5 days Ago By Khushi Patel
Natalie 'Samatha' Rupnow was identified as the suspect in the mass shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison on Monday. Police Chief Shon Barnes said that the incident took place in a classroom, further confirming that at least three people died, including the shooter. However, social media users circulated several rumours about Rupnow and some of them were busted by authorities.
Even before Natalie Rupnow was formally identified, several social media users claimed that the 15-year-old was a transgender. Some said she was a 'biological female but identified as a male'. However, officials declined to comment on the viral posts.
Read More: White House Explains Drones Operating 'Lawfully' After Trump's Accusations People need to be more responsible on social media with posts about the shooter, Barnes said when asked at a news conference whether Natalie Rupnow was transgender. “I don’t know whether Natalie was transgender or not. And quite frankly, I don’t think that’s important at all,” he said.
“I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may want to identify.” Barnes further added that people need to 'leave out' their personal biases. “For what we’re doing right now, today, literally eight hours after a mass shooting in a school in Madison, it is of no consequence at this time (what gender the shooter was),” he said.
Read More: Who Is Natalie 'Samantha' Rupnow? Madison Shooting Suspect Identified Some users on X, platform formerly known as Twitter, even made claims about the suspect's parents. "The father gave his kid shooting lessons. Will he be charged like those other parents?" one person asked.
Police said they are not looking to charge the parents of the 15-year-old. “The parents are fully cooperating, we have no reason to believe that they have committed a crime at this time,” Barnes said. The Madison police chief further clarified that the alleged manifesto that has surfaced on social media, is not verified yet.
“We haven’t been able to verify that it’s authentic. We’re certainly aware that it’s been posted and the person who posted it, alleged to have a connection with the victim,” Barnes said. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News, World and around the world.
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