Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow seen in first photos after killing 2 in Wisconsin Christian school shooting
The first photos have surfaced of the teen shooter who killed a student and teacher at a Wisconsin Christian school — and she’s wearing a T-shirt featuring a band favored by Columbine killer Eric Harris.
The photo of Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, a 15-year-old student at the K-12 Abundant Life Christian School, was posted on her father’s Facebook page and shows her at a shooting range wearing a shirt from the German band KMFDM.
Harris also wore one of the band’s T-shirts in public photos before he and Dylan Klebold went on to kill 13 people in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
Wisconsin school shooter Natalie Rupnow is seen in an undated Facebook photo posted by her father. Facebook/Jeff RupnowNatalie Rupnow at a shooting range wearing a shirt from the German band KMFDM. Facebook/Jeff Rupnow
The band’s acronym name loosely translates to “no pity for the majority,’’ Newsweek said.
As with Harris and Klebold, Rupnow turned the gun on herself and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after her rampage Monday.
The picture of her in the shirt has raised speculations that Rupnow may have been inspired by the Columbine massacre, but police are still working to uncover her motive.
Police walk outside the Abundant Life Christian School following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Madison, Wis. APPolice said the 15-year-old student brought a handgun to campus and opened fire around 11 a.m. inside a classroom during study hall. WTMJ-TVSWAT teams raided Rupnow’s family’s home on Monday night, conducting a thorough search inside, WISN reported. WTMJ-TVThe home is about eight miles from the school, according to officials. WTMJ-TVOfficials said the father of the suspected shooter allowed them entry with consent. WTMJ-TVRupnow opened fire inside a classroom during a study hall filled with students from different grades. WTMJ-TVMadison Police Chief Shon Barnes (not pictured) questioned how Rupnow was able to get her hands on the gun leading up to the deadly school shooting. JEFFERY PHELPS/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockParents rush to the scene of Monday’s shooting in Wisconsin to grab their kids. Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesSchool children walk past police tape as they are escorted away from the scene of a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Dec. 16, 2024. JEFFERY PHELPS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Other photos on her dad’s Facebook page show her happily romping in the leaves with two dogs.
Police said Rupnow brought a handgun to the Madison campus and opened fire at around 11 a.m. inside a classroom during study hall.