Chilling detail in photo of teen shooter behind US school attack
An eerie photo has emerged of the teen girl behind a US school shooting, which left a teacher and another teenage student dead, and many others injured.
A chilling photo has emerged of the teenage girl who killed a teacher and a teenage student in a “shocking” attack on a US school.
Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha, 15, was identified by police as the shooter involved in Monday’s attack on Abundant Life Christian School, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Rupnow, who was a student at the private Christian school, sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital, police said.
An eerie photo shared by Rupnow’s father on Facebook in August, shows the 15-year-old at a gun range wearing a similar T-shirt worn by another US school shooter.
In the photo, Rupnow can be seen holding a rifle while wearing a black shirt promoting the German rock band KMFDM.
Eric Harris, one of the two shooters behind the Columbine High School attack, had been pictured wearing a similar KMFDM shirt before the 1999 shooting, which left 13 dead.
Rupnow’s father commented on the Facebook photo, revealing his daughter recently joined the North Bristol Sportsman’s Club in Sun Prairie.
“Is that Kiddo?” one person commented on the post.
“Sure is!!!! Joined NBSC this spring and we have been loving every second of it,” her father wrote.
A separate photo of teenager shared on Facebook shows Rupnow smiling and wrapping her arms around a dog in a backyard.
It comes as police continue to investigate the horror incident, which broke out before 11am on Monday, US time, inside a classroom in a study hall of students from mixed grades.
A teenage student and a teacher were killed in the shooting, while another teacher and five more students were wounded.
Two of the students are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Monday night.
An alleged manifesto espousing angry, hateful views is circulating online that some social media users claim belonged to Rupnow – but police have not yet been able to confirm that document.
“We haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic, we’re certainly aware that it’s been posted,”
Wisconsin Police Chief Shon Barnes, said, adding his department is working with the FBI to investigate the writings.
SWAT teams raided Rupnow’s family’s home on Monday night, busting through the front door and conducting a thorough search inside, WISN reported.
“Everyone was targeted”
Police said the motive behind the shooting appears to be “a combination of factors”.
Chief Barnes said police are talking to students to investigate if bullying played a part.
“Everyone was targeted in this incident, and everyone was put in equal danger,” he told reporters in his latest update on Tuesday.
Police believe the shooter had been at school at the start of the day.
“We have no information that there was some type of breach to the school,” Chief Barnes said.
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told CNN the shooter reportedly planned the attack in advance.
Numerous schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District were targeted by false threats a day after the shooting, police said.
“We do not believe that there are any current threats to any Madison area schools and we will continue to investigate these calls and any threats of violence as they come in,” he said.
Chief Barnes said the suspect’s father was speaking with police.
Second grade teacher called 911
Police confirmed a second grade teacher called 911 just before 11am to report the shooting.
Chief Barnes initially said on Monday it was a student who had alerted police but has since corrected the error.
Officers did not fire any shots after arriving at the school and found the juvenile suspect already dead, police said.
“When officers arrived they found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said earlier on Monday.
“Officers located a juvenile, who they believe is responsible for this, deceased in the building.”
By chance, police medics were on a training session in the city and rushed down to the school.
One student told CNN they heard “gunshots, then someone started crying”.
“I was scared, why did they do that? Why?”
In a statement on social media on Monday night, Abundant Life Christian School confirmed all surviving students were reunited with their families.
“We are grateful for all the support,” it wrote.
“We have been flooded with thoughts and prayers. This great nation is behind us.”
Female shooter “unusual”
Former senior FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole told CNN: “Having a female shooter is extremely unusual.”
One FBI study found women only made up about four per cent of active shooter incidents – defined as “an individual engaging in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area”.
According to the FBI list from 2000 to 2016, nine of the 220 incidents had female shooters, with women usually armed with handguns.
More recent data by the Statista Research Department found women only carried out four of the 145 mass shootings in the US since 1982.
“Act now”
US President released a statement condemning the “shocking and unconscionable” incident.
“It is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence. We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their class room,” he said in the statement.
“Students across our country should be learning how to read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover.”
Mr Biden, who will leave office next month, said his administration has taken “aggressive action” gun violence but argued “more is needed”.
“Congress must pass commonsense gun safety laws: Universal background checks. A national red flag law. A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” he continued.
“We can never accept senseless violence that traumatises children, their families, and tears entire communities apart.”
“Truly heartbroken”
Abundant Life Christian School requested prayers following the “active shooter incident”, in a post on social media on Monday morning.
“We will share information as we are able. Please pray for our Challenger Family,” the school wrote.
Many were quick to express their condolences and devastation in the comments.
“Praying for those poor kids … such a senseless act of violence right before Christmas. breaks my heart so much,” one person commented on the post.
“No words. I’m shattered,” another wrote.
“I am deeply saddened and truly heartbroken to hear about the shooting. This is an unimaginable tragedy,” said another.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers earlier said the community was “praying” for the students and staff at the school.
“We await more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond”.
The shooting took place just two days after the 12th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which left 26 people dead.
According to website the Gun Violence Archive, 648 people have died in the US in 2024 from 546 mass shooting incidents.
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