Police records connect California man to teen suspect in Wisconsin school shooting

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A judge in San Diego has granted a protective order against a Carlsbad, California man who authorities say was communicating with the suspect in Monday's Madison, Wisconsin school shooting, Natalie "Samantha" Rupnow.

The lush foothills of Carlsbad, California, are 2012 miles from Madison, Wisconsin. The ABC7 I-Team has obtained law enforcement records stating a 20-year-old Pacific coast man had been "plotting a mass shooting" with the Wisconsin teenager who did just that. The astonishing connection is explained in a protective order issued by law enforcement. Now, several police agencies from the Midwest to the Southland are trying to connect the dots.

Carlsbad Police filed the application for a gun violence emergency protective against Alexander Charles Paffendorf in San Diego County Superior Court Tuesday after FBI agents "stopped and detained" him "after he was discovered plotting a mass shooting with the Madison Wisconsin shooter, Natalie "Samantha" Rupnow."

"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," a Carlsbad police officer wrote on the protective order application form.

"FBI agents saw the messages from Paffendorf to Rupnow," the officer stated.

Government buildings in Southern California were not assaulted according to federal agents, but Rupnow's deadly siege on the Wisconsin school was.

SEE ALSO: Police investigating Madison, WI school shooting suspect's 'turbulent home life'

It was a police raid on a condo in Carlsbad, a tony coastal town north of San Diego. Alexander Paffendorf was stopped and detained Tuesday by FBI agents, according to a gun violence emergency protective order.

"I pulled in and they had their full guns out all over the street. There's cop cars, there's about 15 cops here, I'd say," said resident Alex Gallegos.

Paffendorf "was discovered plotting a mass shooting" with the Madison, Wisconsin, shooter Natalie "Samantha" Rupnow. She is the 15-year-old who attacked Abundant Life Christian School Monday and opened fire with a 9mm pistol. Rupnow died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene of Monday's shooting.

The FBI has declined to comment on the matter.

RELATED: 2 victims killed in Madison, Wisconsin school shooting identified by authorities

It could be a crime for somebody to communicate about committing a mass murder if the other person then goes out and does it, according to former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago and ABC7 chief legal analyst, Gil Soffer. He says because of the threats, authorities are looking for guns that Paffendorf may have, but he could end up being charged in the school attack.

"If this person in California directed her to commit the crime, or conspired with her to commit this crime; doesn't matter if he reaches that agreement with her, makes those statements to her, an inch away from her face or 1000s of miles away by email or text, it's still a crime," Soffer told the I-Team.

The restraining order requires Paffendorf to "surrender all firearms, ammunition and magazines" to a law enforcement agency or "sell them to or store them with a licensed firearms dealer" within 48 hours of receipt of the order.

A hearing is scheduled on the matter on Jan. 3, 2025.

The FBI, police in California, and in Wisconsin, are not offering any details on this latest development. Law enforcement is not even confirming whether Paffendorf is actually in custody or whether criminal charges are being prepared against him, in the Madison case or in the California threats. This much is known: the West Coast man and the Midwestern teenager were in communication with each other discussing an attack before the school mass shooting.

ABC News contributed to this report.