The police chief investigating Monday’s deadly Wisconsin Christian school shooting is adamant that the 15-year-old killer’s gender identity isn’t “important at all.”
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes dismissed concerns about Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow’s identity when asked about early rumors that she was possibly transgender.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes branded the gender of the teen who shot and killed a student and teacher at the school irrelevant. Getty Images
Police walk outside the Abundant Life Christian School following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Madison, Wis. APFollow The Post’s coverage ofthe school shooting in Wisconsin
- Students reveal they don’t know what caused the shooting as they saw the events unfold
- Police identified Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow, 15, as the shooter
- Police say the shooter’s gender didn’t play a role amid rumors the shooter identified as transgender
- Photos of the shooter have been released to the public
- Police still don’t have a clear answer as to the motive that led to the shooting
“I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And, quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,” Barnes said of Rupnow, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing a teacher and a student.
“I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify,” he stated.
The comments came when he was asked about a flurry of unverified posts online claiming the 15-year-old was transgender, suggesting it played a part in the carnage at the K-12 Abundant Life Christian School.
“I wish people would leave their own personal biases,” the police chief complained.
“We have lost members of our community. It’s something that may come out later, but for what we’re doing today, it is of no consequence at this time.”
Police said Rupnow, a student at the private Christian school, brought a handgun to campus and opened fire around 11 a.m. inside a classroom during study hall.
School children walk past police tape as they are escorted away from the scene of a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Dec. 16, 2024. JEFFERY PHELPS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Police said the 15-year-old student brought a handgun to campus and opened fire around 11 a.m. inside a classroom during study hall. WTMJ-TVAs the gunfire erupted, a second-grader in a nearby classroom called 911 for help, and police were on the scene in about three minutes, according to Barnes.
The teenage student and teacher were pronounced dead at the scene while another teacher and five more students were wounded.
Two of the students are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Barnes said Monday night.
With Post wires
