A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, identified by authorities on Wednesday.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the two died as a result of “homicidal firearm-related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site said Vergara was a college freshman who is survived by her parents, a brother and a large family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position at the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy showed that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Monday due to “firearm-related trauma.” Madison Police Chief Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian primary and secondary school was reported just before 11 a.m. on Monday. In addition to the two dead and the shooter, six others were injured.
Police said the shooting took place in a study hall classroom and involved students from several grades.
A gun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9mm handgun.
Aliza Chasan,
and Pat Milton contributed to this report.
