Christian School Clings to Faith after Deadly Shooting, School Director Says God ‘Turns Beauty for Ashes’

Madison Police Chief Shon F. Barnes said Monday afternoon that two of the six who were injured are students who remain in critical condition and have life-threatening injuries. The other four -- a teacher and three students -- have non life-threatening injuries. 

"We need to come together as a community and heal and try to wrap our arms around those who survived," Barnes said. 

The shooter was identified as Natalie Rupnow, a female student who went by "Samantha."

Abundant Life has 420 students in grades pre-K through 12th grade. 

Wiers said she spoke with parents at a reunification location. 

"They were supportive. They were amazingly patient and kind. They were offering repeatedly, 'We're praying for you. We're praying for our family,' Wiers said. 

"We see ourselves as a family, not just a community. ... What affects one part of the body affects all, as we know, the Bible says, and so we hold that dear. We also have a very strong faith in our community that, in spite of tragedy, God is working. And we believe that God is good in everything and that He turns beauty for ashes," she said, citing Isaiah 61:3. "And so I had a number of families who mentioned that to me -- that this wasn't a surprise to God, and that He's going to do something mighty with it. And so we're holding on to those words, and we're continuing to believe and trust in Him. He is our foundation at Abundant Life Christian School. We exist to bring and to build disciples of Jesus Christ. And so we have complete faith that He will carry us through this."

The school regularly performs lockdown drills and evacuation drills, Wiers said. School doors -- whether outdoors or indoor -- remain locked, she said. 

Wiers said she was teaching at the time of the shooting.

"The students handled themselves magnificently," he said. "... They were clearly scared when they realized [it was real]. When we practice, we always say, 'This is a drill. It is just a drill.' When they heard 'lockdown, lockdown' and nothing else, they knew it was real."

Barnes said law enforcement received the first phone call Monday at 10:57 a.m. local time. A second-grade student called 911, he said.

"Let that soak in for a minute," he said. "A second-grade student called 911."

Law enforcement first arrived at the building at 11 a.m. and immediately entered, he said. At 11:05, law enforcement reported that the shooter was down. EMS also arrived at 11:05 a.m.

Meanwhile, Barnes said Monday that law enforcement cannot yet verify if a manifesto circulating on social media is legitimate and was written by the shooter. The alleged manifesto was allegedly released by a long-distance boyfriend who said Rupnow was not transgender, as some had alleged. The document is steeped in nihilism and hopelessness, as the writer describes being bullied and ostracized by both friends and family. ("I will always hate humanity.”) The writer disturbingly refers to perpetrators of mass shootings as heroes and then ends with a quote from the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski: "Finally, one learns that boredom is a disease of civilization." 

Photo Credit: ©YouTube/WKYC Channel 3

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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