Madison school shooting: Father of teen shooter charged, in court
The father of a teenage girl who killed a teacher and fellow student in a school shooting appeared in court on Friday, May 9.
42-year-old Jeffrey Rupnow is accused of allowing her to access the pistols she used in the attack.
His cash bail was set at $20,000.
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin prosecutors on Thursday, May 8, 2025, charged the father of a teenage girl who killed a teacher and fellow student in a school shooting last year with allowing her access to the semiautomatic pistols she used in the attack.
What we know
A day later on Friday, May 9, 2025, 42-year-old Jeffrey Rupnow appeared in Dane County Court for his initial appearance.
Rupnow appeared via Zoom from jail. The judge set cash bail at $20,000, and that if he posts bail he will be under GPS monitoring, cannot buy or possess firearms, and must stay away from, and have no contact with, Abundant Life Christian School.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Jeffrey Rupnow's attorney, Bruce Davey, said in court that his client would not be able to post $20,000 in bail, saying "he's not a wealthy man." Davey noted that he has no prior criminal history, cooperated with the investigation, has lived in the area his whole life and needs to work at his job to pay his bills and keep his house.
"There's no reason to hold him in jail," Davey said. Davey asked for him to be released on a signature bond, which requires the posting of no money.
Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne had asked for $100,000, noting the seriousness of the shooting and the pending charges. He mentioned that a victim from the shooting was in the courtroom. He did not name the victim. The proceedings were held in a jail courtroom and viewable only via a Zoom teleconference. The victim was not visible on camera.
"This is unprecedented and we do have two deceased," Ozanne said. "We have multiple gunshot victims. It's the defendants actions, inactions, that contributed to this incident."
Court Commissioner Scott McAndrew said he did not want to set a cash bail so high that Rupnow could not pay it but wasn't comfortable with a signature bond given the seriousness of the offenses.
McAndrew did not allow reporters into the courtroom, telling them through bailiffs that they could watch the proceeding on Zoom.
Asked outside the courtroom after the proceeding had ended whether the cash bail was high enough, Ozanne said the commissioner made his decision and his office will move forward. He then stepped into an elevator and left.
Davey told reporters he did not think the bail amount was fair. Rupnow has been free since the shooting and has not caused any problems, he said.
Rupnow's mother was also turned away at the courtroom door and had to listen to the Zoom teleconference by holding her cellphone next to her ear in the lobby. She declined to comment on the case.
Rupnow has a status conference scheduled for June 9, 2025.
The backstory
The criminal complaint against 42-year-old Jeffrey Rupnow of Madison is packed with details about how his daughter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, expressed a hatred of humanity following her parents' divorce and how he hoped he could bond with her through guns. It also says the girl meticulously planned the attack, including building a cardboard model of the school and scheduling the shooting to end with her suicide.
He's been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and two counts of intentionally giving a weapon to a child causing death.
The backstory
Natalie Rupnow entered Abundant Life Christian School, a religious school in Madison that offers prekindergarten through high school classes, on Dec. 16 and opened fire in a study hall. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old student Rubi Bergara and injured six others before she killed herself.
According to the complaint, investigators recovered 20 shell casings from the study hall where she opened fire.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
They also recovered a 9 mm Glock handgun that Jeffrey Rupnow had purchased for her from the room and a .22-caliber Sig Sauer pistol from a bag the girl was carrying, the complaint says. Jeffrey Rupnow had given that gun to her as a Christmas present in 2023, the complaint says.
Also in the bag were three magazines loaded with .22 ammunition and a 50-round box of 9 mm ammunition. She wore a black T-shirt emblazoned with a bull's-eye during the attack.
Dig deeper
Jeffrey Rupnow told investigators that his daughter lived with him but had been struggling with his divorce from her mother in 2022, saying she hated her life and wanted to kill herself. He said she used to cut herself to the point where he had to lock up all the knives in his house.
She had been in therapy to learn how to be more social until the spring before the attack, he told investigators. Her mother, Melissa Rupnow, told detectives that the therapist told her that Natalie was suffering post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the divorce. One of Natalie's friends told investigators that Jeffrey Rupnow was "frequently verbally aggressive" with Natalie and that she had told him that her father was a "drinker," according to the complaint.
Jeffery Rupnow told investigators that took Natalie shooting with him on a friend's land about two years before the Abundant Life attack. She enjoyed it, and he came to see guns as a way to connect with her. But he was shocked at how her interest in firearms "snow balled," he told investigators.
He kept Natalie's pistols in a gun safe, telling her that if she ever need them the access code was his Social Security number entered backward. About 10 days before the school attack, he texted a friend and said that Natalie would shoot him if he left "the fun safe open right now," according to the complaint.
