The student murdered in the Wisconsin school shooting has been identified as 14-year-old Rubi Patricia Vergara.
Vergara, according to an obituary shared by her family, was one of the three people to die after 15-year-old Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow opened fire in a study hall at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday before turning the gun on herself.
The teacher who was also killed has now been identified as Erin M. West, both of whom died of ‘homicidal firearm related trauma,’ according to the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office. Six others were wounded, two left in critical condition.
According to the obit, Vergara was a freshman at the Christian school, who loved reading, art, singing and playing keyboard.
Her family – parents Vicente and Jennifer; and brother, Adrian – had their own worship band in which she played.
‘She shared a special bond with her beloved pets, Ginger (cat) and Coco (dog),’ the tribute adds.
Her uncle, Andrew Remus, shared the obituary and thanked the community on Facebook: ‘My niece. Thank you for all the prayers, texts and messages. The community of Madison has been incredible gracious to our family.’
The funeral will be held on Sunday in Madison. The family has asked for donations to the school in lieu of flowers.
The family of the student victim in the Wisconsin school shooting has been identified as 14-year-old Rubi Patricia Vergara
Vergara, according to an obituary shared by her family, was one of the three people to die after 15-year-old Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow (picture) opened fire in a study hall on Monday
Vergara is the first victim of the shooting to have been identified, as Madison police have gone silent on further details Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Madison PD told DailyMail.com in a statement: ‘Due to Marsy’s Law in Wisconsin, we cannot provide the names of victims.’
It’s been revealed Wednesday that Rupnow had two handguns with her but used only one in the attack, the city’s police chief said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Police don’t know if anyone was targeted in the attack or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said.
‘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.’
While Rupnow had two handguns, Barnes said he does not know how she obtained them and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.
Police were still investigating why the 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian Christian School in Madison shot and killed a fellow student and teacher on Monday, before shooting herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said.
Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition on Wednesday.
‘We may never know what she was thinking that day, but we we´ll do our best to try to add or give as much information to our public as possible,’ Barnes said.
It’s been revealed Wednesday that Rupnow had two handguns with her but used only one in the attack , the city’s police chief said
Authorities raided the Rupnow’s Wisconsin home after Monday morning’s tragedy, and Natalie’s father has been reportedly compliant with the ongoing investigation.
Investigators have been trying to figure out if the mass shooter’s parents, Jeff and Melissa, had any involvement or contributed to Natalie’s actions – which left two people dead and six injured before she shot and killed herself.
Police said Natalie’s motivation for killing a student, a teacher and injuring several others during study hall seems to have been a ‘combination of factors.’
‘Some have asked if people were specifically targeted. Everyone was targeted in this incident, and everyone was put in equal danger,’ Barnes said, according to CNN.
Lyndsay O’Connor, a mother of two survivors, speculated that the regular study hall teacher, who was not there due to a ‘planned absence,’ may have been Natalie’s target. Her idea has not been verified by police.
‘We don’t know if her target was the original teacher or just the kids in the class. She would have had to walk by the door and the door was open,’ O’Connor said.
Barnes on Wednesday defended the police department’s handling of information about the shooting because it has moved from a crisis response to the investigation phase.
‘We´ve been trying to be as transparent as possible to give as much information as we can during the critical phase of this incident,’ Barnes said.
Barnes on Wednesday defended the police department’s handling of information about the shooting because it has moved from a crisis response to the investigation phase
Police stand guard outside the home of Rupnow. O’Connor denied, despite Rupnow’s isolation and suggestions by the Madison police chief to the contrary, that the girl faced bullying
‘Now we´re in the investigative phase. And so the information may not be as forthcoming.’
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school – prekindergarten through high school – with approximately 420 students.
Barbara Wiers, the school’s director of elementary and school relations, said the school does not have metal detectors but uses cameras and other security measures.
Police got a 911 call at 10:57am Monday morning, and within three minutes, county sheriff’s deputies had arrived at Abundant Life Christian School, which educates about 420 students. Local police arrived seconds later.
At 11:05am, they said that they’d found the shooter wounded and recovered the weapon. Rupnow was pronounced dead on the way to hospital.
Simultaneously, fire department workers got to the scene and began to care for the victims.
Barnes said police were talking with the shooter´s father and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching the shooter’s home.
The shooter’s parents, who are divorced, jointly shared custody of their child, but the shooter primarily lived with her 42-year-old father, according to court documents.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The school was just days away from closing for Christmas Vacation and students were gearing up for Monday night’s basketball game.
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