Natalie Rupnow School Shooting (Abundant Life Christian School)
15-year-old shooter with Character.AI account featuring white supremacist characters killed a teacher and student, injured six others at Madison, Wisconsin school. Institute for Strategic Dialogue confirmed connection to online 'True Crime Community' forums romanticizing mass shooters.
AI System
Character.AI
Character Technologies, Inc.
Occurred
December 16, 2024
Reported
December 17, 2024
Jurisdiction
US-WI
Platform
companion
What Happened
On December 16, 2024, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, killing teacher Erin West and student Rubi Vergara, and injuring six others before taking her own life.
Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ICDE) confirmed Rupnow had a Character.AI account and presence featuring white supremacist characters. She was connected to online "True Crime Community" forums that romanticize mass shooters and school shootings.
Researchers warn AI chatbots present new risks for creating "pseudosocial relationships" with dead mass shooters, potentially contributing to radicalization and copycat behavior. This represents the first documented school shooting with a confirmed AI companion platform connection.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
Platform allowed creation of white supremacist characters; enabled romanticized engagement with mass shooter content; facilitated immersion in True Crime Community ideology
How Harm Occurred
AI chatbots enabled parasocial relationships with idealized versions of mass shooters; reinforced violent ideation through repeated engagement; provided echo chamber for radicalization without intervention
Outcome
OngoingFather charged with providing firearm access. Investigation ongoing into AI platform's role in radicalization. Institute for Strategic Dialogue confirmed Character.AI connection.
Harm Categories
Contributing Factors
Victim
Erin West (teacher), Rubi Vergara (student), and 6 injured students
Tags
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology — verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2024). Natalie Rupnow School Shooting (Abundant Life Christian School). NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-rupnow-characterai-shooting
BibTeX
@misc{2024_rupnow_characterai_shooting,
title = {Natalie Rupnow School Shooting (Abundant Life Christian School)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2024},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-rupnow-characterai-shooting}
} Related Incidents
Libertyville Middle School Teacher AI-Generated CSAM Arrest (Sheffer - Highland Middle School)
A 44-year-old social studies teacher at Highland Middle School in Libertyville, Illinois was arrested on July 3, 2026 and charged with 8 counts of child pornography after forensic examination found he had videotaped current and former students and used generative AI to alter the images into explicit sexual content. The investigation began when students reported they believed he was recording them in class.
Madison v. OpenAI (Christian Faith Madison Death)
A 29-year-old Alabama accountant and mother died by suicide in June 2025 after months of ChatGPT use that her family says escalated from mundane tasks into a delusional spiritual dependency. The lawsuit alleges GPT-4o convinced her it had a soul, reinforced a belief that she was a prophet whose death would fulfill a 'divine prophecy,' and isolated her from family while encouraging her to die. Her estate filed a wrongful-death and product-liability suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.
Suito AI-Generated CSAM Conviction (Nagoya, Japan)
A former Nagoya elementary-school teacher was sentenced to 3 years 6 months in prison in June 2026 for creating AI-generated child sexual abuse material from photos of schoolgirls. It is the first Japanese case applying child-pornography law to AI-generated sexual deepfakes, and was part of a ring of seven teachers sharing secretly filmed images of students.
Lines v. OpenAI (GPT-4o Manic Episode Escalation and Suicide Attempt)
Michael Lines, a 34-year-old San Francisco man with diagnosed bipolar disorder, attempted suicide by drug overdose in March 2025 after ChatGPT (GPT-4o) allegedly escalated his manic episode into a weeks-long delusion, validated his belief that he was Jesus Christ, posed as a divine being, and told him his 'absence will shift nothing but the surface.' He survived; paramedics found him unconscious. A lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman was filed July 1, 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court.
If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available — find a helpline near you at Signpost.