The day before the school attack he took the Sig Sauer out of the safe so Natalie could clean it. But he got distracted and wasn't sure if he put the weapon back in the safe or locked it, according to the complaint.
Dig deeper
A search of Natalie's room netted a six-page manifesto the girl had written entitled "War Against Humanity." She started the piece by describing humanity as "filth" and saying she hated people who don't care and "smoke their lungs out with weed or drink as much as they can like my own father."
She wrote about how she admired school shooters, how her mother was not in her life and how she obtained her weapons "by lies and manipulation, and my fathers stupidity."
Investigators also discovered maps of the school and a cardboard model of the building, along with a handwritten schedule that detailed how she would being the attack at 11:30 a.m. and wipe out the first and second floors of the school by 11:55 a.m. She planned to end the attack by 12:10 p.m. with a notation "ready 4 Death."
She had been communicating online with people around the world about her fascination with school shootings and weapons, Acting Madison Police Chief John Patterson said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
What they're saying
Jeffery Rupnow sent a message to a detective two weeks after the school shooting saying that his biggest mistake was teaching Natalie how to handle guns safely and urging police to warn people to change their gun safe combinations every two to three months, the complaint said.
"Kids are smart and they will figure it out," he wrote. "Just like someone trying to hack your bank account. I just want to protect other families from going through what I'm going through."
According to the complaint, after learning that Natalie was the shooter while talking to a police officer, Melissa Rupnow began breathing very quickly through her nose and yelled something, to the effect of, "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him," apparently referring to her ex-husband.
Big picture view
Rupnow is the latest parent of a school shooter to face charges associated with an attack.
Last year, the mother and father of a school shooter in Michigan who killed four students in 2021 were each convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The mother was the first parent in the U.S. to be held responsible for a child carrying out a mass school attack.
The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four people at a Georgia high school was arrested in September and faces charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for letting his son possess a weapon.
In 2023, the father of a man charged in a deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors related to how his son obtained a gun license.
What's next
Police say one student remains hospitalized.
Rupnow was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Friday afternoon. Online court records did not list an attorney for him on Thursday.
The Source
Information in this report is from previous FOX6 News coverage, The Associated Press, and the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Police Say Indiana Man Made Odd Comments After Claiming His Wife Died By Suicide: 'She Was Talking to Other Men'
Stephen Gower, 53, called 911 claiming his wife, Christina Gower, shot herself in the head with an AR-15-style rifle, authorities allegeNEED TO KNOW Stephen Gower, 53, of Indiana, called 911 on Aug. 4 claiming his wife, Christina Gower, died by suicide He allegedly told police he found out she had been talking to other men Gower allegedly begged police to "take me to jail" and "shoot me" when they arrived at his house after he called 911An Indiana man called 911 to report that his wife had shot and killed herself with an AR-15 — but now he is charged with murdering her, authorities say. On Aug. 4, police responded to a call from Stephen Gower, 53, of Charlestown, who said his wife Christina Gower had shot and killed herself at their home on Charlestown New Market Road, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE. When officers arrived at the residence, they found Stephen, who allegedly said, 'take me to jail' and 'shoot me,' according to the affidavit. 'It would be easier to go to jail than to explain the incident to his children,' he allegedly told police. Officers located an AR-style rifle which Stephen said his wife used to take her life. Christina was found lying in the doorway to the master bedroom with a fatal wound to the head and blood pooling around her, according to the affidavit, but a detective on the scene did not observe 'visible burns or stippling' to Christina's head or face that would be consistent with a shot from close-range. During an interview with detectives, Stephen said that on the morning of Sunday, Aug. 3, he found messages on his wife's phone 'indicating that she was talking to other men and indicated that she was having an affair,' the affidavit alleges. He said he and his wife drank alcohol and fought all night, to the point where a chair and light fixture were broken. Stephen allegedly admitted to holding his wife's wrist while they were on the kitchen floor and damaging the bathroom door during their 'confrontation,' per the affidavit. Earlier in the evening, he said he retrieved a handgun from the master bedroom and held it to his head at one point, saying he wanted to die by suicide and then saying 'he hoped his wife would pull the trigger,' the affidavit alleges. He also 'mentioned handling an AR-15 rifle' during the evening, which he held to his head, it autopsy performed on Aug. 5, showed that the gunshot appeared to have been fired from 3 feet away or greater, the affidavit alleges, making it impossible for Christina to have shot herself. Stephen was arrested on Aug. 4 and charged with murder, according to online court records. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bond. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 16. His attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Reggaeton artist Jhayco arrested and accused of cocaine possession in Florida
