Authorities on Wednesday identified the victims from Monday’s shooting at Abundant Life Christian School as 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara. Photo courtesy of Madison Police Department/Facebook
Dec. 19 (UPI) — Authorities on Wednesday released the identities of the two people who were killed in Monday’s shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., as they continue to search for a motive.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims as 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara. The report states both were pronounced dead at the scene and died from homicidal firearm-related trauma.
The suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natali Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha, died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
West had been a substitute teacher employed part time at Abundant Life, where both Vergara and Rupnow were students.
Rupnow is accused of opening fire Monday morning inside a study hall classroom on the second floor of Abundant Life that was occupied by students from multiple grades.
Six people were also injured in the shooting. According to officials, two students were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, while a teacher and three additional students were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. A Madison government fact sheet about the shooting, published Wednesday, states one of the injured victims had been in an adjacent room when shot.
Authorities on Wednesday revealed two firearms were retrieved from the scene, though only a handgun was fired during the shooting.
A motive was still under investigation, with the online question-and-answer fact sheet stating detectives are looking into Rupnow’s online and social media activity for clues.
“Detectives are working hard to determine the motive for the attack. If they are able to discover this, it may provide insight into whether there were specific targets,” the fact sheet said.
“Everyone was targeted; everyone was put in equal danger.”
