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Tag: School Shooting

  • Shaylee Chuckulnaskit: Third Shooting Victim Dies

    A third victim from the Washington state high school shooting has died.

    According to Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, passed away on Friday, raising the number of casualties from the shooting to four.

    “Today at 4:45 p.m. Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, known affectionately as Shay to her family and friends, passed away at Providence Regional Medical Center as a result of severe injuries from last Friday’s school shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School. The entire Providence family is deeply saddened by this news and we extend our heartfelt sympathy to Shaylee’s family,” Dr. Anita Tsen, a critical care physician at Providence Regional Medical Center, read from an official news release.

    “Our hearts are broken at the passing of our beautiful daughter,” Chuckulnaskit’s family said in a statement. “Shay means everything to us. In Shay’s short life she has been a radiant light bringing us incredible joy and happiness. She has been a loving daughter, a caring sister, a devoted friend and a wonderful part of our community. We can’t imagine life without her.”

    “We have been overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and support of our family, friends and community,” the statement added. “We are deeply grateful for all the acts of kindness that have come our way. We especially want to thank the medics and Providence staff who have cared for Shay.”

    Chuckulnaskit and four other students were shot on October 24 when the gunman, Jaylen Fryberg, opened fire in the cafeteria of their high school. Zoe Galasso, 14, was pronounced dead at the scene and Gia Soriano, 14, later died in the hospital on Sunday night. Andrew Fryberg and Nate Hatch, the gunman’s cousins, were also wounded by the gunshots and remain hospitalized in Seattle. Fryberg also took his own life.

    The cause of the shooting is still under investigation.

  • School Shooting Leaves 17-Year-Old Dead

    School Shooting Leaves 17-Year-Old Dead

    A school shooting ended in the death of 17-year-old Kris Hunter Friday night in Fulton county, Georgia.

    The teen was attending an alternative school and friends say they were enjoying a reunion of sorts, as well as the homecoming football game of Langston Hughes high school.

    After the game, Hunter was gunned down in the parking lot.

    Though there has been reported speculation of Hunter’s involvement in a gang, and his killing being an act of revenge, his friends say it’s not so.

    However, other kids say that the killers have been bragging about the shooting on social media.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3TgLDFBom4

    “You can’t even come to a football game and just watch it any more. You have to worry about somebody getting shot,” Khyra Perry said.

    She added, “I’ve been really lost for words trying to keep myself together all day.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD2ol-1Rp9Q

    Police were called to a shooting in the school’s parking lot at around 10 p.m. They found Hunter still alive, but barely.

    He died at Grady Memorial Hospital at 12:30 am.

    Friends say that, despite the negative attention on social media, Kris Hunter will be remembered as a great kid.

    “Kris was a great person, a loving person. He never hurt anybody,” Perry said.

    “Everybody is going to remember about him his smile. He had the perfect smile.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFMbpLdzFKI

    So far, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and police are working together, but there has not been a suspect or a vehicle description released.

    This shooting came just on the heels of another shooting on Tuesday that caused injury to 16-year-old Bernard Miller at Albemarle High School in North Carolina.

    Students returned on Wednesday with extra security lining the halls.

    “It was different. It wasn’t loud like it normally is. It was like a sad feeling, depressing almost,” student Tierra Williams said.

    Hopefully the kids and families affected by these violent acts will find peace soon.

  • Billy Ray Cyrus Honors Slain Middle School Teacher

    Billy Ray Cyrus and his dad Ronald Ray Cyrus used to honor unsung American heroes on a regular basis, but the practice ended with the passing of the elder Cyrus back in 2006. Billy Ray Cyrus renewed the practice this weekend, however, when he honored a teacher who was slain during a middle school shooting in Nevada.

    Michael Landsberry was shot and killed by a 12-year-old shooter in the Reno, Nevada suburb of Sparks last October. The student also wounded two classmates before taking his own life.

    When Billy Ray Cyrus knew he’d be performing at Lake Tahoe, he felt the time was right to continue his father’s tradition, knowing that Michael Landsberry was the person who deserved the honor.

    “Just about every year, my dad and I would find an unsung hero and present them with a ‘Some Gave All’ award,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I kind of play everything by ear, and I thought sometime when the time is right, I would love to recognize the sacrifice Michael made.”

