A 15-year-old female student opened fire on Monday morning inside a study hall at a private Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and a student, authorities said.

The girl, identified as Natalie Rupnow, also wounded six others in the 11 a.m. shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, including two students who were in critical condition, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said.

Among the injured were a teacher and three other students, police said.

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“Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. ... We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened,” Barnes said.

He said police officers who responded to the school did not fire their weapons. Rupnow later turned the gun on herself.

Barnes said medics who responded to the school had been in the middle of a training drill at the time.

Investigators said Rupnow, a student at the school, used a 9mm pistol. But Barnes said the motive remains under investigation — although detectives are “working hard to find as many answers as we can.”

“I don’t know why, and I feel like if we did know why, we could stop these things from happening,” he said.

On its website, the school said it was founded in 1978 as “a community Christian school, with its first graduating class in 1985.” Some 200 families from 56 different churches in the Dane County area, including metropolitan Madison and its surrounding communities, are represented in the student body.

The school posted on Facebook that they are seeking prayers.

“Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS. We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able. Please pray for our Challenger Family,” the post read.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said he had been “closely monitoring the incident” as well as offering his prayers.

“There are no words to describe the devastation and heartbreak we feel today after the school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison this morning. … I join the people of Wisconsin in praying for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were so senselessly taken and for the educators, staff and the entire Abundant Life school community as they grapple with the grief, trauma and loss of this gut-wrenching tragedy,” he said. “We are also praying and hoping all those injured survive and recover.”

Wisconsin State Superintendent Jill Underly said the community remains in mourning following the tragedy, which took place just nine days before Christmas.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to protect our children and our educators to ensure that such horrors never happen again,” she said in a statement. “We will not rest until we find solutions that make our schools safe, and so our children feel secure.”

Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.