The mother of the teenager who carried out a fatal shooting at a Wisconsin private school last year has died in an apparent suicide. Police said the death was discovered after officers were called to a residence.
Mellissa Rupnow, the mother of 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, was found dead at a home on the 1100 block of Matheson Street, and the death “appears to be a suicide,” Janesville Police Lt. Jennifer Seeger told the Wisconsin State Journal.
Officers from the Janesville Police Department responded to the address last Friday after receiving a call and found Rupnow deceased. The department said no further details about the circumstances of her death were available at the time.
Natalie Rupnow was a student at Abundant Life Christian School when she arrived on Dec. 16, 2024, armed with two handguns. Authorities said she opened fire in a study hall, killing 42-year-old teacher Erin West and 14-year-old student Rubi Vergara. She injured six other people before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The teenager used a 9mm pistol during the attack, according to police.
After the shooting, information emerged linking Natalie Rupnow to online extremist communities that glorify mass shooters. Rupnow even appeared to cross paths with another school shooter in Tennessee, researchers told Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica.
Natalie Rupnow’s father, 43-year-old Jeffrey Rupnow of Madison, faces criminal charges for allegedly allowing his daughter access to the firearms used in the attack. Prosecutors have charged him with two counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to someone under 18 and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Court records show that Jeffrey and Mellissa Rupnow filed for divorce in 2020.
Authorities said at the time the motive appeared to be the result of “a combination of factors.”
The Madison Police Department said officers were called to the school at 10:57 a.m. Central time that day. They found multiple people with gunshot wounds, including those who later died.
The school did not have metal detectors but used cameras and other security measures.
Among the wounded was 14-year-old River Clardy, who was left critically injured. In March, his parents, Christina and Brett Clardy, said their son was recovering well thanks to medical care and their faith. “River is a kid who is a perseverer. He’s a hard worker,” Christina Clardy told WMTV in an interview.
She added that his recovery had surpassed expectations, crediting “natural means like through the body healing itself” and “some things that you know aren’t explainable to us.”
A fundraiser launched on GoFundMe for victims’ families raised $29,000.
Abundant Life Christian School, founded in 1978, provides education “in a Christ-focused context” and has about 390 to 420 students from kindergarten through high school.
