Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Reporter | Center for Health Journalism Contributor

On December 16, just before the start of the Christmas break, a young student entered Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, and opened fire on students, faculty, and staff members.

Two people — a teacher and a student — were killed, and six others were injured. The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

What distinguishes this tragic school shooting from the numerous others occurring nationwide is that the perpetrator was a 15-year-old girl.

There were 330 shootings on school grounds in 2024. There were a record 349 shootings on school grounds in 2023, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.

Data indicates that female shooters, particularly in school environments and more broadly, are comparatively uncommon.

Of 544 school shooting incidents over 11 years, less than 5% of the shooters were female, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates for stronger gun laws.

Statistically, a school shooter is rarely female, according to John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.

“Nonetheless, we can’t lose sight of what matters: No child should be dodging bullets at school, and no teenager should be able to get their hands on a gun,” Feinblatt recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Hours after Monday’s shooting, Madison police identified 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha, as the shooter who killed 14-year-old student Rubi Vergara and 42-year-old teacher Erin West at Abundant Life Christian School.

Research shows that a significant proportion of school shooters are often white males who typically target larger suburban and rural educational institutions. However, the shooting in Madison underscores that individuals of any gender are also capable of perpetrating these acts of violence. The expansion of possible profiles for potential shooters complicates efforts to prevent such tragedies. It also serves as a reminder that this nation needs to do more to explore innovative and comprehensive solutions to address the issue.

A 2021 study in the Journal of Mass Violence Research looked at female mass shooters.

“Women may not comprise a large proportion of mass shooters, but they are overrepresented in workplace mass shooting incidents,” the authors wrote. “Indeed, more research is needed to assess these incidents, particularly the victim-offender relationship in such conflicts and the role gender might play in motivating these incidents.”

Additionally, the media can contribute by highlighting best practices that are being implemented to prevent such tragedies from occurring.

Schools have implemented various measures to ensure campus safety, including metal detectors, single access points, fencing, external door locks, and interior door locks. These interventions can help educators lock out potential shooters.

Some school districts employ police officers on campus, while others are focusing on increasing the number of school counselors and encouraging students to report concerns about peers who might be planning a shooting.

Some schools conduct active shooter drills, which Brian Malte, the executive director of the Hope and Heal Fund, describes as traumatic for youth. The Hope and Heal Fund is a  philanthropic organization working to end gun violence in California.

In September 2019, the Center for Health Journalism ran a piece from Malte titled “How active shooter drills in schools are traumatizing our children.” Malte pointed to schools who tell kindergarteners to be quiet and hide under their desks and in closets to avoid a potential gunman.

“The truth is that we are preparing children for an event that more than 99% will never experience – while creating a source of potential trauma for 100% of children trembling under their desks,” he wrote.

Despite these and other measures, Malte said school policing efforts have not made our nation’s schools safer.

“We aren’t saving or protecting most kids, but we are certainly traumatizing many and downright victimizing others,” he said.

The Madison shooting occurred just two days after the Sandy Hook community acknowledged the 12th anniversary of its elementary school massacre that killed 26 people — including 20 children, many between the ages of 5 and 10 years old.

After that shooting, President Barack Obama held a press conference to address the nation.

“As a country, we have been through this too many times … And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics,” Obama said.

Not much has changed over the past 12 years, except the frequency of mass shootings has increased.

As people mourn, it’s important to remember what President Obama said 12 years ago: meaningful action would be necessary to prevent more tragedies.

While it appears we’re entering a political era where such actions are dramatically less likely, reporters can continue to highlight the human costs of inaction while highlighting potential policy solutions that can keep our children safe.