Who Was Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow? Rumors of the 15-year-old Wisconsin school shooter’s alleged manifesto surface

A female teenager who allegedly carried out a deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday morning, December 16, has been identified as 15-year-old Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow, a student at the school. Rupnow brought a gun to campus and opened fire, killing a teenage student and a teacher and wounding six more people. Two of the injured students are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, said Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes, according to the New York Post.

Rupnow, who suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was reportedly pronounced dead on the way to the hospital, Barnes confirmed, while also questioning how the girl was able to access the gun she used to carry out the shooting. “Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. … We have to find out and try to piece together exactly what happened,” Barnes said.

Who Was Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow?

Rupnow carried out the fatal shooting inside a classroom below a study hall filled with students from different grades. An alleged manifesto containing radical and hateful views has surfaced online, claiming it belonged to her. However, Barnes said police have not confirmed the document yet.

“We have not been able to confirm that it is authentic, we are certainly aware that it has been published,” he said. He added that his department is now working with the FBI to review what is in the document.

Investigators have not yet determined a motive behind the shooting. After the shooting unfolded, a second grader in a nearby classroom called 911 for help. Barnes said police were able to reach the school in only about three minutes.

Barnes said at this time there is no indication that Rupnow’s parents have committed a crime. He also addressed online rumors and speculation that the shooter was transgender, emphasizing that her identity was not important. Posts on X even claimed that Rupnow was “taught to hate men” and called her a “disturbed feminist.”

“Whether she was, he was, they were transgender is something that may come out later, but for what we’re doing right now, today, literally eight hours after a mass shooting at a school in Madison, it has no significance at this point,” he said.

Barbara Wiers, a school official, praised the school’s students, saying they “handled themselves magnificently” during the incident. She added that the tragedy “shook our school community.”