A California man linked to the Madison shooter may have plotted the attack himself

A Southern California man who was in contact with a Madison, Wis., school shooting student was allegedly planning to attack a federal building, according to records and media reports.

On Tuesday evening, a San Diego County Superior Court judge granted a gun violence prevention order against Carlsbad Police Department resident Alexander Paffendorf, according to online records reviewed by The Times. This is a civil action that allows law enforcement to confiscate weapons from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.

Carlsbad police did not respond to a request for comment or a copy of the original order filed Wednesday evening. However, a transcript obtained by CBS 8 shows the FBI arrested the 20-year-old after learning he was planning to shoot 15-year-old Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow.

Authorities say Rupnow shot and killed a teacher and a teenage student and wounded six others at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin on Monday, before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“During an FBI interview, Paffendorf admitted to the FBI that he told Rupnow that he was going to be armed with explosives and a gun and that he was going to head to the federal building,” the restraining order said, according to CBS 8.

In an online Q&A about the shooting, the Madison Police Department acknowledged a question “about a person arrested in California who may be connected to this shooting,” but referred all questions to the FBI. The office declined to comment on Paffendorf.

As of Wednesday evening, Paffendorf's name did not appear in San Diego County Sheriff's Office records kept online.

Shortly after the restraining order was approved, residents near Paffendorf's apartment reported seeing multiple police cars enter the area, CBS 8 reported.

Neighbor Alex Gallegos told the station that he saw about 15 police officers enter the building. They later left Paffendorf's house carrying what Gallegos said looked like a “black gun case.”

“I'm glad they're on it and they'll get to the bottom of it hopefully, before something bad happens here in our region,” he told the station.