On Thursday, in the aftermath of the school shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, we learned that this case may have a California angle. A San Diego-area man, one Alexander Paffendorf, has been detained in Carlsbad as part of the service of a gun violence emergency protective order.
A California man was detained by the FBI and ordered to have his guns temporarily seized after he allegedly communicated with the 15-year-old shooter who killed two people at her Wisconsin school, documents show.
The gun violence emergency protective order was served to Alexander Paffendorf, 20, in Carlsbad in San Diego County on Tuesday, according to the order, which was obtained by NBC San Diego.
The narrative of the order says the California man had communicated with Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, who police say opened fire Monday at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, which she attended,
The details of that communication have not been released. But the gun violence emergency order does have some details:
The FBI detained him “after he was discovered plotting a mass shooting with the Madison Wisconsin shooter,” a Carlsbad police officer wrote in the gun order.
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,” the Carlsbad officer wrote.
The FBI saw messages between him and Rupnow, the order says. It does not go into further detail about the communication or the alleged plans.
While agents entered Mr. Paffendorf’s residence and reports indicate that guns were reported and searched for, it is unclear at this point what kinds of guns, if any, were found or confiscated. From the admittedly scanty information that is as yet available, it’s unclear whether Paffendorf has taken any action that might justify criminal charges; simply communicating with someone who later turned out to be a mass shooter isn’t illegal in and of itself. Paffendorf may have said he would arm himself with explosives and a gun, but it’s unclear whether he took any steps.
There is no mention of any explosives being found in the premises where the gun violence emergency protective order was carried out.
Previously on RedState: NEW: Madison Shooting Suspect Identified As 15-Year-Old Student
BREAKING: 3 Dead, Including Shooter, in Madison, Wisconsin School Shooting (Updated)
The FBI has declined to comment on this new case, and as of this writing, there are no indications of any charges being filed against Paffendorf.
It’s not clear whether there are any criminal charges in the matter. None of the agencies mentioned criminal charges, and a spokesperson for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As part of the investigation into the Abundant Life Christian School shooting, police are looking into the social media accounts belonging to the shooter, Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow. This is presumably where the connection to Alexander Paffendorf was developed, although this is not explicitly stated in the account. As of this writing, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has reportedly completed a trace of the guns used but has not released any information.
This is a developing story. We will bring you updates as events warrant.
