Tragedy Strikes: December 16, 2024

There are moments in everyone's life that no matter how many years pass, they remain in our memories vividly. December 16, 2024 will be one of those days for many people in the Madison area.

I am a court clerk in Dane County so I work closely with a lot of Dane County Sheriff's Deputies and some of their families in other roles. I was in court, just around 11 AM when I got a pop up from a co-worker asking where my kids go to school. I soon found out that someone had opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School. Nothing more was known at the time as the first officers were literally just getting there when I found out. Two of my kids attend two separate Christian schools in the Madison area so I immediately contacted the schools to put them on lock down also while not being able to tell them anything other than, "You have to trust me, lock the school down." At the time, all I knew was there was an active shooter and there were people hit but I couldn't release anything because of the situation.

As moments passed, it felt like eternity waiting to hear more details. I heard several people were hit and at least one fatality, then two. Finally we heard that the gunman was believed to be one of the deceased. I was able to let the schools know they could lift the lock-down. My high-school daughter called me shortly after to tell me what she had heard from staff, fear in her voice. I was devastated.

Then I learned that a former Lighthouse Student, Samy was one of the 4 students who was sent to the hospital. I was getting updates from a trusted source as they came in and the next update was that Samy was going into surgery and he was shot more than once, including in his head and back/hip. My stomach sank and tears formed in my eyes thinking of this young boy, one that my kids walked the halls with. When you hear these things on TV, or for me, see them in court, it doesn't knock you down the same way as it does to have a personal connection to the situation. It is still devastating, of course, but the human body reacts differently when there is an emotional connection.

That being said, my heart ached for those parents who were slowly hearing the news that it was their school. It ached for the parents lining up at the reunification point waiting and wondering, for hours, if their child would come out. It ached for those children who made it out "unharmed" knowing that the psychological harm was just as awful. My heart ached for the two confirmed deceased individuals and their families. My heart still aches for all of those involved.

That is where I was and how I felt as a mom, as a member of the Christian school community, as a community member. I could not even pretend to know (and hope to never have to) what the mom waiting at the reunification site was feeling. Or what the dad, who was rushing to the hospital knowing no more than his child was shot, was feeling. Or what the husband, who just found out his wife died protecting her students (a true HERO!), was feeling knowing what he has to tell his children. Or what the little brother whose world is turned upside down for his unforeseeable future while his big brother remains hospitalized, continues to feel. Or what the parents of a 16 year old girl with a bright future ahead of her are feeling as they process that their child is never coming home. Or what the children felt as they witnessed another child open fire and shoot at their classmates, teachers and friends. What all of these people felt, continue to feel and the memories of a tragedy that are forever etched into their minds have changed them forever.

December 16, 2025 is a day that will remain engraved in so many people's memories forever. A day of heartache and fear. A day that no one should ever have to experience. A day that will haunt people for a lifetime.

I tell you all of this to explain why we are here. Like so many others in our community, I felt called to do something for the victims so I set up a GoFundMe (before the United Way Fund was released.) Initially those funds were used to purchase gift cards for ALCS families as that was the need at the time. Several thousand dollars worth of gift cards were purchased and distributed to families through a City Church member.

I don't know Samy personally but my kids knew him and he was a fellow Lighthouse Seahawk when he attended Lighthouse Christian School. He happened to have been a grade older than my oldest child and when your classes are only 15 kids, you tend to know upperclassmen and lower classmen. Samy and his family are members at Lighthouse Church. They are our neighbors, yours and mine, in our community.

So, as I learned more about Samy's family situation, I transitioned the funds to be used for Samy's family. Samy's dad had some paid time off but his mom did not. As the days passed, I worried that the financial stress while remaining by their son's side would be too much. We have dispersed well over $3,000 to Samy's family to date through Pastor Marcio. Pastor Marcio is the family's spokesperson as well as the Pastor at Lighthouse School and Church. I will share his updates in future blog posts.

These fundraising efforts are to help Samy's family stay afloat without worry during this difficult time. I will explain more on Samy's condition in coming posts also. If you have made it this far, thank you for caring so deeply for our community members, our brothers and sisters. Please share this website, these events, the news on Samy. Please donate, if you are able. But most of all, please #Pray4Samy and keep him, his family and all of the victims and their families in your thoughts and prayers. For us, 6 months may seem like a long time but for them, 6 months can feel like just yesterday.

Here is the basic rundown on the tragedy of 12/16/24:

On December 16, 2024, a school shooting occurred at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Two people were confirmed dead and six others were injured. The perpetrator, identified as 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow (who went by Samantha), killed herself at the scene.

During an initial news conference, officials from the Madison Police Department reported that the death toll was five people, but later amended their report and said that three people, including the suspected shooter, were dead. The two victims were identified by the Dane County Medical Examiner's Office as 42-year-old teacher Erin West of DeForest and 14-year-old student Rubi Vergara.

Six people were injured, two critically. Four patients from the shooting were treated at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Madison and later discharged. One of the boys, River, who remained hospitalized following the incident was later released on January 30th. The remaining boy, Samy, remains hospitalized nearly 6 months after the incident.

On May 8, 2025, the shooter's father, Jeffrey Rupnow was arrested. Rupnow is charged with two counts of intentionally sale of a firearm to a person under 18 resulting in death and one count of contributing to delinquency of a child. The case remains open.

A makeshift memorial sits in front of Abundant Life Christian School as police continue to investigate Monday's shooting on Tuesday, December 17, in Madison, Wisconsin. Scott Olson/Getty Images