Supply: Scott Olson / Getty
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes has turn out to be a guiding gentle and voice of purpose within the wake of the tragic taking pictures at Considerable Life Christian Faculty in Madison, Wisconsin, on Dec. 16. The taking pictures, which passed off simply days earlier than winter break, claimed the lives of a trainer and a teenage pupil, with the suspected shooter—a feminine pupil—additionally dying, based on the Related Press. The shooter has been recognized as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who glided by the identify Samantha. She was pronounced useless whereas being transported to the hospital.
Throughout a press convention on Monday, Chief Barnes shared that the primary report of the taking pictures got here from a second-grade pupil, who referred to as 911 at 10:57 a.m. “Let that sink in,” Chief Barnes mentioned, repeating the phrase twice. He praised the swift response of regulation enforcement, noting that police arrived on the college simply 4 minutes later. The taking pictures passed off in a examine corridor, authorities confirmed. Rupnow was a pupil at Considerable Life Christian Faculty, nevertheless, Chief Barnes and his group are nonetheless working to uncover a motive behind the travesty.
At Monday’s press assembly, the Madison Police Chief reassured the group that each effort was being made to completely examine the taking pictures and to maintain group members secure. The Madison Police Division is carefully monitoring the varsity, and at the moment, nobody is allowed on the premises because the investigation stays ongoing.
He defined that detectives had spoken with the shooter’s household on Monday night and carried out a search of her residence in Madison as a part of their inquiry into the motive behind the taking pictures. The chief additionally shared that they have been in ongoing discussions with the shooter’s father at one among their services, the place he’s totally cooperating with the investigation.
“He misplaced somebody as properly. And so we’re not going to hurry the knowledge, we’ll take our time and definitely do our due diligence,” Chief Barnes mentioned.
Psychological well being assets will likely be given to group members impacted.
Presently, Chief Barnes is urging the group to concentrate on supporting these affected by the tragedy at Considerable Life Christian Faculty, and to maintain them of their prayers. Two college students stay in vital situation with life-threatening accidents.
“These youngsters at the moment are the most recent group of survivors of a faculty taking pictures,” Barnes mentioned. “This time, sadly, in Madison, Wisconsin.”
The Wisconsin Division of Justice’s Workplace of Faculty Security and the Workplace of Crime Sufferer Companies are additionally providing important assets throughout this troublesome time. Their Crucial Incident Response Staff program, created by each departments, is designed to scale back the psychological influence of a traumatic occasion at college and to supply ongoing psychological well being help lengthy after the incident has handed.
“I don’t understand how we are able to decrease what has occurred at present, however we’re going to do the very best we are able to to supply providers for all these youngsters and workers.”

Supply: Scott Olson / Getty
Who’s Chief Shon Barnes?
Chief Shon Barnes is receiving widespread reward on-line for his swift and decisive response to the tragic incident at Considerable Life Christian Faculty. His dedication to community-centered policing is a cornerstone of his management, as highlighted by the Metropolis of Madison Police Division. Barnes was appointed Chief of Police by the Police and Fireplace Fee (PFC) in February 2021.
A nationally acknowledged professional in crime discount and bettering community-police relations, Barnes has an intensive background in regulation enforcement. Previous to his present function, he served because the Director of Coaching and Skilled Growth for the Civilian Workplace of Police Accountability in Chicago, Illinois. He was additionally Deputy Chief of Police in Salisbury, North Carolina, from 2017 to 2020, and a Captain with the Greensboro Police Division, the place he started his profession as a patrol officer in 2000.
Barnes’ modern strategy to crime discount earned him recognition as a LEADS Scholar by the Nationwide Institute of Justice. He’s additionally a member of the Nationwide Police Basis’s Council on Policing Reforms and Race, a nonpartisan initiative centered on utilizing analysis and proof to sort out key points in police reform.
“Group Policing must be neighborhood oriented, group centered (enterprise and residential), drawback oriented, and based mostly on probably the most present empirical analysis obtainable to rapidly scale back crime and enhance residents’ satisfaction with police providers,” he mentioned of his philosophy to efficient policing, the Metropolis of Madison Police Division web site notes.
All through his profession, Chief Barnes has championed Neighborhood-Oriented Policing, an strategy that emphasizes tailor-made responses to smaller police beats, fostering a way of possession inside neighborhoods, and prioritizing group engagement in any respect ranges of the police pressure.
Throughout an interview with CNN on Dec. 17, Chief Barnes revealed that his division is collaborating with the ATF to hint the origins of the handgun used within the taking pictures. He additionally talked about that investigators are trying into the potential for a manifesto being linked to the incident. He made it clear that he didn’t consider any 15-year-olds ought to “have entry to weapons that they’ll deliver to high school and doubtlessly harm somebody.”
Chief Barnes added, “We actually should do a greater job, not solely in our communities, however in our nation, with ensuring that our younger of us wouldn’t have entry to weapons and firearms, and definitely ensuring that we’re listening to the psychological well being of our kids, there’s a whole lot of work that we’d like to take action that we can’t be having these conversations many times and once more on CNN and different information retailers.”
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