Wisconsin school shooting latest: Natalie Rupnow ‘received texts’ from man plotting government building attack
Alexander Paffendorf has been detained by the FBI, while teacher Erin Michelle West and student Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, have been identified as those killed in the attack
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A California man has been detained and had his guns seized after allegedly texting Wisconsin school shooter Natalie Rupnow about his plans to blow up a government building.
Alexander Paffendorf, 20, was issued a gun-violence restraining order and detained by FBI agents after he was accused of messaging the 15-year-old shooter around the time of her attack on the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison on Monday.
The Carlsbad resident allegedly told Rupnow that he “would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building,” according to a two-page restraining order obtained by CBS 8.
It comes as the teacher and student who lost their lives in the school shooting were identified by police. Six others were left injured, two with life-threatening wounds, and Rupnow died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Erin Michelle West, 42, and Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, were identified on Wednesday evening as the deceased. Vergara was a freshman at the school and “an avid reader, loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band,” according to the obituary released on Wednesday evening.
California man detained in connection with Madison school shooting: Report
Rubi Vergara, 14, named as student gunned down in Wisconsin school shooting
Wisconsin school shooting: What we know about ‘turbulent’ life of 15-year-old killer Natalie Rupnow- Younger, female and Midwestern: How Natalie Rupnow defied the typical descriptions of a school shooter
Who is Alexander Paffendorf?
The 20-year-old was seized Tuesday night after a San Diego Superior Court Judge issued the restraining order under California’s red flag gun law.
The order, obtained by CBS 8, required Paffendorf to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours unless an officer demanded them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others.
“During an FBI interview, Paffendorf admitted to the FBI agents that he told Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building,” reads the two-page restraining order.
How Natalie Rupnow defied the typical descriptions of a school shooter
Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow opened fire in the hallways of Abundant Life Christian School, killing herself and two others and injuring six more. The story of school shootings, sadly, is familar. But Rupnow’s age, gender and other demographic features, surprisingly, are.
The 15-year-old girl brought a handgun to the private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, Monday, killing a classmate and a teacher. Her motive and her relationship to the victims are not currently known.
The tragedy marks yet another grim statistic in American history — it is the 426th school shooting since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, a Washington Post analysis found. But Rupnow herself complicates other statistics, as she doesn’t align with what data show about school shooters.
Read the full story.
How Natalie Rupnow defied the typical descriptions of a school shooter
The teenage shooter may be a statistical outlier, but school shootings are all too common, with the Abundant Life Christian School shooting marking the 205th incident of gun violence on school grounds this year alone
Who are the victims?
Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, was a freshman at the school and “an avid reader, loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band,” according to her obituary which was shared on Wednesday evening.
It added that she was an animal lover, and “shared a special bond with her beloved pets, Ginger (cat) and Coco (dog).”
The teacher who was killed was also named on Wednesday evening as 42-year-old Erin Michelle West, the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed.
West was a substitute coordinator at Abundant Life Christian School, according to the school’s staff directory.
“ALCS is a better school for the work of Erin West. She brought her love of Jesus and love of people to our staff and school family all wrapped in a hug and topped with a smile,” the school said in a statement to NBC News.
ICYMI: Rupnow joined shooting range and wore top similiar to Columbine shooter’s outfit in summer
Natalie Rupnow joined a shooting range just months before the 15-year-old fatally shot a teacher and fellow student at a school in Wisconsin, according to her father.
Jeff Rupnow posted a photograph of his teen daughter shooting skeet at a Dane County range on Facebook in August. He wrote in a comment that the pair had joined in spring and had been “loving… every second of it”.
Rupnow, who also went by the name “Samantha,” wore a shirt emblazoned with the logo of the venerable German electro-industrial band KMFDM.
The top is similar to one worn by teenage mass shooter Harris, who in 1999, with classmate Dylan Klebold, fatally shot 15 students at Littleton, Colorado’s Columbine High School.
ICYMI: California man detained in alleged plot linked to Wisconsin school shooting
A 20-year-old man has been detained by authorities in Carlsbad, California, in connection with the deadly school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin.
According to a gun-violence restaining order issued Tuesday and obtained by CBS 8 in San Diego, FBI agents detained Alexander Paffendorf after discovering that Paffendorf had been texting 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow around the time of the shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School on Monday, where she opened fire, killing a student and a teacher.
She took her own life, and two students are still hospitalized in critical condition.
Read more:
California man detained in alleged plot linked to Wisconsin school shooting
Alexander Paffendorf texted shooter Natalie Rupnow in an alleged plan to coordinate an attack on a government building during the shooting, according to a restraining order
Natalie Rupnow brought two guns to school shooting
Natalie Rupnow, the shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin, brought two guns to the school, according to Madison Police Department Chief Shon Barnes.
The guns were both handguns, only one of which were used, he said. Police do not know how she obtained the weapons. Officers are now working alongside ATF officials to trace the origins of the weapon.
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might face charges, but they have been cooperating, Barnes said.
ICYMI: Teacher killed in Wisconsin school shooting identified as Erin Michelle West
The teacher who was killed in the Wisconsin school shooting has been named as 42-year-old Erin Michelle West, the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed on Wednesday night.
West was a substitute coordinator at Abundant Life Christian School, according to the school’s staff directory, the Journal Sentinelreported.
Earlier on Wednesday evening Rubi Vergara, 14, was named as the student who was killed in the deadly attack on Monday.
Rhian Lubin has the story.
Teacher killed in Wisconsin school shooting identified as Erin Michelle West
Teacher Erin West, 42, and student Rubi Vergara, 14, have been named as the victims who were killed in Monday’s shooting
ICYMI: Rubi Vergara, 14, named as student gunned down in Wisconsin school shooting
The student who was killed in the Wisconsin school shooting has been identified as Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14.
An obituary released Wednesday named the 14-year-old as one of the victims of the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
On Monday police identified 15-year-old Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow as the shooter at the Christian school, but have yet to reveal a motive following the deadly attack.
Rhian Lubin has the details.
Rubi Vergara, 14, named as student gunned down in Wisconsin school shooting
An obituary released on Wednesday named the 14-year-old as one of the victims of the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison
Wisconsin school sets up fundraiser to support those impacted by shooting
The Abundant Life Christian School has set up an emergency recovery fund in the wake of the devastating shooting which took place on school grounds on Monday.
A pop up on the school’s website, which declares that ALCS is currently closed, asks visitors to donate to support the children, families and educators affected by the attack.
Via a portal on United Way of Dane County’s website,the school asks for donations of $20, $50, $100 or “other”.
One hundred percent of proceeds go to the school, according to the fundraising page.
Californian man detained by FBI after allegdly plotting to blow up goevernment building
A Californian man was detained by the FBI on Tuesday after allegedly texting Natalie Rupnow about a plot to blow up a government building.
Alexander Paffendorf, 20, was issued a gun-violence restraining order and detained by federal agents after he was accused of messaging the 15-year-old shooter around the time of her attack on the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison on Monday.
He is accused of detailing a plot involving the use of exploives and firearms to attack a goverment building. The location of the alleged attack was not made clear.
Paffendorf allegedly told Rupnow that he “would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building,” according to a two-page restraining order obtained by CBS 8.