The 15-year-old shooter who killed a teacher and a student in a shooting at a private K-12 school in Madison, Wisconsin, had a “turbulent homelife,” according to reports.
Police identified Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow as the shooter at the Christian school, but have yet to reveal a motive following the deadly attack at Abundant Life Christian School around 11 a.m on Monday.
Six people were taken to nearby hospitals after the shooting with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening. The victims have not yet been identified.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Rupnow’s motive may have been a “combination of factors” and that police were talking to students to determine whether Rupnow had been bullied.
The teenager was reported to have had a difficult life at home, according to court documents seen by the Washington Post. Rupnow’s parents, Melissa and Jeff Rupnow, divorced and remarried multiple times, and their daughter was in therapy, The Post reported.
Facebook photos surfaced Tuesday of Rupnow at a firing range pointing a gun and wearing a t-shirt similar to one worn by the Columbine killer Eric Harris. Harris and classmated Dylan Klebold fatally shot 12 students and a teacher and wounded 24 others at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in 1999.
Harris was fond of wearing shirts featuring graphics from the KMFDM German rock band, which was originally known as Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, which loosely translates to “no pity for the majority.” Rupnow also wore a KMFDM shirt when she was photographed with the gun.
Who is the suspected shooter?
Rupnow was encouraged by her father to practice her weapons-handling skills in the months leading up to Monday’s bloodshed, according to a review of his online activity.
In August, Jeff Rupnow – who was unable to be reached on Tuesday – posted a photograph on Facebook of what appears to be his shotgun -wielding daughter shooting clay pigeons at a local gun club.
“Is that kiddo?” a friend commented.
“Sure is!!!!” Rupnow, the father of one, replied. “We joined NBSC this spring and we have been loving all [sic] every second of it!”
In the photo on her father’s Facebook page, Natalie Rupnow is wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the venerable German electro-industrial band KMFDM.
The top is similar to ones worn by teenage mass shooter Eric Harris, who in 1999, with classmate Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 15 students at Littleton, Colorado’s Columbine High School.
After the Columbine massacre, the members of KMFDM — which stands for Kein Mehrheit für die Mitleid, which translates to “No Pity for the Majority” — condemned the bloodshed, calling themselves “sick and appalled” by what had happened.
‘Turbulent’ home life
Court documents show that Rupnow had a “turbulent” home life, according to the Washington Post.
Natalie Rupnow’s parents, Melissa and Jeff Rupnow, reportedly divorced and remarried multiple times. Their daughter enrolled in therapy to guide her through their custody arrangements, according to the newspaper.
The paper reported that the documents point “to an unsettled childhood for Rupnow, whose parents’ custody agreements sometimes forced her to move between their homes every two or three days.”
They reportedly divorced for the first time in 2014 and agreed to joint legal custody of their daughter. It was agreed that she would primarily live with her mother.
They remarried in 2017 and divorced for a second time in 2020. They were to divide custody of Natalie evenly, the court records reportedly show.
After they split up for the second time, they briefly remarried again. By April 2021, they were petitioning for a third divorce, the Post reports.
The Post was unable to reach Melissa Rupnow or Jeff Rupnow, who are both reported to be cooperating with police.
The teen’s father was speaking with police Monday evening, in what Barnes called a “long conversation.”
“We have no reason to believe they have committed a crime at this time,” Barnes said on Monday of the family.
The chief urged the public to disregard fast-moving, unverified online speculation that the shooter was transgender.
“I dont think that whatever happened today has anything to do with how she, or he, or they may have wanted to identify,” Chief Barnes said. “I wish people would kind of leave their own personal biases out of this. We have people who have yet another school shooting in Madison. That’s where my focus will be for the very near future.”
Did the suspected shooter attend the school?
The suspected shooter attended Abundant Life Christian School, according to police. Authorities said Rupnow was present at the school the morning of the shooting.
“We believe the shooter was at school,” Barnes. “We have no information that there was some kind of breach at the school.”
The private school, founded in 1978, has roughly 400 students. The school’s website describes it as a “community Christian school with the vision of providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment for families in the greater Dane County area.”
Who are the victims?
Officials said the victims were a student and a teacher at the school, though police have yet to release further identifying details about those killed and wounded.
Of the six people injured in the shooting, two are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, and four sustained non-life-threatening wounds, Barnes added.
Two of the four who sustained lesser injuries have been released from the hospital, Barnes said later on Monday.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Barnes added: “The Madison police department is committed to transparency and will continue to release information that can be used to improve public safety. This must be balanced against our commitment to the victims of this horrific crime and the need to do a thorough and complete investigation.
“I ask for you to keep the victims in your mind and respect their right to a thorough investigation.”
At the same conference Madison Mayor Satya-Rhodes Conway also snapped at reporters, telling them that it was “absolutely none of y’all’s buisness who was harmed,” after officials declined to identify the two victims. She also urged media outlets to have “human decency and respect” for the families involved.
How did the shooting take place?
The shooting took place inside of a study hall room where students of multiple grades were present. A second grade teacher was the one who called 911 and alerted police to the shooting.
Officers arrived at the school about three minutes after the 911 call and immediately entered the school.
What kind of weapon was used in the shooting?
A handgun was recovered at the scene of the shooting, Barnes said. Officials are working to trace the source of the weapon.
Police do not yet know how Rupnow obtained the weapon.
Has a motive been identified?
At a press conference on Tuesday, Barnes said that the motive behind the shooting appeared to have been a “combination of factors” that may have included bullying.
“Identifying a motive is our top priority, but at this time, it appears that the motive was a combination of factors,” he told reporters. “We cannot share that information at this time because we do not want to jeopardize the investigation and those who are currently cooperating with us.”
Barnes added that police were talking to students about whether bullying may have been a factor in the shooting.
Police said previously they do not know whether the shooting had a specific target.
Barnes also added that investigators were looking into Rupnow’s social media accounts. He said police were aware of a document being circulated on social media that had been referred to as a “manifesto,” but added that officials had not been able to verify its authenticity.
“We have detectives working today to determine where this document originated, and who actually shared it online,” he said.
How is the community reacting?
The shooting hit a community that has already seen mass gun violence this year, after a dozen people were wounded over the summer in a shooting at a rooftop party in Madison.
Satya-Rhodes Conway said on Monday the incident was “an incredibly sad day for our community” and a reminder of the need for reform to stop gun violence. “I am on record that I think we need to do better in our country and our community to prevent gun violence,” she said at a press conference. “And I hoped that this day would never come in Madison.”
Wisconsin congressman Representative Mark Pocan also posted an online message after the shooting.
“Thoughts and prayers without action means more school shootings, more dead kids. More ACTION is needed by our elected officials. And more BACKBONE to stand up to gun manufacturers,” he wrote on X. “This is uniquely a United States problem that doesn’t have to happen.”
Barnes said Monday: “We have to use our resources when we see things that may being going wrong or someone who may be going off the beaten path. That’s the charge really to our country now, and we have to do a better job of taking care of each other.”
He said that all of the children at the school had been reunited with their parents. “The children are now the latest group of survivors of a school shooting,” he noted.
Local residents were shocked by the shooting.
“I didn’t want to believe it. First I thought it was an accident,” Gary Herrmann, who lives nearby, told WMTV. “And then when I heard shooter, that’s when it really hit me.”
A vigil for the victims was held on Tuesday night on the grounds of the state’s capital, while tributes were placed outside the school.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. In the UK, people having mental health crises can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or jo@samaritans.org.
This article was amended after police clarified who made the initial 911 phone call.