The Reggaeton musician and songwriter, Jhayco, was arrested. According to an arrest report obtained by a local NBC news station in Miami, 32-year-old Jhayco — whose real name is Jesus Manuel Nieves Cortes — was arrested on drug charges on Tuesday morning in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The report claims the songwriter was allegedly driving a red two-door Corvette that was only driving 5mph along Southwest 8th Street before 3 a.m. ET. When the vehicle then came to a complete stop and did not move for over one minute, Jhayco was pulled over by the authorities. As an officer approached the car, they said they 'smelled the strong odor of cannabis,' while the car's driver had 'white powder on his pants and white powder on his nose.' After the Reggaeton artist was allegedly unable to give the authorities a driver's license, he was asked to vacate the car, where a routine records check could not find a driver's license under his name. When the Corvette was searched, the police allegedly found two black pouches with 7 grams of suspected cannabis in each one. Upon searching Jhayco's pockets, the authorities claimed to have seen three 'clear baggies with suspect powder cocaine,' totaling about two grams. The musician was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 4:24 a.m. and was arrested and charged with cocaine possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis, with a bond set at $3,000. Deputies said Jhayco had made a spontaneous statement, which was redacted from the publicly released arrest report. No further information has been revealed at this time. Jhayco, who was born in Puerto Rico, previously performed under the stage name Jhay Cortez. In 2019, his debut album, titled Famouz, reached number five on the Top Latin Albums chart. He is most well-known for his collaborations with other Latin artists, such as Bad Bunny, and the songs 'No Me Conoce - Remix,' 'DÁKITI,' and 'CÓMO SE SIENTE.' His most recent album from September 2024 was titled Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X), which was recorded in studios across the world, including Paris, Madrid, Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Smuggled turtles were labeled as toys. Now, a man pleads guilty.
A New York man pleaded guilty to smuggling turtles worth approximately $1.4 million to Hong Kong, along with venomous snakes and other reptiles. Wei Qiang Lin of Brooklyn pleaded guilty to "falsely labeling live turtles as fake toys" and "exporting them in delivery boxes on a weeks-long journey to Hong Kong," the Department of Justice said in an Aug. 11 news release. Lin exported approximately 222 parcels containing around 850 turtles valued at $1.4 million between August 2023 and November 2024, according to court records. He labeled the boxes as containing "plastic animal toys," among other objects, the news release said. Lin is also accused of exporting "11 other parcels filled with reptiles including venomous snakes." Turtles were hidden in socks Law enforcement found the turtles "bound and taped inside knotted socks" in the shipping boxes during a border inspection. Packing them this way restricts their movement, so they can pass undetected. According to the news release, "Lin primarily shipped eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles, native U.S. species which feature colorful markings — a prized feature in the domestic and foreign pet market, particularly in China and Hong Kong." Both turtle species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), according to the DOJ, after tens of thousands of box turtles were illegally exported every year during the 1990s. China and the United States are both parties to CITES. Lin is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 23. "He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the illegal activity," the news release said, adding Lin also "agreed to abandon any property interest in the reptiles seized during the investigation," as part of his plea. In March, a Chinese citizen named Sai Keung Tin was sentenced to 30 months in prison for smuggling more than 2,000 turtles from the United States to Hong Kong over about five years, federal prosecutors said. Wildlife inspectors had seized the packages, falsely labeled as containing almonds and chocolate cookies, at an international mail facility in Torrance, California, USA TODAY previously reported. Multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Customs and Border Protection, investigated the case, the news release said. More news: Cocaine is still being smuggled in banana containers; Greek sting shows What are eastern box turtles? Eastern box turtles, a subspecies of common box turtle, are native to forest regions in the eastern United States, and they make up some isolated populations in the Midwest, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife. While the eastern box turtle is not considered an endangered species nationally, some states — including Michigan, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut — have listed it as a species of special concern, according to the National Wildlife Federation. The species is considered endangered in Maine. The National Wildlife Federation said several factors, such as habitat loss, traffic incidents and pet trade, have contributed to the species' decline. Latest wildlife smuggling incident People have also been caught sneaking live turtles through security at international airports across the country. In April, Transportation Security Administration officials in Florida intercepted a woman trying to sneak two turtles past the security checkpoint at Miami International Airport by stuffing them in her bra, the agency said in a July 24 LinkedIn post. While one of the turtles did not survive the ordeal, the other was confiscated and turned over to the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife. Earlier in March, a Pennsylvania man attempted to sneak a live red-ear slider turtle in the crotch area of his pants at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The man, who was not identified by name, triggered an alarm while doing a body scan on March 7, according to TSA. He then pulled out a live turtle wrapped in a towel out of his pants. "Wildlife trafficking is the fourth largest organized crime in the world, after drug trafficking, counterfeiting, and human trafficking," according to the Department of Homeland Security. Contributing: Thao Nguyen, Amaris Encinas, Julia Gomez, and Max Augugliaro, USA TODAY Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@ and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chinese national Wei Qiang Lin pleads guilty to smuggling turtles
