AP β The Wisconsin year-old who shot and killed a teacher and a fellow student Monday was only in her first semester at the school but seemed to be settling in, a school official said Thursday as families of the victims remembered them as people of faith who had deep connections within the Christian school. Two other students who were shot remained hospitalized Thursday in critical condition. Are we bruised and battered? Yes," she said. And we will go on. Police have said her motivation for the attack remains a key part of their investigation.
The school was working with her family on attendance, but teachers had no significant concerns, she said. It has to be one of the loneliest, bitterest places to be. Vergara's funeral is set for Saturday at City Church, which is adjacent to the school, and West's funeral is Monday at Doxa Church in Madison, where she was a member, according to obituaries published Wednesday and Thursday.
West had worked at the school for four years and is the mother of three daughters, according to her obituary. She enjoyed camping with family, attending school sporting events, serving at Doxa Church and spending time with her daughters and the rest of her family, the obituary said.
West worked three years as a substitute teacher before accepting a staff position as the sub coordinator and in-building substitute teacher, according to the statement. Often seen with a book in hand, she had a gift for art and music. Attempts to obtain comment from relatives of West and Vergara have been unsuccessful. The shooter brought two guns to the school. Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter's parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive , Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Wednesday.
Police don't know if anyone was targeted or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said. While Rupnow had two handguns, Barnes said he does not know how she obtained them and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation. No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow's parents might be charged, but they have been cooperating, Barnes said. Online court records show no criminal cases against her father, Jeffrey Rupnow, or her mother, Mellissa Rupnow.
