Connect with us

Wisconsin

Concerning number of drownings and near-drownings happening in Southeast Wisconsin

Published

on

Concerning number of drownings and near-drownings happening in Southeast Wisconsin


As we head into one other summer time weekend, it is crucial to place the give attention to water security.

Simply final weekend, six individuals drowned in Southeast Wisconsin. These drownings occurred in Dane, Kenosha, Walworth, and Waukesha Counties. The victims ranged in age from eight to 81 years previous.

Proper now, we all know two youngsters have been hospitalized after almost drowning previously 48 hours in separate incidents. One occurred in Milwaukee County and the opposite was in Waukesha County.

A 14-year-old was pulled from the small lake at Menomonee Park in Menomonee Falls Thursday evening. A two-year-old boy was discovered unresponsive in a pool at a house in Brown Deer Wednesday.

Advertisement

In each instances, first responders say it was the fast considering of witnesses, who instantly began performing CPR, that saved each the toddler and teenager.

TMJ4 doesn’t have an replace on the situation of the 14-year-old. The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Division offered a quick replace Friday, confirming the teenager is alive and nonetheless receiving therapy on the hospital.

North Shore Hearth and Rescue, which responded to the near-drowning of the two-year-old, says the little boy will get well and be launched from the hospital quickly.

“A few bystanders known as 911 and started CPR, then police arrived quickly after and took over, then we continued and rushed the toddler to the hospital,” mentioned North Shore Hearth Battalion Chief Dan Tyk. “I actually suppose these bystanders speeding to motion is what made this have a optimistic end result. If we are the first individuals to point out as much as do CPR in these conditions, usually, it is not a optimistic end result for the affected person.”

Laura Metro and her household work tirelessly to forestall drownings after her son, Clay, almost died in a pool when he was three years previous.

Advertisement

“We imagine he tripped on his towel and fell within the deep finish as a result of he and the towel have been each on the backside of the pool,” she mentioned. “There have been adults across the pool when it occurred. It solely takes seconds. We pulled him out, and he was grey and lifeless. We have been flown to a hospital the place Clay was in a coma for 2 days.”

Metro doesn’t take with no consideration the truth that her son survived and didn’t endure any lasting mind injury. She now helps lead the Nationwide Drowning Prevention Alliance, or NDPA.

Close to-drownings usually go unreported. For each one person who dies from drowning, there are 5 to eight non-fatal drownings, and most of these end result within the want for lifelong care.

“So, the ripple impact of that is catastrophic,” mentioned Laura. “It is past laborious on households financially, medically, psychologically. The very last thing we need to hear is ‘we didn’t know.’ A number of households touched by a drowning or near-drowning inform us they didn’t understand it may occur like that.”

Seventy % of childhood drownings occur when a toddler will not be alleged to be in or close to the water. When somebody is struggling within the water, they’re usually completely silent.

Advertisement

“Our our bodies are there to guard us, so they will do no matter they will to permit us to preserve vitality, so we do not use the oxygen, so that you basically type of going right into a paralysis state to a sure diploma, after which that ends in the silent sinking,” mentioned Laura.

First responders and drowning prevention advocates proceed to emphasize the significance of life jackets, swim classes, vigilant supervision, and locked obstacles round swimming pools.

Report a typo or error // Submit a information tip





Source link

Advertisement

Wisconsin

Funerals set for teacher and student killed in Wisconsin school shooting

Published

on

Funerals set for teacher and student killed in Wisconsin school shooting


MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Funerals have been set for the student and teacher who were shot and killed by at 15-year-old at a religious school in Wisconsin, while police on Thursday pursued their investigation into the motive.

Abundant Life Christian School student Rubi Patricia Vergara, 14, of Madison and teacher Erin West, 42, of DeForest were killed in the attack Monday. Police say student Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow killed herself at the school and died at a Madison hospital. Two other students who were shot remained hospitalized Thursday in critical condition.

Vergara’s funeral was set for Saturday at City Church, which is adjacent to the school, and West’s funeral is Monday at Doxa Church in Madison, where she was a member, according to obituaries published Wednesday and Thursday.

West had worked at the school for four years and is the mother of three daughters, according to her obituary. She enjoyed camping with family, attending school sporting events, serving at Doxa Church and spending time with her daughters and the rest of her family, the obituary said.

Advertisement

“ALCS is a better school for the work of Erin West,” the school said in a statement.

West worked three years as a substitute teacher before accepting a staff position as the sub coordinator and in-building substitute teacher, according to the statement.

“She served our teachers and students with grace, humor, wisdom, and — most importantly — with the love of Jesus,” the school said. “Her loss is a painful and deep one and she will be greatly missed not just among our staff, but our entire ALCS family.”

Vergara was a freshman at the school and “an avid reader, loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band,” according to her obituary.

The school described her as gentle and loving.

Advertisement

“Rubi was a blessing to her class and our school,” the school said. “She was not only a good friend, but a great big sister. Often seen with a book in hand, she had a gift for art and music.”

Attempts to obtain comment from relatives of West and Vergara have been unsuccessful.

The shooter brought two guns to the school. A man in California told authorities he had been messaging her about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives, according to a restraining order issued against him Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law. The order required the 20-year-old Carlsbad man to turn his guns and ammunition in to police within 48 hours, but it’s unclear Thursday whether he complied, would be charged or was in custody.

The order didn’t say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also didn’t detail his interactions with Rupnow except to state that the man was plotting a mass shooting with her.

A spokesperson for the Carlsbad Police Department said federal authorities were leading the investigation and “we do not believe there is a threat to our city.”