    “Tonight we are here to honor a true American hero,” Cyrus told a crowd of over 1,000. “Michael Landsberry made the ultimate sacrifice to save his students after serving three terms in Afghanistan.

    Cyrus presented Sharon Landsberry with a plaque during the concert on Saturday evening.

    “We all love him today. … He lives within all of us,” Sharon Landsberry said of her late husband.

    Billy Ray Cyrus also presented Sharon Landsberry with a monetary gift, the amount of which was not disclosed.

    The Achy Breaky Heart singer is involved with a program called Do the Write Thing. Its aim is to educate children, parents, and the public on the potential problems that might result in violence at school.

    Kudos to Billy Ray Cyrus for using his notoriety for good. Who knows how many children Michael Landsberry saved on that fateful day in Sparks, Nevada? It’s deplorable that teachers find themselves in these dangerous situations. Hopefully programs like the one the singer is involved will reduce the number of such tragedies.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Atlanta Shootings: One Victim Now Critical

    Seventeen-year-old Marcellus Brooks was arrested and faces five counts of aggravated assault after allegedly shooting five people near Therrell High School in Atlanta on Tuesday.

    Brooks, a tenth-grader, allegedly began shooting roughly 100 yards away from the school at around 4 p.m., which left four students wounded. All five victims were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital. None of the injuries were initially thought to be life-threatening, though one victim’s status has been upgraded to critical. As of late Tuesday, three of the shooting victims remained hospitalized. Brooks is being held at the Fulton County jail, and was previously out of custody on bond after a robbery charge.

    Less than a week before the shooting, Brooks had pleaded not guilty to a felony robbery charge in Fulton County Superior Court. The teen had been arrested by MARTA police over a March 29 incident, and spent 15 days in jail before being released on an $8,000 bond. Brooks was awaiting an August trial for the robbery charge, and now faces five counts of aggravated assault, and is presently being held without bond and will be charged as an adult.

    Atlanta Public Schools and the Atlanta Police Department have provided extra security at Therrell High School, and students are no longer allowed to carry bags or backpacks through the end of the semester. Atlanta Public Schools Associate Superintendent Steve Smith reported that attendance at Therrell High was down by roughly 100 students at the 800-student school.

    The wounded have been identified as Lamarcritus Wilson, 20, Domonic Clark, 17, Trevion Morgan, 18, Tekevious Redding, 17, and Morgan Evans, 15. Redding has a bullet lodged in her leg, according to mother Shavien Dennis. Dennis told reporters outside Grady Memorial, that “she (Redding) tried to run and realized she wasn’t running anymore. She was on the ground and she said blood was everywhere.”

    Atlanta Police Officer John Chafee said in a statement, “At this moment the motive has not been established. Investigators are following up on information and we are progressing the investigation.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Paine College Shooting Leaves One Critically Injured

    A second shooting Monday within a 24-hour time period at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia has left one student seriously wounded. The victim was shot in the head inside a dormitory, and the the injury is life threatening. A 21-year-old student labeled as a “person of interest” was taken into custody, according to the Richmond Sheriff’s office.

    The possible attacker was found roughly two hours after an argument occurred in Haygood Hall, which culminated in the shooting. Sgt. Michael McDaniel stated that the male student remains in custody, but has not yet been identified or formally charged.

    A separate shooting had occurred Sunday afternoon on the Paine College campus after a pair of gunman fired into Gray Hall, another men’s dormitory. Two students suffered minor injuries in that incident, and the gunmen were not students. Officials have stated that there was no connection between the shootings yet established.

    Paine College is a historically black institution that was founded in 1882. There are roughly 900 students enrolled at present, and notable alumni include actor Danny Glover. Paine College has a 64-acre campus located near downtown Augusta. The majority of the residence halls, classroom buildings and the library are located in the main campus area.

    After the 1 p.m. shooting Monday, the Paine College campus was on lock down for five hours, and classes are scheduled to resume Tuesday, with the final day of the semester being Wednesday. Nearby Georgia Regents University, as well as several nearby schools and a hospital were also closed.

    The Sheriff’s office said that additional deputies will be on the Paine College campus as a result of the rash of shootings, and commented, “the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office will be augmenting the Paine College Police to provide additional safety and security at Paine College until further notice.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Romeoville Shooting Suspects Questioned

    Romeoville police released two of four people they were questioning Thursday evening in relation to the shooting of a mother and daughter that morning.

    Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey said the four people being questioned range in age from their late teens to their early 20s.

    A 23-year-old man and another man remained in police custody and no charges have been filed.

    Turvey said investigators have not yet determined a motive for the shooting of a 33-year-old woman and her 15-year-old daughter in an SUV as they were leaving for school.

    The shooting took place on the 300 block of Emery Avenue. The mother and daughter had just left their home and were sitting in an SUV in their driveway at approximately 7 a.m. on Thursday when a suspect walked up to their vehicle and opened fire.

    “It was point blank. They were in the car and he shot through passenger side, first the daughter then the mother. Then he fled,” Turvey said.

    Police say the 15-year-old girl was shot in the head and her 33-year-old mother was shot in the neck.

    Neighbors Brian Corban heard the gun shots and ran outside in time to see the mother get out of the SUV.

    “She was bleeding around the chest and neck,” Corban said.

    “We went around to other side and tried to get the daughter up. She wasn’t looking good,” he added.

    The shooter, described as a short male, was last seen running west along 135th Street.

    Both victims were rushed to a Bolingbrook hospital and later transported to Loyola Hospital.

    Turvey said the gunman specifically targeted the women and that shootings are rare in Romeoville.

    The shooting prompted a two-hour “soft” lockdown at schools in the immediate area. School officials initially told parents to send their children to school while police conducted a search immediately following the shooting. Officials then told parents to keep their children at home until the lockdown was lifted.

    Anyone with information related to the crime is asked to contact the Romeoville Police Department at 815-886-7219 or an anonymous tip line at 815-328-5205.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Romeoville Shooting: Mother and Daughter Targeted

    The quiet Illinois neighborhood of Romeoville is shocked and reeling today after a mother and daughter are shot leaving their home.

    At around 7 am Thursday morning, the 33-year-old mother and her 15-year-old daughter were in their SUV and backing out of their driveway in the 300 block of Emery Ave. They were getting ready to leave to take the girl to school, but where shot before they made it onto the street.

    “A male subject approached the car and shot the daughter, and then shot the mother,” said Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey in an interview. He said the gunman specifically targeted the women. However, a motive for the incident is not known at this time and investigators are working to find why these two women were involved in the shooting.

    Police questioned four persons of interest, who range in age from late teens to early 20s.

    “We don’t know that any of these four are the offender, but we’re confident that the offender … either he’s no longer a threat, or he’s no longer in the area,” said Turvey.

    The shooting took place about two blocks away from Irene King Elementary School. Officials put that school, as well as others in the area, on “soft lockdown” while police searched for a suspect. Parents were initially told to send their children to school, but were later advised to wait until the lockdown was lifted.

    The children who did go to school when the buildings were on lockdown were transported to the Romeoville Recreation Center until the lockdown was lifted, at around 9:30 am.

    Shootings are not something that Romeoville sees much of. In fact, Turvey said “one a year” is a lot.

    The mother was taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital for treatment, while the daughter was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

    Image via YouTube

  • Hawaii School Shooting: Police Officer Fires at Runaway Teen

    A shooting occurred early Tuesday morning at Roosevelt High School in Honolulu, Hawaii.

    Unlike the typical school shootings that have taken place lately, this instead involved police officers.

    A police officer shot a 17-year-old runaway boy in the wrist following the attack of three other officers.

    School officials notified the police when they realized that the boy, who was previously enrolled, was a runaway felon and not a student at the school anymore.

    Commander of the Honolulu Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, Richard Robinson, reported to Daily Mail that the boy responded defensively in attempt to get away from officers when they arrived to the school “to take him into custody.”

    The boy violently attacked one cop with a knife, cutting him in his chest area. Two other officers were also punched.

    In retaliation, an officer shot two rounds, one of which hit the teenage boy in the wrist.

    One witness said that the confrontation between the boy and the officers most likely happened in a school counselor’s office since he was not too far away from the shots.

    The school of 1,500 students was immediately locked down following the stream of events.

    The shooting, which occurred at 8:30 a.m., prompted school officials to cancel classes early and students were ordered to evacuate off campus at a nearby memorial cemetery.

    A number of parents showed up at the school waiting to hear word from their children.

    President of the statewide police officers union told KBAC-TV that the police officers didn’t plan on shooting the boy but regardless of age, if a suspect poses a threat then police officers are expected to protect themselves.

