By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
For the second time in recent memory, the parent of a school shooter is facing criminal charges because his daughter had access to firearms.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Jeffrey Rupnow, was arrested by Madison police on May 8 and his first court appearance was the next day. AT that time, the court set Rupnow’s bail at $20,000. He faces two charges of “intent to sell a dangerous weapon to a person under 18” and “contributing to the delinquency of a child,” All are felony counts, the newspaper said.
According to WMTV, the criminal complaint against Rupnow “describes how the teen got access to guns and details of her manifesto.” Included in that manifesto, the report said, Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow allegedly wrote, “I got the weapons by lies and manipulation, and my fathers (sic) stupidity.”
The December 2024 shooting at Madison Abundant Life Christian School left three people dead, including Natalie Rupnow, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
This case follows another parental prosecution relating to a fatal school shooting. In November 2021, teenager Ethan Crumbley opened fire at Oxford High School in Michigan, killing four students and wounding seven others. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were tried separately and in 2024, they were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to prison. Ethan Crumbley drew a life sentence while his parents will be in prison for at least 10 years.
In Rupnow’s case, he legally purchased both guns recovered at the crime scene by investigators, according to WKOW. He has no previous criminal convictions. His next court appearance is scheduled June 9.
Prosecution of Rupnow suggests clearly authorities are now looking at holding parents responsible for the violent crimes of their children. Whether this becomes a national occurrence remains to be seen, but with the Crumbley case and now this new prosecution, a precedent has been set.
According to the New York Post, Rupnow had tried to bond with his daughter with firearms. She reportedly had “struggled with her parents’ divorce.”
