Wisconsin school shooter was in contact with California man plotting his own attack, court documents say
The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California who was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became public Wednesday.
An emergency restraining order requiring the man to surrender his firearms to authorities identified him as Alexander Charles Paffendorf, 20. The order, issued under California's gun red flag law, requires Paffendorf to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others.
"During an FBI interview, Paffendorf admitted to the FBI agents that he had told Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building," the restraining order says. It also said FBI agents "saw the messages from Paffendorf to Rupnow." FBI agents in San Diego and Madison declined to comment to CBS News.
A court hearing is scheduled for January 3, according to the order.
Police were still investigating why Rupnow, a 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, shot and killed a fellow student and teacher on Monday before shooting herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told The Associated Press Wednesday. Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition on Wednesday.
CBS' San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV reported that law enforcement searched the man's home Tuesday night after the order was signed by the judge.
Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter's parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive for the shooting, Barnes told the AP.
Police don't know if anyone was targeted in the attack or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said. Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
"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."
On a Madison city website providing details about the shooting, police disclosed Wednesday that two guns were found at the school, but only one was used. A law enforcement source previously told CBS News the weapon used appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
Barnes told the AP that he did not know how the suspected shooter obtained the guns and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow's parents might be charged in relation to the shooting, but they have been cooperating, Barnes told the AP.
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school that offers prekindergarten classes through high school. About 420 students attend the institution.
The Dan County Medical Examiner's Office identified the two people killed Wednesday as 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as "an avid reader" who "loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band."
West's exact position with the school was unclear.