    According to Education Department officials, “Hawaii is one of 12 states that have not had a school shooting, or someone entering a campus with the intent to shoot.”

    Piers Morgan posted on Twitter Tuesday that the school shooting ranks 37 in American history, but later deleted the tweet.

     Image via Youtube

  • Purdue University T.A. Shot, Suspect Jailed

    Purdue University T.A. Shot, Suspect Jailed

    Purdue University students were shocked when a seemingly normal Tuesday was interrupted by an eruption of violence on campus. A 21 year old senior from West Bend, Wisconsin was shot and killed in the basement of the Electrical Engineering building around noon today. The victim was identified as Andrew Boldt, a teaching assistant for the university.

    According to Campus Police Chief John Cox, the suspect in custody, Cody Cousins, was also a teaching assistant for the university. Both Cousins and Boldt worked within the Electrical Engineering program. Campus and West Lafayette police forces are working together to process the crime scene and investigate a motive for the shooting.

    Although the incident seems to have been specifically targeted to Andrew Boldt, Purdue students were sent a text message warning to seek shelter in the moments following the shooting. Classes were cancelled for the remainder of the day, and will remain cancelled on Wednesday as well.

    Following the trauma of a fatal shooting on campus, counselors are being made available for students, faculty, and staff to consult. Purdue Provost Tim Sands stated,“We’ll provide whatever services we can to assist our students, our faculty and our staff in coming back to a sense of normality.” Purdue has been utilizing social media outlets such as Twitter to keep their student body up to date on the situation.

    In addition, the school hosted a candlelight vigil this evening at 8pm.

    According to jail records discovered by The Chicago Tribune, Cousins will appear in a hearing on Wednesday at 2:30 pm.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Purdue Shooting – One Person Found Dead

    A young man was shot to death at Indiana’s Purdue University Tuesday, and a male suspect was taken into custody, police said, in an apparently targeted killing, adding to the rush of school shootings this past year.

    The gunman and student, Cody Cousins, 23, fatally shot Andrew Boldt, 21, who was a graduate student and teacher’s assistant at the university’s electrical engineering building, according to Purdue University Police Chief John Cox.

    “The individual entered the facility and took the actions that he took, and then immediately left the facility without any other interaction that we’re aware of,” Cox said.

    Cousins gave himself up to a West Lafayette police officer outside the building on the 40,000-student campus, he said.

    (image) Andrew Boldt

    Apparently Cousins was not cooperating with investigators, initially, even though he had surrendered.

    Purdue security officials issued a text alert to warn those on campus and in the surrounding area that there had been a shooting, and to seek shelter immediately. Within two hours, the university said there was no ongoing threat on campus and allowed normal operations to resume in all buildings except the engineering facility, which was now a crime scene.

    Many students described chaos on the campus.

    Julissa Martinez, a freshman nursing student from Portage, said she was in class in a different building when she received the text message saying the university was on lockdown. She explained that her professor briefly kept teaching, then stopped so that students could contact people to let them know they were safe.

    “He tried to get everything under control because people were freaking out,” she said.

    She said students were nervous because there was a lot of speculation about the severity of the situation.

    “It was scary because you hear about it, but you never expect it to happen on your campus,” Martinez said.

    Senior Saran Mishra, editor of the Purdue Exponent, the campus newspaper, said some students had heard fire alarms and were told to evacuate.

    “Right now I’m still in shock,” he said.

    Image via YouTube; NDN

  • New Mexico School Shooting: Children Injured

    Just when you think it can’t get any worse, there’s another school shooting – and this time the shooter was a student.

    At Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, New Mexico a student opened fire around 8:00 am local time, causing at least two children to be taken to the hospital and it is suspected that more could be hurt.

    The state Department of Public Safety said in a news release that state and local police were called to the school at 8:11 a.m. and that “there are preliminary reports of injury,” though their number and extent were not immediately known.

    They were taken to Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, where their conditions were not immediately available, she said.

    Odiee Carranza, a student and witness said she saw a male student shot a boy twice in the face and shot the girl in the arm.

    Carranza said she was walking to the school gym when a boy bumped into her as he rushed past. She told him to be careful, and he apologized and continued on. He ran to the gym, where he pulled a gun out of a band instrument case and fired at the students.

