Jeffrey Rupnow, father of 15-year-old who killed 2 at Wisconsin religious school, faces felony charges
Wisconsin prosecutors have 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.The criminal complaint against 42-year-old Jeffrey Rupnow of Madison details how his daughter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, struggled with her parents’ divorce, showing her anger in a written piece entitled “War Against Humanity.” Her father tried to bond with her through guns, the complaint said, even as she meticulously planned the attack, including building a cardboard model of the school and scheduling the shooting to end with her suicide.Prosecutors filed the complaint Wednesday but didn’t unseal it until after Jeffrey Rupnow was arrested Thursday and taken to the Dane County Jail.He faces two counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under 18, causing death, and contributing to the delinquency of a child.
All of the charges are felonies.He was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Friday.Online court records did not list an attorney for him.
Acting Madison Police Chief John Patterson said he was cooperative throughout the investigation.No one returned voicemails left at possible telephone listings for him and his ex-wife, Melissa Rupnow.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.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, th...