Madison’s police chief says he’s looking into possible social media posts by Wisconsin school shooter Natalie Rupnow that were shared online prior to the bloodbath.
The most chilling post that may have been made by Rupnow shows a person inside a bathroom stall giving an ‘Ok’ hand gesture, and wearing black Doc Marten boots.
It was posted shortly before a teacher and teenage student were killed at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison before Rupnow killed herself.
Authorities have yet to say whether that post or others were indeed made by the killer, 15, and DailyMail.com has not been able to authenticate them.
She injured six others during her spree, two of whom have been described as being in a ‘life-threatening’ condition.
The Doctor Marten boots post also shows Rupnow give an ‘ok’ hand symbol.
That symbol has since been co-opted by white supremacists because of its resemblance to the letters WP (white power).
Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said the motive behind the shooting appears to have been a ‘combination of factors’.
An X account believed to have been used by Rupnow had shared an image just moments before the shooting started
Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow, 15, killed a student, a teacher and then herself at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shortly before 11am on Monday
Barnes offered no details about a motive on Tuesday night, though he did say that bullying at the school would be investigated.
He also said that they are identifying a manifesto that might have been penned by Rupnow and could shed a light on her actions.
The manifesto has also been shared widely-online but has not been authenticated by anyone connected to the investigation or Rupnow herself.
Barnes said: ‘Identifying a motive is our top priority, but at this time it appears that the motive is a combination of factors.
‘There are always signs of a school shooting before it occurred. We’re looking into her online activity.’
The account that shared the picture shared a Google Drive link with no further description that is believe to be her manifesto.
Screenshots shared online of the document indicate to Rupnow being a lonely child who said she was ‘trapped and forced into my corner‘.
Rupnow expressed unhappiness at what she described as a broken home and made multiple references to a therapist.
She allegedly describes herself as a ‘loner’ but admits she will ‘mourn for friends but sooner than later they’ll leave.’
A family is seen here leaving the scene on Monday following the shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison
The pages posted do not point to a specific political ideology but they claim ‘we need revolution.’
It ends with a quote attributed to the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski: ‘Finally, one learns that boredom is a disease of civilization.’
Another sign of a possible obsession with the Columbine massacre is previously verified photos of Rupnow wearing the shirt of German industrial rock band KMFDM.
Columbine killer Eric Harris was infamously seen wearing a KMFDM T-shirt ahead of the 1999 Colorado high school massacre where 13 were murdered.
At the time, KMFDM issued a statement condemning the attack, expressing sympathy for the victims and affirming its music was intended to stand against violence.
Police got a 911 call at 10:57am Monday morning, and within three minutes, county sheriff’s deputies had arrived the school. Local police arrived seconds later.
Her father had shared a picture to his Facebook in August showing his daughter pointing a shotgun at a clay pigeon
At 11:05am, they said that they’d found the shooter wounded and recovered the weapon. Rupnow was pronounced dead on the way to hospital.
Simultaneously, fire department workers got to the scene and began to care for the victims.
Barnes said police were talking with the shooter´s father Jeff Rupnow and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching the shooter’s home.
He had shared a picture to his Facebook in August showing his daughter pointing a shotgun at a clay pigeon.
The shooter’s parents, who are divorced, jointly shared custody of their child, but the shooter primarily lived with her 42-year-old father, according to court documents.