New York, Dec 17 (EFE).- Police in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, said Tuesday they were investigating a possible manifesto from the teenager who opened fire at her school on Monday and the motives behind the attack, where she killed another student and a teacher before committing suicide.
The police chief, Shon Barnes, told a press conference that the investigation into the incident is focusing on clarifying the factors that motivated the shooter.
On Monday night, Barnes identified Natalie Rupnow, 15, a student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, as the perpetrator of the shooting that killed two people and injured six others, two of whom are still in critical condition.
In Tuesday’s update, the police chief said they were trying to verify a document that is being shared on the internet, which some call a manifesto, and asked the public not to share it on social media.
«We have been made aware of a manifesto, if you want to call it that, or some type of letter that’s been posted by someone who alleged to be her friend,» Barnes said.
Rupnow acted on «a combination of factors,» and the authorities are talking to students to determine if bullying was one of those, he added.
Asked whether the attacker had targeted any particular victims, Barnes said that «everyone was targeted in this incident, and everyone was put in equal danger.»
The police chief said that there are always signs of a school shooting before it happens, which is why the authorities are investigating the attacker’s activity on the internet and have asked for help from those who knew her.
The US has become accustomed to living with school shootings without effective federal action to prevent them.
In 2002, 26 students and teachers were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut; in 2022, 21 were killed at a high school in Uvalde (Texas); in 2018, 17 were killed in Parkland (Florida).
So far in 2024, a total of 15,717 people have been killed by firearms, according to figures from the Gun Violence Archive, which monitors gun incidents in the US.
These deaths include 1,323 «unintentional» deaths and 632 suicides; in addition, 479 mass shootings, defined as those resulting in four or more deaths, were recorded in 2024.
However, the control of domestic guns (especially automatic weapons) has become an intractable political problem, as the Republican Party considers it a right, and the Democrats have done little to regulate it when in power.
US President Joe Biden on Monday urged Congress to «act» in the wake of the Wisconsin school shooting.
«Today, families in Madison, Wisconsin, are grieving the loss of those who were killed and wounded at Abundant Life Christian School. (…) We need Congress to act. Now,» Biden said in a statement.
«Congress and state legislatures must make background checks universal, pass red flag and safe storage laws, and ban assault weapons. These commonsense solutions will save lives and make our children and communities safer,” Kamala Harris also said regarding the Wisconsin shooting. EFE
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