MILWAUKEE — According to the documents filed with the court, a man from California who is twenty years old has been held on suspicion of “plotting” to coordinate a mass shooting at a federal building in collaboration with the shooter who attacked the Madison school shooting.
Alexander Paffendorf, a resident of Carlsbad, California, was taken into custody by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as stated in an emergency gun violence restraining order that was examined by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by USA TODAY Network. Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, is accused of shooting up Abundant Life Christian School earlier this week, resulting in the deaths of a student and a teacher, as well as the injuries of six other individuals, according to the authorities in Wisconsin.
By Wednesday, CBS 8 was the first to report on the detention of the individual.
“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,” according to the official statement.
Following the directive, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation “saw the messages from Paffendorf to Rupnow.”
The Chief of Police of Madison, Shon Barnes, stated that he did not have any knowledge regarding the arrest that took place in California during an interview with the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday evening. He then addressed any questions to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Although asked for comment, a spokeswoman for the San Diego field office of the FBI declined to do so.To obtain a comment, USA TODAY attempted to get in touch with the Carlsbad Police Department on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the injunction was granted approval by a judge in San Diego. Paffendorf is required to hand over any firearms and ammunition that he may own, and he is prohibited from acquiring any additional firearms or ammunition.
It was not long after the judge approved the order that Paffendorf’s neighbors in Carlsbad witnessed more than a dozen police cars entering the apartment complex, as reported by CBS 8. “They had their full guns out all over the street,” a neighbor named Alex Gallegos said to the broadcaster regarding the situation. The police cars were present. About fifteen police officers are present if I had to guess.
There will be a hearing for Paffendorf on January 3rd, according to the calendar.
According to the authorities, Rupnow, a freshman at Abundant Life Christian School, took two handguns to school on Monday, but it appears that he only fired one of them during the incident.