morning’s tragedy, and Natalie’s father has reportedly been cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
Investigators have been trying to determine whether the mass shooter’s parents, Jeff and Melissa, had any involvement or contributed to Natalie’s actions – which killed two people and injured six before she shot herself and killed herself.
Police said Natalie’s motivation for killing a student, a teacher and injuring several others during study hall appears to have been a “combination of factors.”
“Some have asked if people were specifically targeted. Everyone was targeted in this incident and everyone was in equal danger,” Barnes said, according to CNN.
But Lyndsay O’Connor, mother of two survivors, speculated that the regular study hall teacher, who was not there due to a “planned absence,” may have been Natalie’s target. Her idea has not been verified by the police.
“We don’t know if her target was the original teacher or just the children in the classroom. She should have walked past the door and the door was open,” O’Connor said.
School shooter, 15-year-old Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, later turned the gun on herself
On Wednesday, it was revealed that Rupnow had two handguns but used only one in the attack, the city’s police chief said.
Abundant Life is a non-denominational Christian school – from kindergarten to high school – with approximately 420 students.
Barbara Wiers, the school’s director of elementary and school relations, said the school does not have metal detectors but uses cameras and other security measures.
Police received a 911 call at 10:57 a.m. Monday morning and within three minutes, county sheriff’s deputies had arrived at Abundant Life Christian School, which serves about 420 students. Local police arrived seconds later.
At 11:05 a.m., they said they found the gunman injured and recovered the weapon. Rupnow was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital.
At the same time, firefighters arrived on the scene and began caring for the victims.
Police stand guard at Rupnow’s house. O’Connor, despite Rupnow’s isolation and suggestions from the Madison police chief to the contrary, denied that the girl faced any harassment
Barnes on Wednesday defended the police’s handling of information about the shooting as it has moved from a crisis response to the investigative phase.
Barnes said police were talking to the shooter’s father and other family members, who were cooperative, and searching the shooter’s home.
The shooter’s parents, who are divorced, shared joint custody of their child, but the shooter primarily lived with her 42-year-old father, according to court documents.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The school was only a few days away from closing for the Christmas holidays and the students were getting ready for Monday night’s basketball game.