Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow had disturbing fascination with other school shooters before her deadly rampage
Newly uncovered photos and online accounts purportedly associated with the Wisconsin teen school shooter suggest a deeply disturbing obsession with other school shooters such as Columbine killer Eric Harris — and even show her wearing a t-shirt of his favorite band.
A now-eerie snapshot of Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, was posted on her father’s Facebook page and shows her aiming a rifle at a shooting range wearing a shirt from the German industrial rock band KMFDM.
Harris was seen in photos also wearing one of the band’s T-shirts before he and Dylan Klebold went on to murder 13 people in the 1999 Columbine HS massacre.
The band’s acronym name loosely translates to “no pity for the majority.”
As with Harris and Klebold, Rupnow turned the gun on herself and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after her rampage, which killed another teenage student and teacher at the K-12 Abundant Life Christian School in Madison on Monday.
The online postings and picture of her in the shirt has raised speculation that she may have been inspired by the Columbine massacre — idolizing its fellow teen fiends — and other notorious school shooters. Police say they are still working to uncover her exact motives.
An X account believed to belong to Rupnow included a post shared within minutes of the time she opened fire featuring a person flashing the “OK” sign with their hand, a gesture linked to other school shooters, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The account also shared video from the 2015 Trollhattan, Sweden, school stabbing attack, and another disturbing post days before the Madison slayings includes a video of somebody committing suicide at a gun range, the outlet writes.
An account on social blogging platform Tumblr also believed to be connected to Rupnow features images of guns and other school shooting-related content, including a profile picture showing what appears to be a screenshot of surveillance footage from a shooting, authorities told ABC News.
The account also posted a picture of Parkland high school shooter Nicholas Cruz, and other posts mention a deadly 2007 school shooting in Jokela, Finland.
A CashApp account also reportedly linked to Rupnow features a picture of the Columbine shooters.
Her father, asked by a Facebook user if that was “Kiddo’’ in his shooting-range snapshot, replied, “sure is!!!!
“We joined NBSC this spring and we have been loving all every second of it!” the dad said.
Other photos on Rupnow’s dad’s Facebook page show her happily romping in the leaves with two dogs.
Police said she brought a handgun to the campus and opened fire at around 11 a.m. inside a classroom during study hall.
The shooting may have been partly caused by bullying, cops said Tuesday — while officials added it’s too early to tell if the killer’s parents could be charged with a crime.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the school shooting in Wisconsin
- Students reveal they don’t know what caused the shooting as they saw the events unfold
- Police identified Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow, 15, as the shooter
- Police say the shooter’s gender didn’t play a role amid rumors the shooter identified as transgender
- Photos of the shooter have now been released to the public
- Police still don’t have a clear answer as to what the motive was that led to the shooting
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters at a press conference that investigators are still working to determine what exactly motivated Rupnow to open fire on campus.
“There are always signs of a school shooting before it occurs,” the police chief said.
“We’re looking into her online activity,” he said. “We’re asking for anyone who knew her or may have insight into her feelings leading up to yesterday’’ to come forward.
“On the question of bullying, we’re talking to students to understand whether bullying was one of those multiple factors that I mentioned earlier,” he said.
Barnes said the department is still working to determine the authenticity of a “manifesto” widely circulating online that has been attributed to the shooter.
In the unconfirmed document, the writer says, “I’ve grown to hate people, and society, it’s truly not my fault though, it never was. but all of you and the world have done to me is pick and tease me, you’ve pushed me into a corner with no help whatsoever.”
Barnes said, “We haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic, we’re certainly aware that it’s been posted,” adding his department is working with the FBI to investigate the writings.
Questions remain how Rupnow managed to get her hands on the handgun used in the killings.
Wisconsin and federal law generally forbid anyone under 18 from possessing a firearm.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway noted that it was “far too early” to determine if Rupnow’s parents could wind up facing criminal charges, conceding, “We don’t know nearly enough yet.”
Barnes, addressing whether the shooter was targeting a specific person in her morning rampage, said, “Everyone was targeted in this incident, and everyone was put in equal danger.”
Early rumors surfaced after the shooting about Rupnow’s gender identity and whether she may have been transgender.
Barnes dismissed the discussion as not “important at all.
“I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And, quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,” he said Monday.
“I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify,” Barnes stated.
The comments came when he was asked about a flurry of unverified posts online claiming Rupnow was transgender, suggesting it played a part in the carnage.
The small Christian school she attended is staunchly conservative, rejecting the theory of evolution and claiming that local government is picked by God, according to its statement on faith.
“I wish people would leave their own personal biases,” the police chief complained of the rumors about Rupnow’s gender.
“We have lost members of our community. It’s something that may come out later, but for what we’re doing today, it is of no consequence at this time.”
Rupnow shot up a room filled with study-hall kids ranging in ages at the K-12 school, authorities said.
The status of six injured victims who were rushed to local hospitals remained “unchanged,” he said.
Two wounded teens were in “life-threatening” condition.
The other four people wounded are a part-time teacher and three students.
He also clarified a widely reported claim that a 911 call reporting the shooting from inside the school was placed by a second-grade student. In fact, the call was made by a second-grade teacher.
In a bizarre moment near the end of the press conference, Rhodes-Conway snapped at reporters when they asked questions about the victims.
“All right, I’m going to say this, and then we are done: It is absolutely none of y’alls business who was harmed in this incident,” she said.
“Please have some human decency and respect for the people who lost loved ones or were injured themselves or whose children were injured. Just have some human decency, folks! Leave them alone. Let them grieve, let them recover. Let them heal. Don’t feed off their pain.”
