Records show Madison school shooter flagged for 'high-risk' online behavior in 2022, dad dismissed talk of suicide

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Court records outlining the decision to charge the father of a teen who killed a teacher and a student in a December school shooting show police were alerted to the girl's troubling internet behavior more than two years before she committed the attack.

A criminal complaint against 42-year-old Jeffrey Rupnow also noted his daughter, Samantha, 15, had discussed having thoughts of suicide more than three years before the shooting. According to those records, Rupnow dismissed his daughter's comments at the time.

“[Samantha] talks about it, I don’t take it to (sic) seriously," Rupnow allegedly wrote on a form at the Psychotherapy Center of Waunakee in October 2021. "I think she’s really just looking for attention when she talks like that.” 

Rupnow is charged with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under 18, causing death. Records state he gave his daughter a handgun, and while he took responsibility for storing the weapon, it was considered to be her weapon.

The complained outlined interviews with students and educators who'd previously known Rupnow's daughter before she attended Abundant Life Christian School, where she carried out the shooting last December. They shared the teen had talked about being stressed and depressed, and they added it largely stemmed from the girl's parents being divorced and a strained relationship with her father due to his drinking habits.

In June of 2022, Madison police went to Rupnow and informed him of "high-risk behavior" his daughter was exhibiting online. When asked at a press conference Thursday to specify what that behavior entailed, Acting Chief John Patterson said she was displaying "a clear fascination with mass violence, with school shootings and with weapons."

11 days before the shooting, Rupnow texted a contact in his phone, "Yeah, my kid would shot (sic) me if I left the fun (sic) safe open right now.”

Child psychologist: Important to be direct but also vulnerable

Dr. Maggie Altschaefl, a psychologist at Children's Wisconsin and an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said when a child is discussing self-harm or displaying an interest in that subject, adults should be direct in questioning young people about it.

"It's always OK to ask any person, whether it's your own child or a friend of a child if they're having suicidal ideation," she said. "Ask directly, and it's good to practice asking that question, 'Are you having thoughts about killing yourself?'"

The complaint against Rupnow noted he's told investigators he'd been taking his daughter to a shooting range often over the past two years after she began showing a fascination with guns. Rupnow had a total of eight guns in the home, including the one considered to be his daughter's.

He said he didn't want his daughter to have access to the gun safe but did tell her the lock combination because he wanted her to have it in case of an emergency.

Altschaefl said it's especially concerning any time an adolescent is talking about self-harm and also displaying a fascination with weapons.

"Well, that would be a warning sign that those psychological issues are getting more serious," she said. "And they're at greater risk for showing some sort of suicidal behavior, yes."

Altschaefl added parents should be careful about dismissing teen outbursts. While there might be outbursts looking for attention, she said they're often times a call for something more meaningful.

"It's helpful to reframe attention seeking as connection seeking," she said. "Because they're looking for that support, they're looking for empathy from adults that they're supposed to be able to trust."

When it comes to building trust with a struggling teen, Altschafel said one of the more important things an adults can do is display vulnerability about their own shortcomings. While trying to find areas where they can bond, she said it's good to acknowledge when an idea didn't quite succeed.

"It's OK to make mistakes, and it's also a really good social skill to model for your kids to apologize to them," she said. "So, it's always OK to try something, and if it didn't work out the best, that's OK."