The teacher and a student killed in Monday’s shooting at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, have been identified as Erin West, 42, and Rubi Vergara, 14.
The Dane county medical examiner’s office confirmed their identities Wednesday night.
“Our hearts are heavy with these losses,” said a statement from the Abundant Life Christian school, where the shootings took place.
“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.”
West had first worked as a substitute teacher for three years before taking a full-time staff role. The school said she had “served our teachers and students with grace, humor, wisdom and – most importantly – with the love of Jesus”.
Rubi Vergara (left) and Erin West. Photograph: Gunderson Funeral Home, Empire Photography
Rubi Vergara, who was in the ninth grade, was described as popular and a keen volunteer. “Her gentle, loving and kind heart was reflected in her smile. Rubi was a blessing to her class and our school. She was not only a good friend, but a great big sister,” the school’s statement said.
Two unidentified students who received life-threatening injuries remain in hospital, while the four people who were treated in hospital for minor injuries have been discharged, authorities said.
The suspect, identified as Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, opened fire in a second-floor classroom “during a study hall for mixed graders”, police said, before taking her own life. Two guns were found at the school, but only one was used in the shooting.
Investigators have said they are working to establish a motive and were aware of Rupnow’s alleged social media activity and “documents and photos circulating the internet” that have yet to be verified.
“Identifying a motive is our top priority, but at this time it appears that the motive was a combination of factors,” the Madison police chief, Shon Barnes, told a press conference on Tuesday.
Women and girls are far less likely to carry out school and mass shootings than male counterparts. Among the 2,610 incidents since 1966 tracked by the K-12 School Shooting Database in which the gender of the shooter is listed, female suspects were responsible for only 107, or about 4%.
On Wednesday it was revealed that Rupnow was in contact via text message with a man in Carslbad, California, who was planning his own mass shooting, according to media reports that cited court papers. News of the connection between Rupnow and the man surfaced as part of the investigation into the alleged shooter’s motives.
A “gun violence emergency protective order” had been issued under California’s red flag law – typically used to keep firearms out of the hands of anyone deemed a threat – to Alexander Charles Paffendorf of Carlsbad.
“During an FBI interview, Paffendorf admitted to the FBI agents that he had 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 from the Carlsbad police department, CBS reported.
The order said that FBI agents “saw the messages from Paffendorf to Rupnow” but does not say what building Paffendorf had allegedly targeted or when the alleged attack would happen.
Nor did it offer details about what the man’s interactions with Rupnow were except that he was plotting a mass shooting with her. It is not yet clear how Rupnow obtained the gun, a 9mm pistol, used in the shooting.
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