NEW YORK — The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism has released a new research project detailing the online radicalization of two recent school shooters, examining the role of internet extremism and violent content in inspiring real-world violence.
Through an interactive timeline, the ADL illustrates how both Natalie (Samantha) Rupnow and Solomon Henderson followed similar online paths before carrying out deadly attacks in late 2024 and early 2025 in different states.
Rupnow carried out a deadly school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, in December 2024, where she killed a teacher and a student, wounded several others, and then died by suicide.
Henderson opened fire inside the cafeteria of Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, in January 2025, fatally shooting a 16-year-old student, injuring another, and then taking his own life.
Both shooters were active in the “True Crime Community” and interacted with extremist content across various platforms, including white supremacist, misogynistic and antisemitic spaces, months before their attacks, ADL states.
A key finding in the timeline is the shared use of WatchPeopleDie, a gore website that allows users to post and engage with graphic videos and images of real-world violence, including murder and executions. Both Rupnow and Henderson created WPD accounts in June 2023 and carried out their attacks approximately 18 to 19 months later, highlighting what
ADL calls a dangerous pipeline between online exposure to violence and real-world extremist acts.
“These incidents are a stark reminder that online exposure to violence and extremism, combined with personal factors such as home and school life, can profoundly influence impressionable youth—and may even inspire deadly, on-the-ground acts,” ADL stated.
According to ADL’s findings:
- Both shooters engaged with 764-affiliated accounts (a known extremist code).
- They regularly interacted with content glorifying mass killers and violent ideologies.
- They were part of fringe online communities that blend gore, hate, and extremist beliefs.
- Henderson and Rupnow each made their first social media posts about mass killers in August and October 2023, respectively.
- Other online forums that the shooters engaged with included DeviantArt, extremist accounts on TikTok and other mainstream social media and messaging apps like Telegram and Discord.
- In both cases, extremism transcended race and gender. Extremist school shooters are overwhelmingly young white men, but Rupnow was a teenage girl and Henderson was Black. Rupnow and Henderson also both engaged with racist and misogynistic content.
In response to the findings, ADL is reaching out to 16,000 school superintendents nationwide, encouraging awareness of how students might be accessing these platforms from school networks and urging the implementation of safeguards.
The organization is also offering resources to law enforcement, educators and parents to help recognize and respond to early warning signs of online radicalization.
“Extremism, hate and violent gore are just a click away for many children — making it urgent for schools and parents to implement safeguards,” said Oren Segal, ADL’s Senior Vice President of Counter-Extremism and Intelligence. “These toxic online spaces can cause devastating harm in our communities and are increasingly becoming central to the broader violent extremist landscape.”
