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American Military News
13-05-2025
- American Military News
School shooter's father facing felony charges in Wisconsin
The father of a 15-year-old school shooter was arrested and charged last week after allowing his daughter access to semiautomatic pistols, which were used in a fatal school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, last December. According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press, 42-year-old Jeffrey Rupnow has been charged with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 that caused death and contributed to the delinquency of a child. The charges come after Rupnow's 15-year-old daughter, Natalie Rupnow, committed a mass shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in December. According to The Associated Press, Rubi Bergara, a 14-year-old student, and Erin Michelle West, a teacher at Abundant Life Christian School, were killed in December's mass shooting, while six others were injured prior to Natalie Rupnow ending her own life. The Associated Press reported that Jeffrey Rupnow was arrested on Thursday and booked at the Dane County Jail. In the criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press, the 42-year-old father explained how his daughter struggled with her parents' divorce and expressed her anger in a manifesto titled 'War Against Humanity.' The criminal complaint noted that Jeffrey Rupnow attempted to bond with Natalie Rupnow through guns. READ MORE: Video: School shooter arrested; 5 hospitalized in Texas According to The Associated Press, investigators discovered a 9 mm Glock handgun that Jeffrey Rupnow had purchased for the 15-year-old, as well as a .22-caliber Sig Sauer pistol, at the scene of the shooting. The complaint indicated that Jeffrey Rupnow had given the Sig Sauer pistol to his daughter as a Christmas gift in 2023. Jeffrey Rupnow told investigators that he took his daughter shooting roughly two years prior to the school shooting. After discovering that his daughter enjoyed shooting, he attempted to use guns to connect with her; however, he told investigators that he was surprised how her interest in guns 'snow balled.' According to the criminal complaint, Jeffrey Rupnow kept his daughter's pistols in a gun safe and gave his daughter the access code. The 42-year-old reportedly texted a friend prior to the school shooting that his daughter would shoot him if he left 'the fun safe open right now.' The Associated Press reported that the criminal complaint showed Rupnow had removed the Sig Sauer pistol from the gun safe to clean it just one day before the school shooting and that he became distracted and was not sure if he put the gun back in the safe or if he locked the safe. According to The Associated Press, in Natalie Rupnow's 'War Against Humanity' manifesto, the 15-year-old described humans as 'filth,' expressed her admiration for school shooters, and revealed that her firearms had been obtained 'by lies and manipulation, and my fathers stupidity.'
CBS News
10-05-2025
- CBS News
Wisconsin father charged for school shooting committed by daughter in Madison
The father of a 15-year-old girl who killed a fellow student and a teacher at a private school in Wisconsin had his bail set at $20,000 on Friday at his first court appearance on charges that he allowed her access to guns. Prosecutors charged Jeffrey Rupnow, 42, on Thursday with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor causing death and one felony count of contributing to the delinquency of a child. Rupnow would face up to 18 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Jeffrey Rupnow's daughter, Natalie Rupnow, opened fire at her school, Abundant Life Christian School, in Madison in December. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old student Rubi Bergara and injured six others before she killed herself. 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. He ordered that if Rupnow posts $20,000 and is released, he will be fitted with a GPS monitoring device, not be allowed to have contact with anyone at Abundant Life Christian School, purchase or possess firearms or go to the block where the school is located. He said the cash amount could be reviewed later and set a status hearing for June 9. 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. According to a criminal complaint, Jeffrey Rupnow told investigators his daughter was struggling to cope with her parents' divorce in 2022. He bought the two handguns she brought into the school for her as a way to bond with her, he told investigators. He added that he told her the access code to the safe where he stored her guns in case she ever needed them, the complaint said. Rupnow also told investigators he wasn't sure whether he put one of the guns back in the safe after his daughter cleaned it the day before the school attack. Investigators found writings in Natalie Rupnow's room saying she hated people who smoked marijuana and drank as much as they can like her father. She also wrote that her mother wasn't in her life, that she admired a number of school shooters and that she obtained her guns "by lies, manipulation, and my fathers stupidity." Jeffrey Rupnow sent a message to police in the days after the shooting saying the biggest mistake he made was teaching his daughter how to handle guns safely. He urged police to warn people to change their gun safe combinations every two to three months because "kids are smart and they will figure it out." Rupnow is the latest in a line of parents of school shooters who have been held criminally liable for their children's actions in recent years.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Associated Press
Bail for Wisconsin school shooter's father facing three felonies set at $20K
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The father of a 15-year-old girl who killed a fellow student and a teacher at a private school in Wisconsin had his bail set at $20,000 on Friday at his first court appearance on charges that he allowed her access to guns. Prosecutors charged Jeffrey Rupnow, 42, on Thursday with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor causing death and one felony count of contributing to the delinquency of a child. Rupnow would face up to 18 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Jeffrey Rupnow's daughter, Natalie Rupnow, opened fire at her school, Abundant Life Christian School, in Madison in December. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old student Rubi Bergara and injured six others before she killed herself. 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. '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.' If he posts bail, Jeffrey Rupnow will be fitted with a GPS monitoring device, not be allowed to have contact with anyone at Abundant Life Christian School, purchase or possess firearms or go to the block where the school is located. Davey declined to comment prior to the hearing. According to a criminal complaint, Jeffrey Rupnow told investigators his daughter was struggling to cope with her parents' divorce in 2022. He bought the two handguns she brought into the school for her as a way to bond with her, he told investigators. He added that he told her the access code to the safe where he stored her guns in case she ever needed them, the complaint said. Rupnow also told investigators he wasn't sure whether he put one of the guns back in the safe after his daughter cleaned it the day before the school attack. Investigators found writings in Natalie Rupnow's room saying she hated people who smoked marijuana and drank as much as they can like her father. She also wrote that her mother wasn't in her life, that she admired a number of school shooters and that she obtained her guns 'by lies, manipulation, and my fathers stupidity.' Jeffrey Rupnow sent a message to police in the days after the shooting saying the biggest mistake he made was teaching his daughter how to handle guns safely. He urged police to warn people to change their gun safe combinations every two to three months because 'kids are smart and they will figure it out.' Rupnow is the latest in a line of parents of school shooters who have been held criminally liable for their children's actions in recent years. ___ Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- The Independent
Bail for Wisconsin school shooter's father facing three felonies set at $20K
The father of a 15-year-old girl who killed a fellow student and a teacher at a private school in Wisconsin had his bail set at $20,000 on Friday at his first court appearance on charges that he allowed her access to guns. Prosecutors charged Jeffrey Rupnow, 42, on Thursday with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor causing death and one felony count of contributing to the delinquency of a child. Rupnow would face up to 18 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Jeffrey Rupnow's daughter, Natalie Rupnow, opened fire at her school, Abundant Life Christian School, in Madison in December. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old student Rubi Bergara and injured six others before she killed herself. 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. '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.' If he posts bail, Jeffrey Rupnow will be fitted with a GPS monitoring device, not be allowed to have contact with anyone at Abundant Life Christian School, purchase or possess firearms or go to the block where the school is located. Davey declined to comment prior to the hearing. According to a criminal complaint, Jeffrey Rupnow told investigators his daughter was struggling to cope with her parents' divorce in 2022. He bought the two handguns she brought into the school for her as a way to bond with her, he told investigators. He added that he told her the access code to the safe where he stored her guns in case she ever needed them, the complaint said. Rupnow also told investigators he wasn't sure whether he put one of the guns back in the safe after his daughter cleaned it the day before the school attack. Investigators found writings in Natalie Rupnow's room saying she hated people who smoked marijuana and drank as much as they can like her father. She also wrote that her mother wasn't in her life, that she admired a number of school shooters and that she obtained her guns 'by lies, manipulation, and my fathers stupidity.' Jeffrey Rupnow sent a message to police in the days after the shooting saying the biggest mistake he made was teaching his daughter how to handle guns safely. He urged police to warn people to change their gun safe combinations every two to three months because 'kids are smart and they will figure it out.' Rupnow is the latest in a line of parents of school shooters who have been held criminally liable for their children's actions in recent years.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
What to know about charges against Jeffery Rupnow, father of Abundant Life school shooter