    “Then he shot up in the sky, then dropped the gun, and then some teacher grabbed the kid that had the gun,” Carranza said.

    Anyssa Vegara, a sixth-grader, told The Albuquerque Journal newspaper that she was talking to a security guard when she heard a shot.

    “I turned around and all I saw was someone on the floor with their arm bleeding,” Vegara said. She said the guard ran to help and the students were ordered into their classrooms.

    School went immediately into lock down and students were transported to a mall nearby so parents could pick them up.

    The Roswell Police Department’s Facebook page said a suspect has been apprehended.

    Post by Roswell Police Department, RPD.

    Image via Wikipedia

  • Newtown: Obama Addresses Shooting One Year Later, Calls for Stricter Gun Laws

    Today marks the first anniversary of the second deadliest school shooting by one person in history. On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza first killed his mother and then went to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut where he went on a five-minute shooting rampage. The lives of six staff members and 20 first-grade students were taken during the shooting.

    Many people are taking a moment today to remember the victims of the atrocity, including President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle. The couple remembered the victims of the shooting at the White House today. The Obamas lit a candle for each Sandy Hook victim in the Map Room at 9:29 a.m.

    After the Obamas lit the 26 candles, the president acknowledged the Newtown shooting during his weekly radio address and touched on gun control. Despite efforts to create stronger gun control laws over the past year, nothing has changed, something the president is begging Americans to work on. Check out excerpts from his address below.

    One year ago today, a quiet, peaceful town was shattered by unspeakable violence. Six dedicated school workers and 20 beautiful children were taken from our lives forever.

    As parents, as Americans, the news filled us with grief. Newtown is a town like so many of our hometowns. The victims were educators and kids that could have been any of our own. And our hearts were broken for the families that lost a piece of their heart; for the communities changed forever; for the survivors, so young, whose innocence was torn away far too soon.

    But beneath the sadness, we also felt a sense of resolve–that these tragedies must end, and that to end them, we must change.

    And on this anniversary of a day we will never forget, that’s the example we should continue to follow. Because we haven’t yet done enough to make our communities and our country safer. We have to do more to keep dangerous people from getting their hands on a gun so easily. We have to do more to heal troubled minds. We have to do everything we can to protect our children from harm and make them feel loved, and valued, and cared for.

    And as we do, we can’t lose sight of the fact that real change won’t come from Washington. It will come the way it’s always come from you. From the American people.

    While many people are remembering the Newtown shooting victims on Twitter, quite a few folks are irritated that the president used the shooting to bring up gun control.

    [Image via YouTube]

  • Pittsburgh Shooting Left Three Students Injured

    A shooting close to the Pittsburgh area has left three Brashear High School students injured. One student was shot in the shoulder and neck region, another student in the arm as well as the foot, and the third in the head. The incident did not occur directly inside the school, but rather was brought to the attention of school officials when an injured student was questioned by administration of the Beechview campus. The shooter retreated into a wooded area near the vicinity of Brashear where police have since searched.

    Finding the culprit (or culprits) behind this tragedy has shown to be a difficult process since the injured students have not been forthcoming with details. However, the police department has still been able to determine some potential leads. According to Diane Richard, who is the spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh police, “We do have some leads on the actor or actors.”

    SWAT team members are still looking for those responsible for the shooting. At this time it has not been reported whether there was one party responsible or multiple individuals. A SWAT team vehicle was seen in a nearby neighborhood shortly after the shooting, where two handcuffed people were escorted into the armored vehicle.

    Reports are not claiming the type of involvement the two handcuffed individuals may have had with the shooting at this time. Diane Richard said that the two may only be linked to the incident and not necessarily directly involved. According to WTAE, police are in the process of questioning multiple people who may be connected to the crime.

    Brashear High School was placed on lockdown, and the three students were all taken to a hospital for treatment. Though the circumstances surrounding the shooting have not been released, Pittsburgh school district spokesperson Ebony Pugh, has shared some details. According to Pugh, the three students included two juniors and one freshman, who were in the midst of walking to a vehicle in which they all three had commuted earlier in the day when the shooting occurred.

    [Image Via WTAE]

  • Nevada Shooter: Parents Could Face Charges

    Tragedy struck Sparks, Nevada on Monday morning when a student opened fire at a middle school. A 12-year-old student at Sparks Middle School shot and killed a teacher and wounded two classmates before turning the gun on himself. The boy’s parents may face charges, if it is determined that the gun used in the shooting came from their home.

