Was Wisconsin school shooter Natalie Rupnow transgender? Police ...

Amid online speculations that the alleged Wisconsin school shooter may have been transgender, the police chief investigating the deadly rampage has said that 15-year-old Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow’s gender is not “important at all.” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes addressed the rumours about the teen, who carried out a deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 16, killing a teen pupil and a teacher. Six more people were injured in the shooting.

Was Wisconsin school shooter Natalie Rupnow transgender? Police chief addresses claims (Jeff Rupnow/Facebook)

“I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And, quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,” Barnes said, adding that whatever happened does not have “anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify.” Rupnow died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Barnes made the comments after he was asked about unverified social media posts claiming Rupnow was transgender, and suggesting that it played a part in the shooting. “I wish people would leave their own personal biases,” Barnes said, according to New York Post. “We have lost members of our community. It’s something that may come out later, but for what we’re doing today, it is of no consequence at this time.”

Photos of Rupnow have emerged, one showing her wearing a T-shirt featuring a band favored by Columbine killer Eric Harris. Some unverified posts from social media accounts believed to have belonged to Rupnow indicated that she had a disturbing obsession with school shooters. The posts included images of shooters such as Parkland high school gunman Nicholas Cruz. There was also a mention of a 2007 school shooting in Jokela, Finland, and a picture of the Columbine shooters.

“There are always signs of a school shooting before it occurs,” Barnes said, adding that they are “looking into her online activity.” Talking about the possibility of bullying playing a part in the shooting, he said, “we’re talking to students to understand whether bullying was one of those multiple factors that I mentioned earlier.”

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