Madison police arrested the father of the 15-year-old Abundant Life Christian School shooter Thursday morning.
Jeffery Rupnow, the 42-year-old father of Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, was arrested at 3:45 a.m. on May 8 and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a child and two counts of providing a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 resulting in death. All charges alleged against Rupnow are felonies in the state of Wisconsin. Information regarding his arrest was made public at 1 p.m. when the arrest warrant was unsealed.
The December 16 shooting resulted in the deaths of Abundant Life teacher Erin West and freshman Rubi Vergara, as well as Natalie Rupnow.
“Many continue to ask about the motive of this case. Why would a 15-year-old open fire in her school, murder a teacher, classmates and injure six others? We may never fully understand that motive,” said Acting Madison Police Chief John Patterson.
Chief Peterson revealed details into the five-month investigation after the school shooting. Known is the shooter’s fascination with weapons and school shootings. Police recovered writings that included a manifesto titled “War against humanity” along with other documents, drawings and videos that detailed her interest in mass violence.
“The items recovered were disturbing,” Patterson said. “They were alarming and would have led any average person to the conclusion of violence.”
Police shared details of the firearms used and its source. Two guns — a nine millimeter and .22 caliber handguns with magazines and ammunition — came from Jeffery Rupnow who purchased the firearms legally in Dane County. There was a gun safe in the home, but it did not prevent Natalie from accessing the firearms, Patterson said.
Police also revealed details of the timeline on the day of the shooting. Natalie overslept and took a ride share to school. She arrived at 10:39 a.m. and went into the main office. Afterwards, she stopped at a locker and spent time in the restroom before opening fire.
Gunshots were first heard at 10:54 a.m.; officers were dispatched at 10:57. The first officer on scene arrived at 11 a.m. and immediately entered the building. Natalie Rupnow shot into a study hall class where five were injured along with a teacher in the adjacent room. One injured in the shooting still remains hospitalized.
“One of the injured students in the room quickly grabbed a gun that was used and hid it in a nearby desk drawer,” Chief Johnson said. “The true heroes of that day were the students in the school, the classmates and every employee of the ALCS. You all showed courage and compassion to one another during your darkest day.”
The criminal complaint against Jeffery Rupnow mentioned Natalie’s concerning “high-risk” online behavior dating to 2022. The department notified him of the behavior in June of that year.
Chief Patterson declined to answer further questions as to whether Rupnow knew of his daughter’s infatuation with guns.
Combating gun violence shouldn’t be political, Madison’s Mayor said
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway lamented the tragedy while taking a stance over the avoidability of further instances of gun violence.
“There are a number of common sense rules and regulations that this state and our federal government could pass tomorrow that have overwhelming support from the public,” Mayor Rhodes-Conway said. “This shouldn’t be political. The refusal to prioritize gun violence prevention only makes it harder for us at the local level, police chiefs, their staff and our families to keep our communities safe.”
She lobbied for the personal responsibility of gun owners to combat gun violence. She encourages gun safes and gun locks to keep “guns from falling into the wrong hands.”
Ruponow did have a gun safe, but Madison police are not aware whether Natalie had access to the safe or knew the code to unlock it.
