Madison police chief: Authorities investigating how 15-year-old school shooter obtained gun

Police in Madison, Wis., are investigating how the 15-year-old school shooter obtained a handgun.

Police Chief Shon Barnes, in an interview Tuesday morning with CNN’s John Berman, said partners at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are expediting a trace form “to determine the origin of that weapon, who purchased it, and how it got from a manufacturer all the way into the hands of a 15-year-old girl.”

“These are questions that’s going to take some time to answer,” Barnes continued. “We‘re fully committed to getting the answer to that.”

Barnes said police do not know yet whether the handgun belonged to, or was in the possession of, the shooter’s parents. But he said the parents have been cooperative and there is no sign, as of Tuesday morning, that the parents were involved in any sort of planning of the incident.

“We will certainly look at all facts and aspects of this case,” Barnes said about whether the parents could face charges in connection to the shooting. “As they were voluntarily giving information, that certainly helps to determine, you know, if they were involved or if they were, if this was pre-planned.”

Barnes said he did not want to speculate further until authorities have more information.

“We also want to look at if the parents may have been negligent,” he added. “And that’s a question that we‘ll have to answer with our district attorney‘s office, but at this time, it does not appear to be the case.”

Barnes said police were aware of a so-called “manifesto,” or letter, that was posted online by someone who alleged to be the shooter’s friend. He added that police would focus on getting in touch with that person on Tuesday.

Police will also review personal communications that the shooter had with her friends to help determine what extent of planning was involved.

Barnes said he thinks it’s important for the public to take steps to prevent weapons from ending up in the hands of young children.

“I do not believe that 15-year-olds should have access to weapons that they can bring to school, and potentially hurt someone,” Barnes said. “We really have to do a better job, not only in our communities, but in our country, with making sure that our young folks do not have access to weapons and firearms, and certainly making sure that we‘re paying attention to the mental health of our children.”

“There‘s a lot of work that we need to do so that we cannot be having these conversations again and again and again on CNN and other news outlets,” he added.

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