Fifteen-year-old Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow went to her Madison, Wisconsin school as usual on Monday morning and waited three hours before pulling out a handgun and opening fire at students and teachers.
She killed a teacher and a fellow student in the rampage and left six injured. Four were taken to hospital, with two left in critical condition.
Rupnow was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound after police arrived on the scene, and died in the ambulance on the way to hospital.
They arrived three minutes after a second grader reported an active shooter at the Abundant Life Christian School at 11am yesterday, as students braced under their drilled lockdown procedures.
The shooting prompted an outpouring of grief in the community and calls from President Biden to enact gun-control legislation to prevent further massacres.
Similar calls have gone unheeded after almost every school shooting in recent memory.
But as investigators try to piece together exactly what happened yesterday morning, several unanswered questions remain for police to address.
Police arrived three minutes after receiving the report of an active shooter at the school
The shooter, who went by the name Samantha, opened fire on a room full of students from various grades, according to Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes (Students leave on Monday)
Police on the scene of the house of Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow in Madison, Wisconsin
What was Natalie Rupnow’s motive?
Investigators are still working to establish for Rupnow’s Monday morning assault on the Christian school in Madison.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said on Monday night that a motive for the attack was not immediately known, and that it was not clear if the victims were targeted.
Three people, including the shooter, were killed in the attack. Six were injured. Two were left in critical condition, and three students and a teacher suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Two people were discharged from SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital Madison last night.
Barnes said police were talking with the shooter’s father and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching the shooter’s home.
‘He lost someone as well,’ Barnes said of the shooter’s father. ‘And so we’re not going to rush the information. We’ll take our time and make sure we do our due diligence.’
Police raided Rupnow’s family home eight miles away from the school on Monday night, with SWAT teams deploying stun grenades on the property.
Rupnow is alleged to have left behind a manifesto shared widely online, which investigators are now sifting through – but are yet to confirm its veracity.
A law enforcement source told CNN that Rupnow ‘had been dealing with problems and expressed some of those in writings, which they are now reviewing.’
Did Natalie Rupnow want to die?
Police arrived on the scene three minutes after they received the report of an active shooter at the school and found Rupnow, having sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police recovered a handgun and Rupnow was pronounced dead in the ambulance en route to the hospital.
Police are still working to verify a manifesto attributed to Rupnow.
Screenshots purported to have been taken from Rupnow’s Spotify account and shared online included playlists titled ‘Suicidal’ and ‘Kill me wtf’.
Nora Gottsckalk, eight, was in the hallway of Abundant Life Christian School in Madison just before 11am, getting ready for lunch, when cops say Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow opened fire
Police lead pupils after the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, on Monday
Law enforcement officers stand at the site of Monday’s shooting which left three, including the shooter, dead
How did Natalie Rupnow get hold of the weapon?
Rupnow waited three hours before pulling out a 9mm pistol and attacking her fellow students and teachers, an official told AP.
Police recovered the weapon after the attack but are still working to establish how she got hold of it.
Cops also confirmed that shooter Rupnow was not on their radar and had no prior interactions with her before Monday.
Barnes said the suspect’s home had been searched on Monday – and police are seeking additional search warrants.
It has not yet been confirmed if Rupnow’s family were gun owners.
Did Natalie Rupnow have a boyfriend?
Police have not commented publicly on Rupnow’s relationships, except to say the family are cooperating with their investigation.
But one social media user claimed to have spoken to Rupnow’s alleged boyfriend, understood to have shared a manifesto police are now trying to verify.
‘We haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic. We’re certainly aware that it’s been posted and the person who posted it, alleged to have a connection with the victim,’ Barnes said of the document.
The social media user said only that they had spoken with the ‘alleged boyfriend’ of Rupnow, who said they knew her by Samantha, not Natalie.
The user cited the ‘alleged boyfriend’ in dispelling rumors Rupnow was transgender, and said they had directed them to the alleged manifesto.
‘Her boyfriend says the photo that is making the rounds is not how he remembers her, and believes it was somewhat edited “to make her look worse,”‘ they claimed.
Barnes said the suspect’s home had been searched on Monday – and police are seeking additional search warrants
People are seen at a reunification center after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison
Children prepare to board a bus bound for the reunification center to meet their parents after the shooting on December 16
Was Natalie Rupnow transgender?
Amid wide speculation on social media as to the shooter’s motive and identity, Chief Barnes told a press conference resolutely that rumors were not helping the probe.
‘I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,’ he said.
‘I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify.’ He added that it didn’t really matter for the time being and that it was ‘just not helping.’
‘For what we’re doing right now, today, literally eight hours after a mass shooting in a school in Madison, it is of no consequence at this time (what gender the shooter was),’ he said.
He also claimed that he had no knowledge of any previous interactions with Rupnow: ‘I think if there were, we certainly would have had some type of intervention, but I’m not aware of that.’