News emerged Wednesday that Alexander Paffendorf, of Carlsbad, California, was served with a restraining order under California’s red flags law on Tuesday after being questioned by the FBI after investigators learned he allegedly he communicated with Natalie Rupnow, the 15-year-old who police say killed one student and one teacher at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin before ending her life, to plan an attack on a government building.
According to CBS8, Paffendorf admitted to the FBI that he and Rupnow discussed plans to “arm himself with explosives and a gun” in order to “target a government building,” with the outlet reporting the restraining order subsequently granted by a California judge stated that federal agents were able to view the messages the southern California man allegedly exchanged with the killer.
The outlet additionally reported that a neighbor saw a “black gun box” removed from Paffendorf’s after the order was signed.
After the California courts approved the seizure of weapons from the alleged associate of Rupnow, Madison Police Department (MPD) Chief Shon Barnes told The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he had no information to offer about the action.
The news comes after Barnes recently said MPD was still “working to authenticate” the purported manifesto left by Rupnow, which was allegedly sent by the killer to a long-distance boyfriend that released it to a journalist. Barnes said the department was working to determine the origin of the document, but cautioned the media against sharing the potential “misinformation” it contains.
While still unauthenticated by law enforcement, the author of the document revealed they considered using explosives to commit an attack, before ultimately settling on firearms.
A spokesman for MPD similarly declined to confirm public reporting stating that Rupnow was “enrolled in therapy” prior to her death.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow” by Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow / Tumblr.