    A Ruger 9mm semi-automatic handgun was used in the shooting. Authorities suspect the gun came from the boy’s home, but are still investigating the matter. Sparks deputy police chief Tom Miller said that if the gun did come from the parents’ home, it will fall to a local prosecutor to decide whether to press charges. Miller said “the potential is there,” but was quick to point out that the parents of the boy were “fully” cooperating with police.

    Nevada is one of twelve states that has a Child Access Prevention (CAP) law, which “prohibits only intentional, knowing, or reckless provision of firearms to minors.” Even if the boy’s parents don’t face criminal charges as a result of the shooting, they could face civil lawsuits, if the gun is determined to be theirs.

    “It’s a fairly straightforward civil liability case that a parent can be held liable for failing to adequately secure a gun away from a young person, and there have been a number of civil suits over the years, and a number of reported cases around the country of holding gun owners to the highest degree of care in securing their weapons,” says Jonathan Lowy, director of the Legal Action Project at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

    According to an editorial that was written in the Los Angeles Times, one writer believes that people should leave the parents alone. Do you think the parents should be singled out? Respond below.

    Should the parents have locked the gun away so the boy didn’t have access to it? Absolutely. That’s an action any sensible gun owner should take. And I’m sure the parents are tortured by that very thought right now, as they deal with their grief at losing a child and their undoubted horror at the destruction he caused.

    But singling them out for punishment is pointless. It’s taking the easy way out.

    So far, police say they haven’t uncovered a motive for the shooting, but some students who were interviewed say the seventh-grader was bullied. Faith Ebans, a student who had a class with the shooter, said she believed he was made fun of at school.

    “I saw kids pushing him around and doing a lot of mean things to him,” she said. “I guess one day he got tripped and my friends said, ‘Trip them back,’” Ebans said. “But I guess he just decided just to shoot them.”

    Watch an interview where another students says the Sparks shooter was bullied:

    Image via YouTube

  • Nevada School Shooting

    Nevada School Shooting

    Tragedy struck the Nevada town of Sparks on Monday around 7:15 in the morning when a middle school student opened fire. One brave teacher, Mike Landsberry, had stepped in to protect the children, and was shot and killed. Mike Landsberry had served in the military, including spending time in Afghanistan on multiple tours. Reports claim that the shooter had taken the gun from his parents; however, a motive behind the shooting has not yet been released.

    According to Tom Robinson, who is the deputy chief of the Reno Police Department, “It’s too early to say whether he was targeting specific people or just going on an indiscriminate shooting spree.”

    Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval released a statement about the school shooting.

    “I was deeply saddened to learn of the horrific shooting at Sparks Middle School this morning. My administration is receiving regular updates and the Nevada Highway Patrol is assisting at the scene. Kathleen and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the victims and those affected by these tragic events.”

    While twenty to thirty students witnessed the unfolding trauma, one 13-year-old student spoke about the devastating situation with the Reno Gazette-Journal.

    “The student [shooter] fired a shot at the teacher, and the teacher fell, and everybody ran away,” the student said.

    Mike Landsberry is remembered and honored for his heroism. Sparks Mayor Geno Martini spoke with CNN about the honorable teacher. “It’s very unfortunate that someone like that, who protected our country over there and came back alive … had to be taken at his work, at a school. It’s very devastating,” Mayor Geno Martini said.

    Two 12-year-old students were wounded because of the shooting, with one being shot in the shoulder while the other was shot in the stomach. Both students are in stable condition at this time.

    The tragedy poses many questions about the safety of schools. Nobody can expect teachers and administrative personnel to protect children from every threat that could arise during the daytime school operating hours. Is there more than can be done to ensure that these horrific events do not continue?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSJVPj75qt4

    [Image And Videos Via YouTube]

  • Nevada School Shooting: Two Dead, Two Wounded

    Nevada residents are grieving today after a middle school student shot and killed a staff member at Sparks Middle School and wounded two fellow students. The gunman is reported to be dead, although police have not released whether he was shot or if he succumbed to a self-inflicted wound.

    The two students who were shot are reportedly in critical condition, and one of them has already been through surgery. The staff member–who has not been identified yet–is believed to have died while shielding students from gunfire.

    “In my estimation is he’s a hero,” Reno’s Deputy Police Chief Tom Robinson said at a news conference.

