The Madison Police Department (MPD) on Tuesday night declined to confirm to The Tennessee Star the public reporting that 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who police say fatally shot a student and a teacher before ending her life at the Abundant Life Christian School on Monday, was enrolled in therapy prior to the attack.
Following reporting by The Washington Post which revealed Rupnow was “enrolled in therapy” during her parents’ divorce, The Star asked MPD to confirm the mental health treatment. The Star also asked whether she was seeing a psychologist, if these therapy sessions resulted in a diagnosis of a mental health condition, and whether Rupnow was understood to be prescribed any medications for mental health conditions.
In a late Tuesday response, MPD Public Affairs Officer Stephanie Fryer told The Star, “Here is what we can confirm about Rupnow. She was a 15-year-old student who began shooting inside a Madison school this week. Our department is still working to determine what the motive was in this shooting. We are asking anyone who may have interacted with her recently to share information about any concerning behaviors during these interactions.”
According to The Post, court records show Rupnow’s parents “divorced and remarried multiple times and that she had been enrolled in therapy.” This therapy was reportedly aimed at assisting the teen with “decisions about which parent she would spend weekends with,” the outlet reported.
The police spokesman did not respond to previous press inquiries by The Star, which have sought authentication of the purported manifesto Rupnow allegedly sent to a long-distance boyfriend, as well as a timeline suggesting when the department may finish authenticating the document.
While the spokesman declined to comment on the authenticity of the purported manifesto in her response to The Star, MPD Chief Shon Barnes twice said the department was working to determine whether Rupnow wrote the document in an earlier press conference.
After stating he would accept no questions from the media, Barnes told the press, “We are working to authenticate the documents that you see online, that some are referring to as a manifesto, and as soon as we do that, we will let you know.”
Despite acknowledging the document’s existence and confirming detectives are working to determine its origins, the police chief cautioned the media against spreading its contents.
“We ask that you not share the document or spread any information that may be false,” said Barnes. “Our department will provide an update on this document when we can.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
