The father of school shooter Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, who killed two people and injured six others at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, encouraged the 15-year-old to practice her weapons skills in the months leading up to her Monday’s bloodshedaccording to a review of his online activity.
In August, Jeff Rupnow — who could not be reached Tuesday — posted a photo on Facebook of what appears to be his daughter brandishing a shotgun shooting clay pigeons at a local gun club.
“Is he a kid?” a friend commented.
“Of course !!!!!” Rupnow replied. “We joined the CNB this spring and we all love [sic] every second!
The North Bristol Sportsman’s Club, or NBSC, is located in Sun Prairie, a suburb of 35,000 about 20 miles northeast of Madison. Individual memberships cost $75 per year and family memberships cost $90, plus an annual rifle/pistol shooting bonus of $25. NBSC’s youth program welcomes children as young as 9 years old, according to the club’s website.
Natalie Rupnow, 15, seen here four months before fatally shooting a teacher and classmate at her Wisconsin school (Facebook/Jeff Rupnow)
In the photo on her father’s Facebook page, Natalie Rupnow wears a t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the venerable German electro-industrial group KMFDM. The top is similar to those worn by teenage mass shooter Eric Harris, who in 1999, along with classmate Dylan Klebold, gunned down 15 students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
After the Columbine massacre, members of the KMFDM — which means No majority out of pitywhich translates to “No Mercy for the Majority” – condemned the bloodshed, calling himself “sick and appalled” by what happened.
“From the beginning, our music has been a statement against war, oppression, fascism and violence against others,” the band announced, before referring to the fact that the Columbine shootings took place on the 20 April, the same day the group’s latest album was released. was released – which was also the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
“[N]one of us tolerates even the slightest Nazi belief,” the statement said.
Police still have not determined the motive, but Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters Tuesday that investigators are looking into a “combination of factors,” including the possibility that Rupnow was the victim of bullying . Jeff and Melissa Rupnow, who also could not be contacted, are said to be cooperating with police.
The t-shirt worn by Natalie Rupnow looks a lot like the one worn by one of the Columbine school shooters (Facebook/Jeff Rupnow)
Following the unthinkable events of Monday, police searched Rupnow’s house in Madison’s Sherman Village neighborhood, approaching the three-bedroom home in an armored vehicle and blasting their way inside using flash-bang grenades.
Adam De Wilde, who lives just across the street and witnessed everything that happened, initially thought he was witnessing a drug bust. Only later did he discover that his teenage neighbor, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before police responded to Abundant Life School, was behind the murders that immediately cast a pall over the Midwestern college town.
“I spoke to a few [other] neighbors, and it’s just sadness,” De Wilde said The Independent. “It’s just sad to think that a kid woke up in the morning, got a gun and went to school, and he’s your neighbor.”
His wife, Suzy De Wilde, said she had no choice but to visit the Rupnow residence very regularly.
“Every day I wash the dishes and I see this house,” she said. “It’s really crazy that this is where the shooter lived… Every day I look at this front door now. How do you live with these reminders everywhere?
President Joe Biden, who is a month away from the end of his only term, called Monday’s shooting “shocking and unconscionable.”