Advertisement

Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said on Wednesday.

Police don’t know if anyone was targeted or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said.

While Rupnow had two handguns, Barnes said he does not know how she obtained them and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.

No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged, but they have been cooperating, Barnes said.

Online court records show no criminal cases against her father, Jeffrey Rupnow, or her mother, Mellissa Rupnow. They are divorced and shared custody of their daughter, but she primarily lived with her father, according to court documents.

Advertisement

Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school of about 420 students that offers prekindergarten classes through high school.

Adam Rostad, who lives near Madison, went to ALCS from kindergarten through high school. His grandfather was pastor of the church that helped establish the school and his mother and aunt both worked there.

Rostad said Thursday that even though he graduated about 20 years ago and doesn’t even consider himself a “church person” any longer, ALCS is family.

He has collected a list of about 440 people who are eager to either cook meals or buy gift cards for those affected, and is coordinating with the school and church to make sure that’s the best way to help.

“Bullets don’t really care what your faith is, or if you have one,” Rostad said. “They really don’t.”

Advertisement

___

Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed to this report.





Source link

Continue Reading

Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, school shooting suspect was in contact with man accused of plotting his own attack: report

Published

on

Madison, Wisconsin, school shooting suspect was in contact with man accused of plotting his own attack: report


The 15-year-old girl who police say killed a teacher and teen student in a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday was in contact with a man in California whom authorities say was plotting a mass shooting with her, according to a report. 

The man, according to a restraining order obtained by the Associated Press, told FBI agents that he had been messaging Wisconsin shooter Natalie Rupnow about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives. The order doesn’t say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also doesn’t detail his interactions with Rupnow.

The order was issued by a California judge on Tuesday against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man under the state’s gun red flag law. The order requires the man to turn his guns and ammunition to police within 48 hours unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others.

Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024.  (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Advertisement

MEDICAL EXAMINER IDENTIFIES VICTIMS KILLED IN WISCONSIN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SHOOTING

Rupnow opened fire inside a study hall inside Abundant Life Christian School just before 11 a.m., according to Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes. He said responding officers found Rupnow with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She died on the way to a hospital.

The Dane County Medical Examiner’s report identified Rupnow’s deceased victims as 14-year-old student Rubi Patricia Vergara and 42-year-old teacher Erin M. West.

The report stated that West, of Deforest, and Vergara, of Madison, were both pronounced dead at the scene and that preliminary results of the examinations confirm that both died as a result of “homicidal firearm related trauma.”

Six others were injured in the shooting, including two students who are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

Advertisement

According to an obituary, Vergara was a freshman at Abundant Life Christian School and was described as being “an avid reader, lover of art, and singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”

Vergara’s aunt told Fox News Digital that it has been a “very hard week” for their family, and they are trying to get through her niece’s funeral, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday in Madison.

Man standing with cross after school shooting in Wisconsin

Dan Beazley stands with the homemade cross he brought from Michigan for victims of a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin.  (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MOM JENNIFER CRUMBLEY HAD ‘TAINTED’ TRIAL, ATTORNEYS SAY IN REQUEST TO TOSS CONVICTION

The Madison Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that two guns were recovered from the school following the shooting. However, only one gun was allegedly used by Rupnow.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Barnes said “identifying a motive is our top priority.” He said the motive appears to be a combination of factors, but he did not elaborate any further.

Advertisement

“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. “We may never know what she was thinking that day, but we’ll do our best to try to add or give as much information to our public as possible.”

While Rupnow had two handguns, Barnes said he does not know how she obtained them and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.

No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged in relation to the shooting.

Police were speaking with Rupnow’s father and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching Rupnow’s home, Barnes said. He declined to offer additional details about the shooter, partly out of respect for the family.

Rebekah Smith, whose 17-year-old daughter is a student at the Abundant Life Christian School, told Fox News that she and her husband knew all the victims and their families.

Advertisement
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School

Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Smith said the teacher who was killed had a daughter who was in sports with the Smiths’ daughter, and they talked with the mother at the games all the time. 

She added that the victim had been a long-term substitute teacher at the school and just became a full-time teacher this year.

The school’s communication director, Barbara Wiers, said in a statement Wednesday evening that West worked as a substitute teacher for three years before accepting a position as the school’s substitute coordinator and an in-building substitute teacher.

She said Vergara had attended the school since kindergarten.

Advertisement

Fox News’ Greg Wehnerm, Stephen Sorace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Wisconsin

FBI links Carlsbad man to Wisconsin school shooting suspect

Published

on

FBI links Carlsbad man to Wisconsin school shooting suspect


A 20-year-old Carlsbad man has been ordered to surrender his guns after authorities said he communicated with the teenage girl suspected of committing a fatal school shooting in Wisconsin, allegedly expressing his own plans to carry out a deadly attack against a government building.

Police and FBI agents went to the home of Alexander Paffendorf on Tuesday night to seize his guns and ammunition after a San Diego Superior Court judge approved a gun violence restraining order, according to documents obtained by NBC 7.

The restraining order said, in part: “During an FBI interview, Paffendorf admitted to the FBI agents that he told Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building.”

Paffendorf was detained, but it was not clear if he was arrested.

Advertisement

The Carlsbad Police Department told NBC 7 on Wednesday night that “there is no threat to the Carlsbad community at this time.”

The FBI’s San Diego office declined to comment.

On Monday, 15-year-old Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow allegedly fatally shot a teacher and a student and wounded six other people at Abundant Life Christian School, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Rupnow was later found dead at the scene with what were believed to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending