A Southern California man who was in contact with the Madison, Wisconsin, school shooter allegedly plotted to attack a government building, records and media reports show.
On Tuesday evening, a San Diego County Superior Court judge granted an emergency gun violence protective order that the Carlsbad Police Department filed against local resident Alexander Paffendorf, according to online documents reviewed by the Times. This is a civil action that allows law enforcement to seize weapons from individuals deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
Carlsbad police did not respond to a request for comment or a copy of the original order filed Wednesday evening. However, a copy obtained by CBS 8 shows that FBI agents arrested the 20-year-old after learning he was planning a mass shooting with 15-year-old Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow.
Authorities say Rupnow fatally shot a teacher and a teenage student and injured six others at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin on Monday before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“During an interview with the FBI, Paffendorf admitted to FBI agents that he told Rupnow he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and target a government building.” , the restraining order states, according to CBS 8.
In an online question-and-answer session about the shooting, Madison police acknowledged a question “regarding a person arrested in California potentially related to this shooting” but referred all inquiries to the FBI. The office declined to comment on Paffendorf.
As of Wednesday evening, Paffendorf’s name did not appear in the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office’s online custody records.
Shortly after the restraining order was approved, residents near the Paffendorf apartment complex reported seeing several police cars enter the area, CBS 8 reported.
Neighbor Alex Gallegos told the station he saw about 15 police officers enter the complex. They then exited Paffendorf’s apartment with what Gallegos said looked like a “black gun box.”
“I’m just glad they’re aware and getting to the bottom of this, hopefully, before something bad happens here in our county,” he told the station .
