The young shooter behind Monday’s shooting at a Wisconsin school may have been inspired by the perpetrators of the Columbine massacre, as authorities revealed a “combination of factors” may have led to the tragedy.
“There are always signs of a school shooting before it happens […] We study his online activity, [parlons à] everyone who knew her or who may have an idea of what she was feeling or what she was going through at that time,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a press conference. Tuesday, according to CBS News.
On Tuesday, police authorities in Wisconsin revealed the identity of the 15-year-old shooter, identified as Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, who attended the private Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, where she allegedly opened fire on Monday.
The shooting reportedly cost the lives of a student and a teacher, while six other people – five classmates and a teacher – were injured during the assault. Among them, two are still in critical condition in hospital.
For her part, the perpetrator of the attack died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, Madison police said, according to CBS News.
At present, police authorities are trying to identify the motive behind the attack, which did not appear to target any specific person, the police chief continued.
“It appears the motive was a combination of factors,” Shon Barnes said. Everyone was targeted in this incident and everyone was exposed to the same danger.”
Students were met to try to determine if the shooter could have been the victim of intimidation, and if this could have played a role in the outcome.
At the same time, photos of Natalie Rupnow, who used the first name Samantha, suggest that she could have been inspired by other perpetrators of shootings.
Screenshot taken from Facebook
Indeed, in one of the images published in August, we can see the young girl pointing a gun in a shooting range, dressed in a sweater similar to the one worn by Eric Harris, one of the killers in the shooting of Columbine, which claimed the lives of 13 people and injured 24 others at a Colorado high school in 1999, noted “The Independent”.
The latter was known for wearing t-shirts of the German rock band KMFDM (“Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid”, which translates to “no mercy for the majority”), according to the British media.
The group then spoke out to condemn the attack, saying they were “sick and dismayed” by what had happened, according to “The Independent”.
According to court documents obtained by the Washington Post, the young girl experienced a “turbulent” childhood as her parents divorced and remarried three times, forcing her to move between homes “every two or three days.” » at some point.
Police are reportedly continuing their investigation to try to determine how the girl obtained the weapon, while her parents are fully cooperating with the investigation, according to CBS News.
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