Madison school shooter pictured with shotgun at firing range just months before her deadly rampage
Natalie Rupnow, 15, shot clay pigeons while wearing a t-shirt similar to one closely associated with Columbine mass shooter Eric Harris
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The father of school shooter Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, who killed two people and wounded six others at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, encouraged the 15-year-old 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 replied. “We joined NBSC this spring and we have been loving all [sic] every second of it!”
The North Bristol Sportsman’s Club, or NBSC, is located in Sun Prairie, a suburb of 35,000 roughly 20 miles northeast of Madison. Individual memberships cost $75 yearly, and family memberships go for $90, plus an annual rifle/pistol range premium of $25. The NBSC youth program welcomes kids as young as 9, according to the club’s website.
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.
“From the beginning, our music has been a statement against war, oppression, fascism and violence against others,” the band announced, before making reference to the fact that the Columbine shooting took place on April 20th, the same day the band’s latest album was released — which also happened to be the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
“[N]one of us condone any Nazi beliefs whatsoever,” the announcement said.
Police still have not determined a motive, but Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters on Tuesday that investigators are looking into a “combination of factors,” including the possibility that Rupnow had been bullied. Jeff and Melissa Rupnow, who was also unable to be reached, are reportedly cooperating with police.
In the aftermath of Monday’s unthinkable events, police raided the Rupnow home in Madison’s Sherman Village neighborhood, approaching the three-bedroom house in an armored vehicle and forcing their way inside using flash-bang grenades.
Adam De Wilde, who lives directly across the street and watched the whole thing happen, at first thought he was witnessing a drug bust. Only later did he find out his teenage neighbor, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before police responded to the Abundant Life school, had been behind the killings that immediately cast a pall over the Midwestern college town.
“I’ve talked to a couple of [other] neighbors, and it’s just sadness,” De Wilde told The Independent. “It’s just sad to think that a kid woke up in the morning and grabbed a gun and went to school, and they’re your neighbor.”
His wife, Suzy De Wilde, said she has no choice but to gaze out at the Rupnow residence on a very regular basis.
“Every day, I wash my dishes and I see that house,” she said. “It’s f*****g crazy that that’s where the shooter lived… Every day, I get to look at that front door now. How do you live with these reminders everywhere?”
President Joe Biden, who is a month away from the end of his single term in office, called Monday’s shooting “shocking and unconscionable.”