AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Authorities are investigating a shooting at a small Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, that left one teacher and one student dead yesterday. Six others were injured, and the shooter is dead. NPR's Meg Anderson is in Madison with news from the investigation. She joins us now. Hi, Meg.
MEG ANDERSON, BYLINE: Hi.
CHANG: All right, so what is the latest?
ANDERSON: Yeah. So here's what we know. Authorities yesterday identified the shooter as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow. She went by Samantha. She was a student at this Christian school, and she apparently died by suicide. Six people were hospitalized, two remain in critical condition. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes corrected himself when he said earlier it was a second-grader who made the first 911 call. Actually, it was a second-grade teacher.
And as far as a motive, there's still a lot that isn't known. Chief Barnes called it a combination of factors, but he didn't say much more. In addition, the victims are still not named. There hasn't been any information about how the shooter got the gun. Barnes said today that identifying the motive is a top priority.
CHANG: OK. So about motive, I mean, what are the police saying at this point?
ANDERSON: So there have been questions about whether the shooter was bullied or had disciplinary issues. The police chief said they are looking into that. Police are also aware of a document that's been widely circulated on social media purportedly written by Rupnow, and they're cautioning people not to share it while they work to figure out whether it's authentic. So they said they'd provide updates on that as soon as they could. Here's Chief Barnes.
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SHON BARNES: We're looking into her online activity. We're asking anyone who knew her or who may have insights into her feelings leading up to yesterday to please contact the Madison Area Crime Stoppers. We will not be releasing specifics about the social media accounts at this time.
ANDERSON: So clearly, this investigation is in its early stages, and police are just trying to gather as much information about Rupnow as they can.
CHANG: Yeah. Well, Meg, what is the mood like in Madison today? I mean, how has the community been dealing with this horrible tragedy?
ANDERSON: Yeah. So, you know, it's right before Christmas, and so when you drive in the area near the school, it's festive. You see Christmas decorations on a lot of the houses in this quiet residential neighborhood. I saw a huge inflatable reindeer in front of someone's house.
But then at the school, there are all these news vans and police tape and candles and flowers set up. Last night at a vigil for the victims, people were crying and hugging each other. People are in shock, and I heard over and over again that they couldn't believe a school shooting happened in their community. The mayor of Madison, Satya Rhodes-Conway, echoed that at a press conference today.
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SATYA RHODES-CONWAY: It's a day that I hoped never would come to our city, but like so many other communities, here we are. We will never be the same, but we will get through this together.
CHANG: So as the community in Madison works on trying to pull together, what happens next?
ANDERSON: Yeah. So this school is - the school community is very much in a state of uncertainty. Officials couldn't say when the building would even be open again. It's a crime scene. And they said it's just - it's too early to tell where this investigation might take them. They don't know yet whether others might be charged, for instance, and they're asking for patience. In the meantime, the community here will keep leaning on each other. There's another vigil planned tonight at the state Capitol.
CHANG: That is NPR's Meg Anderson in Madison, Wisconsin. Thank you so much, Meg.
ANDERSON: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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