Teen kills teacher and pupil in shooting at US school

A US community has been left traumatised after a 15-year-old female student killed a teacher and another pupil in a shooting spree at a Christian school in Wisconsin on Monday.

- KELLY RISSMAN

Police named Natalie Rupnow, also known as Samantha Rupnow, as the young woman who killed two and injured six others at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison. Rupnow died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

An eight-year-old student who witnessed the panic and the wounding of a teacher told CNN: “I was really scared and I was really sad.” Rupnow was found dead at the scene with evidence of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, according to police. An official cause of death has not been determined, and police have not yet determined a motive.

In an interview with local broadcaster WISC, one mother of three Abundant Life students described how children, parents and staff are still reeling from the incident. “Thank God, they were safe,” said Mireille Jean-Charles, who was reunited with her three sons after the shooting. “But the trauma – it’s a lot, because I’m sure they lost friends and teachers, which is not OK. And I don’t think they’ll be OK for a long time,” she added.