The Dane County Medical Examiner released the identity of the teacher killed in Monday’s school shooting.
Court records say that a California man was plotting with Wisconsin school shooter Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow on a coordinated attack.
KFMB reported that a gun violence restraining order was issued against Alexander Paffendorf, a 20-year-old resident of Carlsbad, California. Following the signing of the order, police swiftly descended on his residence. Although the order is categorized as a civil action rather than a criminal one, it empowers authorities to confiscate Paffendorf’s firearms.
Neighbors said about a dozen police vehicles were on the scene.
A neighbor, Alex Gallegos, recounted seeing law enforcement officials carrying a large box out of Paffendorf’s home. While no arrests were made during this operation, observers noted that officers exchanged congratulatory gestures as the operation concluded.
According to the court document, Paffendorf told FBI agents that he was texting with Rupnow.
The order detailed that during an interview with the FBI, Paffendorf confessed to expressing intentions to Rupnow involving plans to equip himself with explosives and a firearm for an intended attack on a government facility.
The order says that agents “saw the messages from Paffendorf to Rupnow” but does not say if they saw messages from Rupnow to Paffendorf. The order also does not say what government building Paffendorf planned to attack or when. And the order does not say what alerted them to Paffendorf.
According to WTMJ, a hearing on the matter has been set for January 3.
Rupnow, a 15-year-old student at Madison’s Abundant Life Christian School, opened fire Monday morning in a multi-grade study hall, killing a student and a teacher and wounding five other students and a teacher. She then turned the weapon on herself. While police have refused to identify Rupnow’s victims, the family of 14-year-old freshman Rubi Patricia Vergara released on obituary for their daughter Wednesday night, as CrimeOnline reported, and the Dane County medical examiner’s office identified the teacher killed as Erin Michelle West, 42, The Associated Press reported.
Abundant Life’s communications director, Barbara Wiers, said in a statement that Vergara had attended the school since kindergarten and West was a substitute teacher for three years before accepting a position as substitute coordinator and in-house substitute teacher.
Two of the wounded students remained in critical condition.
Meanwhile, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said investigators are still pouring over records and interviewing survivors in an attempt to determine Rupnow’s motive — and that Rupnow brought two guns into the school on Monday.
“I do not know if if she planned it that day or if she planned it a week prior,” Barnes said. “To me, bringing a gun to school to hurt people is planning. And so we don’t know what the premeditation is.”
Authorities are also still working to determine how the teen got her hands on the guns. She is seen skeet shooting in photos posted on her father’s Facebook page, but Barnes said no decisions have been taken to charge either of her parents, who were divorced, in the shooting. Both are said to be cooperating with the investigation.
Jeffrey and Melissa Rupnow shared custody of their daughter, but she lived primarily with her father, court records say.
