Local television journalists interviewed the youngest survivors of a school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, and asked them to describe their terror and panic after witnessing a teacher shot to death in front of their eyes.

Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, opened fire on children and staff at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday – raining bullets into the study hall before turning the gun on herself.

Nora Gottskalk, eight, was in the hallway getting ready for lunch before 11 a.m. when she saw a teacher she knew was injured.

“She screamed, ‘Oh my leg, help, help,'” the young girl told CNN affiliate WISC as she picked up a Spongebob ice cream after being reunited with her family.

A student and a teacher were declared dead, but horrified children as young as eight recounted the bloody massacre that unfolded before their eyes.

Rupnow died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital after being found at the scene of the accident with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Last night police searched her family’s home, eight miles from the school, and SWAT teams used stun grenades on the property.

Rupnow may have left behind a frightening manifesto that investigators are now reviewing – but the validity of which has not yet been confirmed.

“I was really scared and really sad,” she said.

Sixth-grader Alder Jean-Charles also recounted hearing two gunshots during English class at the small Christian school.

He recalled: “Some people started crying and then we just waited for the police to come and escort us out.” I was scared. Why did they do that?’

Students who survived the shooting were taken to the hospital to be reunited with their parents, and when Alder was reunited with his two brothers, they all cried and prayed together, his mother, Mireille Jean-Charles, said.

When asked if she was okay, the mother shook her head and burst into tears.

Mireille Jean-Charles said: “It’s sad to be at home and someone calls you and says your children’s school is on lockdown and there’s a shooting and you don’t know where they are.”

“Thank God they were safe, but the trauma is great because I’m sure they lost friends and teachers, which is not okay.”

“And I don’t think they’re going to be okay for much longer.”

Police received a 911 call at 10:57 a.m. Monday morning, and within three minutes, county sheriff’s officers arrived at the school, which serves about 420 students.

Seconds later, local police arrived as firefighters arrived at the scene and attended to the victims.

At 11:05 a.m. they said they found the shooter wounded and recovered the weapon. Rupnow was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital.

Two students are currently in hospital with life-threatening injuries and are said to be in critical condition.

A teacher and three other students were also hospitalized with less serious injuries. Two of them were released on Monday evening.

The victims have yet to be identified and family members have yet to be notified.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said a second-grader called 911 at the school.

A law enforcement source told CNN that Rupnow “have grappled with problems and expressed some of them in writings that they are now reviewing.”

A manifesto was posted on social media that police have not confirmed is linked to the teenager.

After the massacre in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday afternoon, the teen school shooter’s neighborhood was flooded with police.

Residents recalled that at least 10 police cars and a SWAT truck arrived at the 15-year-old’s home on Delaware Boulevard, eight miles from Abundant Life Christian School.

Stun grenades were thrown onto the property, causing lightning strikes to be heard across the street. A local resident told NBC that he and his wife went into the basement during the raid.

According to CNN affiliate WTMJ, the home’s main door was removed and the windows were damaged.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the suspect’s home was searched Monday – and police are looking for additional search warrants.

Police also confirmed that the shooter, Rupnow, was not on their radar and had no interactions with her before Monday, although they said an investigation would confirm this.

According to Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes, the shooter, named Samantha, opened fire on a room full of students in different grades.

It has not yet been confirmed whether Rupnow’s family, which is cooperating with the investigation, was a gun owner.

“The parents are cooperating fully. We have no reason to believe at this point that they have committed a crime,” Barnes said, before expressing her condolences for her father.

“He also lost someone. “So we’re not going to rush the information, we’re going to take our time and definitely do our due diligence.”

Regarding the alleged manifesto, Chief Barnes said at Monday night’s press conference, “A document about this shooting is currently circulating on social media, but we have not verified its authenticity.”

The chief also engaged in online speculation about the shooter’s gender or his possible status as a transgender person.

Barnes criticized speculation about Rupnow’s gender on social media after being asked about it.

“I don’t know if Natalie was transgender or not. And honestly, I don’t think it matters at all,” he said.

“I don’t think what happened today has anything to do with how he or she wants to identify.” He added that it doesn’t matter much for now and that it “just doesn’t help.”

“For what we’re doing today, literally eight hours after a mass shooting at a school in Madison, at this point it doesn’t matter (what gender the shooter was),” he said.

He also claimed he had no knowledge of previous interactions with Rupnow: “I think if there were, we certainly would have had some sort of intervention, but I’m not aware of that.”

Gov. Tony Evers said on X: “I am closely following the incident at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison.”

“We are praying for the children, educators and entire Abundant Life school community as we wait for more information and are grateful for the first responders who are responding quickly.”

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson said on

The school was just days away from closing for the Christmas break and students were preparing for Monday night’s basketball game.

After the shooting, Abundant Life Christian School posted a prayer request on Facebook.

“There was an active shooter incident at ALCS today. We are in the middle of tracking. “We will share information as widely as possible,” the school said.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the school shooting. Senior White House officials said they were in touch with local counterparts in Madison to provide support.

Mourners have gathered at nearby Blackhawk Church to pray for the victims and survivors.

Police confirmed that the shooter, Rupnow, was not on their radar and had no interaction with her to date, although they said an investigation would confirm this.