The father of the Abundant Life Christian School shooter is scheduled to stand trial in 2027.
The trial for Jeffrey Rupnow, who authorities say was the owner of the guns used by daughter Natalie Rupnow in the 2024 shooting, is scheduled to begin in March, according to online court records.
Rupnow is charged with two counts of intent to sell a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 and one felony count of contributing to a child’s delinquency. His trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on March 8 and continue through March 19, online court records show.
Rupnow’s next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 28.
Teacher Erin West, 42, and freshman Rubi Vergara, 14 were killed in the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School. Six others were wounded.
His daughter, 15, died by suicide after she opened fire inside a study in the school on Dec. 16, 2024. She is part of an emerging, troubling trend of online communities that foster hate and obsess over violence.
She was armed with a .22 caliber sig Sauer and a Glock handgun.
Both of the firearms were purchased by Jeffrey Rupnow, with his daughter helping him pay for one, according to authorities. He believed she had retrieved one from his gun safe and another may have been left out after it was cleaned the day before the shooting.
Charges against the parents of school shooters are rare, but Wisconsin law allows for it in situations where they provide a gun or other dangerous weapon to someone under 18, legal experts previously told the Journal Sentinel.
Jeffrey Rupnow attempted to have the case against him dismissed earlier this year. Dane County Circuit Judge Ellen Berz denied that request in May, according to online court records.
He is not the first parent to be charged after a child commits a mass shooting.
In recent years, the parents of a boy who murdered four students and injured seven others at a Michigan high school were charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. In Illinois, the father of a man who killed seven people during a Fourth of July parade pleaded guilty to charges.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trial dates set for father of Madison school shooter
Reporting by David Clarey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By David Clarey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
