Newly uncovered photographs and on-line accounts purportedly related to the Wisconsin teen college shooter recommend a deeply disturbing obsession with different college shooters equivalent to Columbine killer Eric Harris — and even present her carrying a t-shirt of his favourite band.
A now-eerie snapshot of Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, was posted on her father’s Fb web page and reveals her aiming a rifle at a capturing vary carrying a shirt from the German industrial rock band KMFDM.
Harris was seen in photographs additionally carrying one of many band’s T-shirts earlier than he and Dylan Klebold went on to homicide 13 individuals within the 1999 Columbine HS bloodbath.
The band’s acronym identify loosely interprets 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 one other teenage pupil and instructor on the Okay-12 Plentiful Life Christian Faculty in Madison on Monday.
The web postings and film of her within the shirt has raised hypothesis that she could have been impressed by the Columbine bloodbath — idolizing its fellow teen fiends — and different infamous college shooters. Police say they’re nonetheless working to uncover her actual motives.
An X account believed to belong to Rupnow included a put up shared inside minutes of the time she opened fireplace that includes an individual flashing the “OK” signal with their hand, a gesture linked to different college shooters, in line with the Anti-Defamation League.
The account additionally shared video from the 2015 Trollhattan, Sweden, college stabbing assault, and one other disturbing put up days earlier than the Madison slayings features a video of any individual committing suicide at a gun vary, the outlet writes.
An account on social running a blog platform Tumblr additionally believed to be related to Rupnow options pictures of weapons and different college shooting-related content material, together with a profile image displaying what seems to be a screenshot of surveillance footage from a capturing, authorities advised ABC Information.
The account additionally posted an image of Parkland highschool shooter Nicholas Cruz, and different posts point out a lethal 2007 college capturing in Jokela, Finland.
Observe The Submit’s protection of the college capturing in Wisconsin
A CashApp account additionally reportedly linked to Rupnow incorporates a image of the Columbine shooters.
Her father, requested by a Fb person if that was “Kiddo’’ in his shooting-range snapshot, replied, “certain is!!!!
“We joined NBSC this spring and we have been loving all every second of it!” the dad mentioned.
Different photographs on Rupnow’s dad’s Fb web page present her fortunately romping within the leaves with two canines.
Police mentioned she introduced a handgun to the campus and opened fireplace at round 11 a.m. inside a classroom throughout examine corridor.
The capturing could have been partly brought on by bullying, cops mentioned Tuesday — whereas officers added it’s too early to inform if the killer’s dad and mom may very well be charged with a criminal offense.
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes advised reporters at a press convention that investigators are nonetheless working to find out what precisely motivated Rupnow to open fireplace on campus.
“There are always signs of a school shooting before it occurs,” the police chief mentioned.
“We’re looking into her online activity,” he mentioned. “We’re asking for anybody who knew her or could have perception into her emotions main as much as yesterday’’ to return ahead.
“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 mentioned.
Barnes mentioned the division remains to be working to find out the authenticity of a “manifesto” broadly circulating on-line that has been attributed to the shooter.
Within the unconfirmed doc, the author 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 mentioned, “We haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic, we’re certainly aware that it’s been posted,” including his division is working with the FBI to analyze the writings.
Questions stay how Rupnow managed to get her arms on the handgun used within the killings.
Wisconsin and federal regulation typically forbid anybody below 18 from possessing a firearm.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway famous that it was “far too early” to find out if Rupnow’s dad and mom might wind up dealing with felony prices, conceding, “We don’t know nearly enough yet.”
Barnes, addressing whether or not the shooter was focusing on a particular individual in her morning rampage, mentioned, “Everyone was targeted in this incident, and everyone was put in equal danger.”
Early rumors surfaced after the capturing about Rupnow’s gender id and whether or not she could have been transgender.
Barnes dismissed the dialogue as not “essential in any respect.
“I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And, quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,” he mentioned Monday.
“I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify,” Barnes acknowledged.
The feedback got here when he was requested a few flurry of unverified posts on-line claiming Rupnow was transgender, suggesting it performed a component within the carnage.
The small Christian college she attended is staunchly conservative, rejecting the speculation of evolution and claiming that native authorities is picked by God, in line with its assertion on religion.
“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 crammed with study-hall children ranging in ages on the Okay-12 college, authorities mentioned.
The standing of six injured victims who have been rushed to native hospitals remained “unchanged,” he mentioned.
Two wounded teenagers have been in “life-threatening” situation.
The opposite 4 individuals wounded are a part-time instructor and three college students.
He additionally clarified a broadly reported declare {that a} 911 name reporting the capturing from inside the college was positioned by a second-grade pupil. Actually, the decision was made by a second-grade instructor.
In a weird second close to the tip of the press convention, Rhodes-Conway snapped at reporters once they requested questions concerning 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 mentioned.
“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.”
