Chilling pic shows Natalie Rupnow, 15, at gun range wearing shirt ‘linked to Columbine shooters’ before school rampage
Her father shared a now-haunting message alongside the picture
THE teen girl who killed two and wounded six in a school shooting is seen practicing her shot at a gun range in a chilling photo – while wearing a T-shirt linked to the Columbine killers.
Natalie Rupnow, 15, turned the gun on herself after killing a teacher and student at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday.
Cops are now looking into a supposed manifesto Rupnow shared online before she stormed the Christian school with a 9mm pistol and gunned down kids and teachers.
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said they were unable to verify the veracity of the manifesto at this point, and said detectives were still working to determine where it came from.
“We ask that you not share the document or spread any information that may be false,” he said.
Rupnow’s motive remains a mystery but cops have said she was having problems at home and school.
Her parents are cooperating with the investigation, according to Chief Barnes.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Barnes said that the motive appeared to be “a combination of factors,” and said they were looking into whether “bullying” at the school was one of those.
He added that multiple false threat calls or “swatting” incidents had taken place in the past 24 hours.
An eerie photo shared by Rupnow’s father shows her at a shooting range earlier this year.
In the picture posted by Jeff Rupnow in August, the teen is aiming a gun while wearing a black T-shirt promoting the band KMFDM.
Eric Harris, one of the two Columbine school shooters, was seen wearing a similar KMFDM T-shirt ahead of the 1999 massacre that left 13 dead.
Under the photo of his daughter holding the firearm, Jeff Rupnow responded to a comment from a friend asking if it was his daughter in the picture.
Confirming it was, Jeff wrote, “Joined NBSC (North Bristol Shooting Club) this spring and we have been loving every second of it.”
The NBSC is a gun club in the suburbs of Madison that offers $90 annual family memberships, according to its website.
Jeff Rupnow shared a number of photos of his daughter on social media in recent years.
In one picture, the child smiles as she poses with her dogs, while another shows her taking part in a karate competition.
Emergency crews were called to the school just before 11 am local time on Monday, December 16 to reports of a shooting.
What we know…
- A female student shot two people and wounded six others before turning the gun on herself at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday.
- The killer was named as Natalie Rupnow, a 15-year-old girl who attended the school.
- Police haven’t uncovered her motive yet but they believe she was having difficulties at school and at home.
- Cops are probing a suspected “manifesto” she shared online shortly before the shooting.
- A chilling picture shows Rupnow at a gun range earlier this year in a shirt linked to the 1999 Columbine massacre.
- A Sandy Hook survivor condemned the violence in an interview with The U.S. Sun following another tragic school shooting.
Authorities say they found two students dead – including Rupnow – along with a teacher in a study hall in the school.
Six others were injured – two of them critically – and were rushed to nearby hospitals.
A second-grade teacher called 911 at 10.57 am to report the shooting, according to police.
Abundant Life Christian School shooting timeline
On December 16, a student at Abundant Life Christian School opened fire on the private K-12 school in Madison, Wisconsin. Below is a timeline of the events that unfolded:
10:57 am – A second-grade student calls 911 to report the shooting
11:00 am – Cops arrive on the scene and immediately enter the school
11:05 am – Cops find the shooter down and recover the gun
11:14 am – School is started to be cleared
11:20 am – Public safety alert is sent out to nearby phones
11:38 pm – Madison Police Department confirms multiple people are injured
12:15 pm – Cops hold a press conference and confirm three people are dead, including the shooter, and at least six others injured
12:38 pm – Abundant Life Christian School requests prayers on Facebook
2:30 pm – At a second press conference, cops confirm the shooter was a teen who attended the school
8:30 pm – Cops confirm shooter was student Natalie Rupnow, 15, who died while being transported to the hospital
COLUMBINE LINK
Cops are still putting together a picture of the suspected killer as they try to find a motive for the shooting.
Female shooters carry out fewer than one in 20 school shootings in the US.
Only nine female students have carried out school shootings since Columbine, according to a study from the Washington Post.
KMFDM is an industrial rock band idolized by Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
A website belonging to Harris featured lyrics by the band and speeches by Adolf Hitler.
At the time, the group released a statement denouncing Neo-Nazism and the shooting.
Police in Madison are still investigating whether Rupnow’s parents owned the gun used in the shooting.
The attack marks the 83rd school shooting in the US this year, topping the figure for 2023.
This means 2024 saw the single highest number of school shootings since 2008, when CNN began to track them.
DRAMATIC RAID
Cops raided a home in Madison in connection with the shooting on Monday afternoon.
Witnesses described hearing a sound like “a bomb going off” as a SWAT team forcibly removed the front door from its hinges.
Tactical teams with weapons drawn surrounded the home at around 1 pm local time in chaotic scenes.
A security perimeter with caution tape was set up around the home, reports local ABC affiliate .
Madison’s Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway spoke at Tuesday’s press conference, calling Monday’s shooting a “terrible and traumatic event.”
She called on the public to “avoid spreading misinformation,” and added that “there is so much that we do not know at this point.
A vigil for the victims will be held tonight in Madison at 6 pm local time.
