Investigating a California Link to the Abundant Life Christian School Shooter

We learned on Thursday that the case could have Californian roots. This was in response to the shootings at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. A San Diego-area man, Alexander Paffendorf, has been detained in Carlsbad as part of the service of a gun violence emergency protective order.

 

Documents show that the FBI detained a California man and ordered his guns to be temporarily seized after he was alleged to have communicated with a 15-year-old shooter in Wisconsin who had killed two people.

 

According to the order obtained by NBC San Diego, Alexander Paffendorf (20) was served with an emergency protection order for gun violence in Carlsbad, San Diego County, on Tuesday.

 

According to the narrative, the Californian man communicated with Natalie Rupnow who, according to police, opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School, in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday. She attended the school.

 

Details of the communication have not yet been made public. The gun violence emergency order has some details.

 

 

In the order for a gun, a Carlsbad officer noted that the FBI had detained him after he “was discovered plotting a massive shooting with the Madison Wisconsin Shooter.”

 

Paffendorf admitted to FBI agents he had told Rupnow he was going to arm himself with explosives, a gun, and target a government-owned building.

 

In the order, it is stated that Rupnow and him exchanged messages. The order does not provide any further details about the communication or alleged plans.

 

It is not clear at this time what kind of firearms were confiscated or found by agents who entered the residence of Mr. Paffendorf. It’s not clear from the scant information available that Paffendorf took any actions that would justify criminal charges. Simply communicating with someone later revealed to be a mass shooting suspect isn’t in itself illegal. Paffendorf might have said that he’d arm himself with explosives, a gun, and a knife but it is unclear whether he did so.

 

No explosives were found at the location where the emergency protection order against gun violence was issued.

 

As of this writing, the FBI has refused to comment on this case.

 

There is no indication that criminal charges have been filed. The agencies did not mention criminal charges and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.

 

Police are investigating the social media accounts of Natalie “Samantha”, the shooter. The account is where it is likely that the connection with Alexander Paffendorf came from, even though this was not stated explicitly. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has completed a trace of guns but hasn’t released any information as of this writing.

 

This story is developing. As events warrant, we will provide you with updates.