A news report connecting Antioch High School killer Solomon Henderson to with Natalie Rupnow, who killed two and injured seven at the Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin last month, comes after authorities said a California man planned a bombing campaign with Rupnow prior to her attack.
Henderson, the 17-year-old who killed one student and injured two more before taking his own life at his Nashville public high school on Wednesday, was reported on Friday by ABC News to have operated a social media account that is connected to an account owned by Rupnow prior to her death.
The network, citing law enforcement sources, reported “Rupnow’s account may have been following Henderson’s at the time of the Wisconsin shooting in December.”
It also reported that Henderson uploaded a photo of Rupnow to the social media platform BlueSky, which saw an increase in popularity after President Donald Trump won the White House last November with the support of Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform X.
In a Friday press inquiry, The Tennessee Star asked the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) to confirm the reported connection between Henderson and Rupnow, but spokesman Don Aaron did not respond to this question prior to press time.
The previous day, MNPD said in a press release that Henderson “was significantly influenced by web-based material, especially that found on non-traditional sites that most would find harmful and objectionable.” Police also confirmed the FBI is working with the department to conduct “the ideological influences portion of this investigation.”
Only days after Rupnow attacked the Madison, Wisconsin school she attended on December 16, 2024, it was revealed that California authorities served 20-year-old Alexander Paffendorf with a restraining order under California’s red flag law, confiscating his weapons, as the FBI questioned him.
Reports indicated that Paffendorf admitted to discussing plans to commit mass violence with Rupnow before her death.
Paffendorf reportedly later apologized for his conversations with Rupnow during a January 3 court appearance over the restraining order, when The New York Post reported the court determined his firearms would remain confiscated until April 4, around the same time the Post reported the FBI expects its investigation into Paffendorf to conclude.
Like Henderson, Rupnow reportedly authored a manifesto that was published online after her attack, but police have been unable to authenticate she authored the document published by Reduxx founder Anna Slatz shortly after the shooting. They have asked the public not to share the manifesto.
MNPD similarly confirmed its detectives located two documents left by Henderson before the Antioch High School attack, including a 51-page document and a 288-page document, but did not respond to a request from The Star to release the documents.
The Star has since obtained what appear to be copies of these documents, and while MNPD has yet to authenticate their authenticity, the killer’s purported writings seem to reveal Henderson was motivated by a racist and antisemitic ideology.
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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].
Photos appear in the manifesto and diary allegedly composed by Henderson.
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