Wisconsin school shooter Natalie Rupnow, 15, was pictured wearing a T-shirt from a band idolized by a Columbine gunman just months before she opened fire at K-12 Abundant Life Christian School and killed a student and a teacher.
In a Facebook post in August, Rupnow’s father, Jeff Rupnow, shared a photo of his daughter in the band tee as he boasted about their trip to North Bristol Shooting Club, located in a suburb outside of Madison, the New York Post reported.
“Joined NBSC this spring and we have been loving every second of it,” he wrote. And when asked if that was his daughter in a comment, Rupnow answered, “Sure is!!!”
Neither the North Bristol Shooting Club nor Jeff Rupnow responded to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
In the photo, Natalie can be seen taking aim at a clay pigeon with her back to the camera, but it was her T-shirt that reportedly caught the eye of some investigators.
Natalie’s T-shirt referenced the German rock band KMFDM or Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, which loosely translates to “no pity for the majority,” reported the New York Post.
It is the same band that was also idolized by Columbine killer Eric Harris, who was seen wearing one of their T-shirts ahead of the 1999 mass shooting that killed 13 at a Colorado high school.
In a statement about the shooting, the band condemned any association with Harris’ actions.
“First and foremost, KMFDM would like to express their deep and heartfelt sympathy for the parents, families and friends of the murdered and injured children in Littleton. We are sick and appalled, as is the rest of the nation, by what took place in Colorado yesterday,” said the band in a statement at the time, reported Newsweek. “KMFDM are an art form—not a political party.”
The band reportedly disbanded soon after over political and creative differences and reformed later with a new sound. The band announced its 40th anniversary tour across the U.S. this year.
The KMFDM reference adds another piece to the puzzle as investigators look to establish a motive behind Natalie’s actions. In a press conference, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes confirmed that Jeff Rupnow was cooperating with authorities.
Jeff Rupnow/Facebook
“We also want to look at if the parents may have been negligent. And that’s a question that we’ll have to answer with our district attorney’s office,” Barnes said in a Monday press conference.
That news comes after earlier this year James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted on manslaughter charges after their son Ethan killed four of his classmates and injured seven in a mass shooting at a Michigan high school. Their convictions marked the first time that a parent had been implicated in a mass school shooting and was thought to set a precedent for how similar cases would be handled in the future. Ethan was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In another photo that emerged Tuesday, Natalie, who sometimes went by Samantha, can also be seen smiling and playing with two brindle fur dogs in a pile of yellow leaves.
