Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow had turbulent life at home, involving her parents, Jeff and Melissa and was in therapy. Theory emerges whether a specific teacher had been the target during Madison, Wisconsin school shooting.
The 15-year-old teen girl who killed a teacher and a fellow teen classmate in a shooting at a private K-12 school in Madison, Wisconsin, before then taking her own life, had a ‘turbulent homelife,’ according to reports.
Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow is alleged to have fired gunshots at a study hall at at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison before 11am on Monday. Along with the two dead, six others were injured, two were said to be in ‘life-threatening’ condition.
At the time of the shooting, Rupnow had walked past school rooms with doors open, seemingly intent on making her way to the study hall, where mixed ages students congregated.
One of the parents at the school speculated that the regular study hall teacher, who was not there due to a ‘planned absence,’ may have been Rupnow’s target, according to Wisconsin Right Now.
‘We don’t know if her target was the original teacher or just the kids in the class. She would have had to walk by the door and the door was open,’ the parent told the outlet.
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.
The parent praised the teacher who died, a substitute for the study hall: ‘The teacher died protecting her class. Many more lives could have been taken. [Rupnow] sent off multiple rounds.’
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters it remained unclear if Rupnow had targeted anyone specifically.
‘Everyone was targeted in this incident. Everyone was put in equal danger.’
During 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.’
Authorities had yet to validate the authenticity of a manifesto purporting to belong to the suspect in which she despaired over a nihilistic society, expressed anger and hate towards her father along with citing the patriarchy for subjugating women and stating that ‘society needed to be rid of the scourge of men.’
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.
The paper reported that the documents pointed ‘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.
To date it remained unclear how the teen was able to acquire a 9mm pistol used in Monday’s shooting. Authorities had yet to comment on who the weapon may have belonged to.
Nevertheless questions remained over the judgement of the father and potential complicity after the parent in August sharing a photo of his 15 year old daughter at a local gun firing range, wearing a KMFDM shirt (as worn by other mass shooters) and expressing admiration for the teen’s shooting prowess.
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.
