FBI links Carlsbad man to Wisconsin school shooting suspect
Dec 18, 2024
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.
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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.
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.