A teacher and a student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified by authorities on Wednesday.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a press release provided to CBS News that Erin West, 42, and Rubi Vergara, 14, were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined that both men died from “firearm-related homicidal trauma.” Both men were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary at a local burial site said Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, a brother and a large extended family. He described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, sang and played keyboard in the family worship band.”
Vergara had been a student at Abundant Life since kindergarten, the school revealed in its own statement Wednesday evening.
“Her gentle, loving and kind heart was reflected in her smile,” the statement read. “Rubi was a blessing to her class and to our school. She was not only a good friend, but also a great-big sister.”
The school revealed that West spent three years as a substitute teacher at Abundant Life before accepting a position as a “sub-coordinator and substitute teacher within the building.”
“Her loss is painful and profound and she will be greatly missed not only by our staff, but by our entire ALCS family,” he said.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy revealed that the suspected shooter, Natalie Rupnow, 15, a student at the same school, was pronounced dead Monday at a local hospital from “weapon-related trauma.” on fire”. Madison Police Chief Shon F. Barnes previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to the hospital.
Police also said earlier that she may have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the Christian K-12 private school was reported shortly before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six other people were injured.
Police said the shooting happened in a classroom where a study hall involving students from multiple grades was taking place.
On a city of Madison website providing details about the shooting, police reported Wednesday that two firearms were found at the school, but only one was used. A law enforcement source previously told CBS News that the weapon used appears to have been a 9mm pistol.
Aliza Chasan,
and Pat Milton contributed to this report.