MADISON - Nearly five months after a student opened fire inside a study hall at Abundant Life Christian School, her father has been charged with providing guns to the teen. Here's what to know about the charges and the incident. Teacher Erin West, 42, and freshman Rubi Vergara, 14 were killed in the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School. Six other people were injured, including one teacher. The shooter, Natalie "Samantha" Rupnow, died by suicide after opening fire inside a study hall filled with students from different grades, according to court documents. No officers fired their weapons. Jeffrey Rupnow, the father of the Abundant Life shooter, was arrested by Madison police on May 8. The 42-year-old man was charged with two felony counts of intent to sell a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 and one felony count of contributing to the delinquency of a child. 'Her father knew that she had them, or at least had access to them,' said acting Madison Chief of Police John Patterson at a May 8 news conference. Rupnow was arrested May 8, during a traffic stop in the early hours of the morning. More: The Abundant Life shooting shattered Madison's safety. Here's how the community can support each other. Wisconsin law allows for a felony charge against a parent in situations where they provide a gun or other dangerous weapon to someone under 18, legal experts previously told the Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin statute says that Rupnow's charge, possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, applies to 'any person who intentionally sells, loans or gives a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 years of age is guilty of a Class I felony." If the shooting results in death, the penalty is a class H felony. The criminal complaint against the father detailed that police had been aware of "high-risk" online behavior from the man's daughter and notified him of in June 2022. At a news conference May 8, Patterson declined to answer questions about whether police or her father knew about her fascination with guns at that point. In a manifesto found in Natalie Rupnow's room during the police investigation, she said she acquired the guns she took to Abundant Life Christian School as a result of "lies and manipulation, and my fathers stupidity" [sic]. Notebooks, dioramas and camcorder footage Madison detectives found in Natalie Rupnow's bedroom offer snapshots into the teenager's point of view. According to the criminal complaint, Natalie Rupnow left behind a manifesto titled "War Against Humanity," with a subtitle reading, "The creation of a disaster and why is it so unfair?" These documents are the first to show Natalie Rupnow's mental state in the weeks leading up to the deadly shooting at her high school. The criminal complaint also offers a lens into the ways adults around Natalie Rupnow responded to her mental health struggles. Four years ago, Jeffrey Rupnow told a detective in a Jan. 29 interview, Natalie Rupnow exhibited signs of suicidal ideation as a student at Black Hawk Middle School. The principal identified Natalie Rupnow using self-harm language and, soon after, was seen at an emergency department, where it was determined there was no immediate threat of self-harm. She would go on to see a therapist 46 times between Oct. 21, 2021, and June 14, 2024. Despite her history of cutting, so severe that Jeffrey Rupnow told detectives he locked up every knife in the house as a precaution, he bought his daughter her first handgun as a Christmas present in 2023. By the time of the Abundant Life shooting, he had gifted her two guns. A third gun was wrapped under his bed for Christmas. According to therapy records, Natalie Rupnow started going to therapy for anxiety, depression, anger and self-harm. When the therapist asked Jeffrey Rupnow if his daughter ever expressed suicidal thoughts, he said "(Natalie) talks about it, I don't take it to seriously [sic]. I think she's really just looking for attention when she talks like that." In the days after the Abundant Life shooting, attention turned to Rupnow's online activity and what it might tell about her motivations. That activity revealed the girl had connections to three other people in the country who either plotted or committed shootings. In April, Florida authorities arrested Damien Allen, 22, for planning a mass shooting. The two appeared to be in an online relationship and told each other they loved one another, according to court records. Those records showed the girl say she "wanted to do a Black church' in reference to possible locations. Allen told her he had several places in mind, including a police department, records said. In Nashville, 17-year-old Solomon Henderson shared similar online networks with her and appeared to admire her, according to a report by Wisconsin Watch. He killed a classmate and then died of a self-inflicted gunshot in a school shooting. It appears Henderson and Rupnow had only a few direct interactions, Wisconsin Watch reported. Henderson was active on social media in communities that glorified school shootings, according to the USA TODAY Network. Since the Columbine shooting, a toxic subculture glorifying mass shooters has formed in online spaces. Much of the internal culture and shared language overlaps with white supremacist and other ideologies. The views in these spaces tend to be incoherent and not necessarily a clear political ideology. Twenty-year-old Alexander Paffendorf, a California man, was also arrested on suspicions of "plotting" to coordinate a mass shooting at a government building in conjunction with her actions, those court records showed. He hoped to pursue a romantic relationship with her, CBS 8 reported. After the December shooting, the Madison community was left with more questions than answers as police searched for the motive behind Natalie Rupnow's action. In the days following the shooting, the community held community mourning events, during which leaders asked for more action from lawmakers to prevent future actions. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway highlighted May 8 during a news conference that there still had been no meaningful action by state or federal lawmakers to prevent future school shootings. 'What happened at Abundant Life Christian school should have been impossible,' she said. 'Instead, we live in a world where preventing a similar tragedy is what feels impossible, and that is not okay. We need to make it impossible for kids to have access to deadly weapons.' Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@ and on X @SchulteLaura. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about charges against dad of Abundant Life school shooter
