What did Alexander Paffendorf and Natalie Rupnow plan?
Alexander Charles Paffendorf, 20, of Carlsbad, San Diego County, California, United States has been arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. He was discovered plotting a mass shooting with Natalie Lynn “Samantha” Rupnow of Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, USA.
Rupnow has died. She was 15.
Paffendorf attended Carlsbad High School in 2020. He lives with his parents at an apartment complex in Carlsbad.
A student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Rupnow is the daughter of Madison’s Jeffrey W. Rupnow, 42, and Melissa Abagail Rupnow, 39. The school currently has around 420 students.
During a study hall with students from different grades at around 10:57 a.m. on December 16, 2024, Samantha opened fire inside a classroom at the school. She fatally shot substitute teacher Erin West, 42, and student Rubi Vergara, 14, and wounded another teacher and five other students.
At around 11:00 a.m., Madison Police Department officers arrived at the school. They found Samantha dead at the scene with a self-inflicted wound.
On December 17, 2024, FBI agents stopped and arrested Paffendorf. He told them that he told Samantha that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and target a government building.
After the arrest, the Carlsbad Police Department filed the application for a gun violence emergency protective against Paffendorf. The order was approved by a San Diego Superior Court judge.
Within 48 hours of receipt of the restraining order, Paffendorf has to either surrender all firearms, ammunition and magazines to a law enforcement agency or sell them to or store them with a licensed firearms dealer. He has yet to be charged with a crime.
On January 3, 2025, Paffendorf will attend a court hearing on the restraining order. His parents still live in Carlsbad.
CONAN Daily 