Chilling pic shows Natalie Rupnow, 15, at gun range wearing shirt ‘linked to Columbine shooters’ before school rampage
THE teen girl who killed two and wounded six in a school shooting is seen practicing her shot at a gun range in a chilling photo - while wearing a T-shirt linked to the Columbine killers.
Natalie Rupnow, 15, turned the gun on herself after killing a teacher and student at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday.
Cops are now looking into a supposed manifesto Rupnow shared online before she stormed the Christian school with a 9mm pistol and gunned down kids and teachers.
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said they were unable to verify the veracity of the manifesto at this point, and said detectives were still working to determine where it came from.
"We ask that you not share the document or spread any information that may be false," he said.
Rupnow's motive remains a mystery but cops have said she was having problems at home and school.
Her parents are cooperating with the investigation, according to Chief Barnes.
At Tuesday's press conference, Barnes said that the motive appeared to be "a combination of factors," and said they were looking into whether "bullying" at the school was one of those.
He added that multiple false threat calls or "swatting" incidents had taken place in the past 24 hours.
An eerie photo shared by Rupnow's father shows her at a shooting range earlier this year.
In the picture posted by Jeff Rupnow in August, the teen is aiming a gun while wearing a black T-shirt promoting the band KMFDM.
Eric Harris, one of the two Columbine school shooters, was seen wearing a similar KMFDM T-shirt ahead of the 1999 massacre that left 13 dead.
Under the photo of his daughter holding the firearm, Jeff Rupnow responded to a comment from a friend asking if it was his daughter in the picture.
Confirming it was, Jeff wrote, "Joined NBSC (North Bristol Shooting Club) this spring and we have been loving every second of it."
The NBSC is a gun club in the suburbs of Madison that offers $90 annual family memberships, according to its website.
Jeff Rupnow shared a number of photos of his daughter on social media in recent years.
In one picture, the child smiles as she poses with her dogs, while another shows her taking part in a karate competition.
Emergency crews were called to the school just before 11 am local time on Monday, December 16 to reports of a shooting.
What we know...
- A female student shot two people and wounded six others before turning the gun on herself at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday.
- The killer was named as Natalie Rupnow, a 15-year-old girl who attended the school.
- Police haven't uncovered her motive yet but they believe she was having difficulties at school and at home.
- Cops are probing a suspected "manifesto" she shared online shortly before the shooting.
- A chilling picture shows Rupnow at a gun range earlier this year in a shirt linked to the 1999 Columbine massacre.
- A Sandy Hook survivor condemned the violence in an interview with The U.S. Sun following another tragic school shooting.
Authorities say they found two students dead - including Rupnow - along with a teacher in a study hall in the school.
Six others were injured - two of them critically - and were rushed to nearby hospitals.
A second-grade teacher called 911 at 10.57 am to report the shooting, according to police.
Madison's Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway spoke at Tuesday's press conference, calling Monday's shooting a "terrible and traumatic event."
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She called on the public to "avoid spreading misinformation," and added that "there is so much that we do not know at this point.
A vigil for the victims will be held tonight in Madison at 6 pm local time.