    The shots rang out early this morning, while students were still arriving at school, and officials say they have between 20 and 30 witnesses who saw or heard what happened. Everyone was immediately evacuated to nearby Sparks High School, where parents could pick them up. School administrators say classes have been cancelled for the rest of the week and grief counselors are standing by.

    Over the years as more and more stories come in of school shootings, many states have seen a rise in requests for tougher gun laws; after the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut last December that took 26 lives, many want to see a change in the way automatic weapons are sold. Unfortunately, gun laws are not easy things to change from state to state, and the fight continues.

    Image: KTLA5

  • NC Middle School Terrifies Kids with a Masked Gunman

    Imagine that you send your kid to school one day, only to hear that a masked man wielding a gun showed up. You’d assume the worst, right? After all, stories where people take guns into schools never end well. While such a situation happened at a Wayne County, NC school on Friday, no one was harmed–the mask was real, but the gun was fake and was being used to teach the sixth graders at Eastern Wayne Middle School a “lesson.”

    Apparently at a middle school in Wayne County, some employees think that getting a masked man with a gun to rob students is an appropriate way to teach them how to be aware of their surroundings. While some parents might think that’s an extreme way to teach kids a lesson, but not be too upset with it as long as they had a chance to opt their kids in or out, parents of Eastern Wayne Middle School students never had such an opportunity. Parents didn’t learn of the training exercise until after it was conducted.

    The school received quite a few phone calls from ticked off parents, which prompted school officials to send out a letter explaining the situation on Monday. The letter explains that the masked man with a toy gun was part of an “enrichment lesson on exhibiting good citizenship.” The letter goes on to say that after a staff member entered all of the sixth grade classrooms and pretended to rob them, their teachers explained that it was all play-acting.

    (image)

    School official Ken Derksen says that the exercise lacked sensitivity and admits that maybe having a masked man with a gun scare kids wasn’t the best way to teach the lesson. “It obviously did lack that sensitivity that was needed…all of our schools work very hard to promote a safe learning environment…in this situation, the exercise in its original intent was appropriate, but in how it was executed it obviously lacked judgment,” said Derksen, who is a Public Information Officer with the Wayne County Public Schools.

    Would you be outraged if your child were part of such a training exercise? Respond below.

    One parent of a child who has already graduated says that he thinks parents have “every right to be upset.” “I think after Sandy Hook less than a year ago and countless school shootings in recent years, it is quite understandable if these sixth graders were traumatized by the sight of a paid fake masked gunman entering the school,” said Clint Belue. “I think the parents have every right to be upset particularly since they had no knowledge beforehand about the paid fake gunman. Parents send their kids to school to learn, not to be terrorized by a paid fake gunman.”

    So far no action has been taken against the staff member who decided to dress as a masked gunman and scare the kids, but officials are looking into the situation to decide whether it warrants the person being suspended.

    Main image via WikiMedia Commons; Letter image via ABC11

  • “Sons Of Anarchy” Shocks Fans, May Lose Some

    “Sons Of Anarchy” Shocks Fans, May Lose Some

    “Sons Of Anarchy” and its creator, Kurt Sutter, have never shied away from controversial topics during five seasons on the air. As the sixth season opened, most fans expected to see something that would blow them away; what came, however, was so shocking that some took to Twitter to announce they were “done” with the show.

    WARNING: The rest of this article contains spoilers about the new season. Don’t worry, I’m just as upset about it as you are; I don’t have cable.

    Towards the end of the episode, a boy walks into school, takes a gun out of his backpack, and opens fire on a classroom full of children. While the camera cuts away from the violence, many think the imagery is too similar to what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary, and that it’s too soon to use such a storyline on a television show.

    But Sutter, who is keenly aware of the pain still being felt by the victims’ families, also understands that this is not a new story. From the days of Pearl Jam and their video for “Jeremy” to the Columbine shootings, school violence is a very real and tragic thing, and the fact that the scene seems to be leading up to something big involving the club and their dealings with guns may play into a bigger storyline.

