Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, a 15-year-old student, killed two people, injured six others, and took her own life during a shooting in Wisconsin, USA, on Monday (December 16). Police are investigating her troubled home life, marked by her parents' multiple divorces and custody battles. Court records revealed a history of therapy and frequent moves between homes, while her father’s social media posts showed her involvement in shooting sports.
Highlights
- Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, killed two and injured six in a Wisconsin, USA school shooting.
- Troubled by a family life involving divorces and custody battles, Natalie's life is being investigated.
- Court records highlighted frequent therapy sessions and moving homes.
Trigger warning: school shooting, suicide – Rupnow, who went by Samantha, was identified as the shooter in Monday’s deadly attack that occurred at Abundant Life Christian School, a private Christian school located in Madison, Wisconsin.
Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, a 15-year-old student, killed two people, injured six others
Image credits: Scott Olson/Getty Images
A staff member and another student were killed in the attack, while six others were injured, including two students hospitalized in critical condition, CNN reported on Thursday (December 19).
Rupnow was subsequently found dead when officers responded to the school shooting. Evidence reportedly suggests she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Information about Rupnow’s upbringing has since come to light.
The 15-year-old reportedly came from a troubled home life that included long bouts in therapy, while her parents, Jeff Rupnow and Mellissa Rupnow, divorced and remarried multiple times, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday (December 17).
By July 2022, after three divorces, Rupnow’s parents agreed to share custody, with her living mostly with her father.
Image credits: bpthaber
Rupnow's Facebook profile showed several happy memories of him and M. Rupnow bringing their daughter home from the hospital when she was born in 2009, a day at the beach in 2015, and supporting Rupnow at a martial arts contest two years later, The Daily Mail reported on Wednesday (December 18).
Nevertheless, Rupnow often had to move between homes, changing her bedroom every two to three days, as per a custody agreement.
She took her own life during a shooting in Wisconsin, USA on Monday (December 16)
Image credits: Jeff Rupnow
Rupnow had been previously married and divorced, and she had another daughter, aged 20, with a different man to whom she was never married, according to The Mail.
Rupnow was reportedly enrolled in therapy, which was supposed to help her make decisions about which parent she would spend her weekends with.
Custody papers from 2022 said: “The parents report a generally positive co-parenting relationship and will continue to communicate with one another by text messages and phone conversations.”
Image credits: Jeff Rupnow
Rupnow’s social media activity unveiled more insights into his daughter’s life. In particular, one photograph taken at a shooting range showed Rupnow wearing a black top emblazoned with the name of the band KMFDM, The Mail reported.
KMFDM has been associated with school shootings after Columbine killer Eric Harris also wore their merchandise before the 1999 massacre.
KMFDM is an industrial rock band whose music often explores dark themes, though the band has condemned violence and denied promoting it.
Police are investigating her troubled home life, marked by her parents' multiple divorces and custody battles
Image credits: Jeff Rupnow
Rupnow confirmed his daughter was in the photo and mentioned they had joined the North Bristol Shooting Club (NBSC) in the spring, enjoying their time there.
The NBSC is a gun club in Sun Prairie, near Madison, with family memberships available for $90 per year.
J. Rupnow is currently cooperating with police as they try to find a motive for the tragedy as well as how the teen accessed the weapon she used, believed to be a 9mm handgun, The Mail reported.
Image credits: Jeff Rupnow
It has also been reported that two guns were recovered at the school, but only one was used in the shooting.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives completed its data trace and provided it to police, but they are not providing any information on the guns “as it could jeopardize our investigation,” CNN reported.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference late Monday: “At this time, it appears that the motive was a combination of factors.
Court records revealed a history of therapy and frequent moves between homes
Image credits: Jeff Rupnow
“Some have asked if people were specifically targeted. Everyone was targeted in this incident, and everyone was put in equal danger.”
Authorities are aware, the chief said, of a “document” that had “been widely shared on social media,” CNN reported.
Barnes added: “At this time we cannot verify its authenticity. We have detectives working today to determine where this document originated and who actually shared it online.”
Image credits: Jeff Rupnow
Police said in an update Wednesday that authenticating the document “involves identifying whether the original document exists on the suspect’s personal devices, such as a cell phone or laptop, and appears to have been originally created on a device they own,” as per CNN.
The document believed to have been posted by Rupnow online paints a vivid picture of a troubled teenager, The Australian reported on Wednesday.
It read: “I’ve grown to hate people and society; it’s truly not my fault though, it never was.
A document believed to have been posted by Rupnow online paints a vivid picture of a troubled teenager
Image credits: Jeff Rupnow
“But all you and the world have done to me … tease me; you’ve pushed me into a corner with no help whatsoever.”
It further blamed Rupnow’s parents, stating: “My parents are sc*m; there is nothing that will save them to make me think good of them ever again.
“Nobody knows I’m doing this, I got the weapons by lies and manipulation and my father’s stupidity.
Image credits: Jeff Rupnow
“I planned on shooting myself a while ago but thought maybe it’s better for evolution rather than just one stupid, boring suicide.
“I’ve planned this myself and nobody else. I act alone.”
Police are also reportedly examining Rupnow’s online activity. Consequently, a deleted account on the social media site Tumblr has been linked to Rupnow.
Rupnow was identified as the shooter in Monday’s deadly attack that occurred at Abundant Life Christian School
Image credits: Andy Manis/Getty Images
The Tumblr page reportedly featured a video of Adam Lanza, who shot dead 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, playing a video game.
The same account posted a photo appearing to show the account’s owner receiving a handgun for their birthday, as per The Australian.
Moreover, officials are reportedly not releasing “specifics about these social media accounts,” but Barnes encouraged anyone who knew the shooter or had insight into her feelings prior to the shooting to contact investigators.
Mackynzie Wilson, a sophomore at Abundant Life Christian School whose locker was next to the shooter’s, said she “didn’t expect that from her.”
Image credits: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Wilson said: “She was really quiet. She didn’t really have any friends and she just seemed really lonely.
“It wasn’t like she was trying to fit in. She seemed very content being alone.”
Rupnow had been communicating with a man from California who was allegedly planning an attack on a government building, the Associated Press (AP) reported Wednesday.
A California judge issued a restraining order on Tuesday against the 20-year-old man under the state’s gun red flag law, effective until December 23, with a hearing scheduled for January 3, according to the AP.
Rupnow was found dead when officers responded to the school shooting
Image credits: CBS Evening News
The state's gun red flag law allows authorities to remove firearms from individuals deemed a threat.
The order, obtained by the AP, revealed that the man had communicated with Rupnow about a potential attack.
Additionally, he was reportedly plotting a mass shooting with Rupnow and told FBI agents he intended to use explosives against a government building, although he did not specify the target or timing of the attack.
“I do not know if she planned it that day or if she planned it a week prior,” Barnes said of the Rupnow. “To me, bringing a gun to school to hurt people is planning. And so we don’t know what the premeditation is.”
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