    “I’ve wanted to do [this] story for about three years, and I knew, obviously, that it would be somewhat controversial,” Sutter said. “But I feel like, you know, as much as I wouldn’t do something because it was controversial, I’m also not going to not do something because it’s controversial. I feel like it’s an organic story to our world, in terms of, it’s what these guys do. I feel like that will continue to play out, and that is the truth. There’s a lot of blood and guts in my show, and it is a signature of the show, but I feel like I’m not lying to myself when I say that nothing is done gratuitously, that the events that happen in the premiere are really the catalyst for the third act of this morality play we’re doing….Again, not that I’m trying to make that statement with this story, but I think organically, all those elements are within the structure of that story. And, again, this is a story that is not being done to be sensational… It sets everything in motion for this season, [which] will ultimately lead to the end that then will bring us into the final season and what I see as the ultimate comeuppance of everything in terms of the series.”

    Nevertheless, the show’s fans are very divided on how appropriate the scene was and several have said they won’t be coming back for the rest of the season.

    Image: Twitter

  • Salisbury Shooting Leaves 2 Dead, Student Wounded

    Police are still trying to piece together the events of what they believe was a domestic violence incident turned fatal last night in Maryland which left two young men dead and one Salisbury student fighting for her life.

    Former Salisbury University student Charles Abbott of Hebron was shot and killed last night around 6 p.m. at a home on Onley Road after allegedly intervening in a dispute between shooter Ryan Shallue and his girlfriend, Kristen Loetz. Shallue shot Loetz, who is in critical condition, and then turned the gun on himself.

    The community was shocked when news spread of the shooting, and residents were fearful for their own safety, but the university released a bulletin in the evening saying there was no threat to the public.

    “The investigation thus far reveals that no continuing threat exists to the campus community,” the alert read. “Authorities still ask that the Onley Road area be avoided as the investigation continues.”

    University president Janet Dudley-Eshbach released a statement about the tragedy, saying, “Our prayers and condolences go out to the families and friends of those impacted by [Tuesday] evening’s tragic off-campus shooting. Sadly, relationship violence is a national issue and our campus is not immune to it.”

    The university has counseling resources for those who need to talk to someone about their grief.

  • Boko Haram Insurgents Kill 42, Including Schoolkids

    Gunmen killed dozens at a school in the northeast Nigerian town of Mamudo on Saturday. Believed to be members of the Islamist Boko Haram movement, the attackers herded students and staff into a dormitory before throwing explosives inside and firing into the building.

    A medical worker and local residents claim that 42 were killed, though the Nigerian military claims the death toll was roughly half that.

    Haliru Aliyu of the Potiskum General Hospital, where many of the victims were treated, said, “we received 42 dead bodies of students and other staff of Government Secondary School (in) Mamudo last night. Some of them had gunshot wounds.” Hospital personnel are currently combing the area in search of students who might have fled the scene and are hiding.

    “So far six students have been found and are now in the hospital being treated for gunshot wounds,” Aliyu said.

    Mamudo is roughly three miles from Potiskum. Located in the state of Yobe, Potiskum is a commercial center for the area and has been a flashpoint in the Boko Haram insurgency in recent months. This most recent attack is thought to be a reprisal for the killing of 22 Boko Haram fighters by the state military on Thursday.

    “It was a gory sight. People who went to the hospital and saw the bodies shed tears,” claimed a local resident who did not want to be identified. “There were 42 bodies, most of them were students. Some of them had parts of their bodies blown off and badly burnt while others had gunshot wounds.”

    Boko Haram (which, in the Hausa language, means “Western education is sinful”) is a jihadist group located in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger. Founded in 2001, the organization seeks to establish sharia law in its home area. Some analysts have linked the group to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), though Boko Haram’s general lack of organizational structure makes any sort of formal relationship unlikely.

  • Santa Monica Shooting: Gunman, Several Victims Wounded

    A gunman who opened fire on campus at Santa Monica College has been wounded by police, according to police.

    At least three people were wounded in the shootout, with one in critical condition at UCLA Medical Center, after the gunman fired into a vehicle near campus.

    “We didn’t know what was happening until all the students at the entrance of the library started running down towards the bottom of the library,” student Sam Luster said.

    The school was on lockdown this afternoon until the suspect was apprehended, and though rumors were floating around that there may have been a second shooter who fled the scene, police could not confirm that.

    President Obama was just a few miles away from the scene today at a fundraiser, but officials say they don’t believe the shootings had anything to do with his visit.

    “We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit,” said Secret Service Spokesman Edwin M. Donovan. “It’s a local police matter at this point.”