TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: School Violence

  • More on Asa Coon

    More on Asa Coon

    Who was Asa Coon?:

    We’re so close to bestowing the M-title on SuccessTech gunman Asa Coon, but we’re not there yet. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has some more info on him and in the process, they try to get you to be sympathetic about him. We all know where you can find sympathy, too. However, I have no sympathy for a kid who slapped around his own mother and talked about suicide.

    What started the whole mess is that Coon got into an argument with another kid about the existence of God. Coon said he didn’t believe in or respect God, and that he worshiped Marilyn Manson and flipped off the other kid. A fight ensued after school and Coon got his ass beat. Both kids were suspended, but Coon couldn’t let it go…

    “I’m going to get you,” he warned his tormentor. “I will get you.”

    Of course, some kids are saying that Coon was “picked on”. Those two words will be used by the criminal apologists of the world to try to excuse the shooting of four people.

    Not surprisingly, Coon also told other kids that he planned to shoot up the school, but as usual, no one took him seriously. Here’s another repetitive lesson from Uncle Trench kids. If someone is talking about shooting up the school, don’t take the chance they’re “just joking”. Tell someone.

    Coon has a history of violence and mental issues.

    When he was 12, Asa was charged in Juvenile Court with domestic violence. His mother, Lori, had called the police and told them that Asa slapped her and called her a vulgar name. She had been trying to intervene in a fight between Asa and his twin sister Nicole.

    Once in court, a magistrate ordered Asa to undergo psychological testing and follow the orders of doctors. The magistrate also ordered the family to undergo therapy together.

    Asa immediately refused to obey probation rules. He threw the paperwork on the floor and charged out of the office, nearly knocking his mother to the ground.

    During one of his stays in a government facility, he was prescribed Trazodone and Clonodine so we should be hearing from the anti-psychiatry Luddites who think these medications must have caused the shooting.

    In 7th grade, he was suspended for trying to hurt another student.

    He fooled a home detention officer into thinking he was getting better.

    Last November, Asa had completed his counseling, anger management classes and community service. After five months without incident, he was released from probation.

    Sounds like he was just biding his time.

    Then the article goes on to detail how smart he was, and how special he was, and how he grew up in a rough neighborhood and a broken home. I’ve got three words for that. I DON’T CARE. None of that matters. The only thing that matters is that he shot four people because he was a selfish, egotistical little twit.

    The most messed up part is that he killed himself before being apprehended. If he had been caught, he probably would have gotten a slap on the wrist since he was a juvenile and nobody died.

    But the question is going to come as it always does about how this could have been prevented. It’s simple really. Be better parents to your kids and take these kinds of threats seriously. That’s all there really is to it.

  • More on SuccessTech

    More on SuccessTech

    Police Chief: Teen shoots four; kills self at Cleveland high school:

    The gunman has been identified as 14-year-old Asa Coon. He was armed with two revolvers, a .22 and a .38. No word yet on where he obtained the guns. He was also carrying a box of ammo and several knives.

    Coon had a record too…

    Coon had a previous arrest last year for a domestic violence incident and police had been to his home before for incidents that involved weapons, according to McGrath.

    That would be my leading guess as to where he got the weapons.

  • More on the SuccessTech shooter

    More on the SuccessTech shooter

    Teenage gunman wounds four in Ohio high school:

    I’m not quite ready to bestow the M-title on him just yet, but it’s coming awfully damn close…

    Local media reported the student, who was described as a loner, was frustrated after being suspended from school for getting into a fight on Tuesday.

    “I know that dude was crazy. We just knew it. You know when people are crazy, come on, man,” one student who fled at the sound of gunshots told CNN.

    “He was in my class … He always wore a trench coat.”

    The boy was described by other students as a loner and devil worshipper who had made jokes about shooting other students in front of teachers.

    “I didn’t think he meant it,” another unidentified student told news station WKYC. “I thought he just said it because he wanted to be popular.”

    This punk was a walking stereotype. There’s only one element missing from the M-equation, and I’m sure we’ll hear it any day.

  • SuccessTech shooting in Cleveland

    SuccessTech shooting in Cleveland

    Cleveland: Classes Cancelled after Violent School Shooting:

    By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the shooting at SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland, Ohio. What is known so far is that a 14-year-old gunman armed with two handguns shot 5 people at the school. Two were faculty and three were students.

    According to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson the victims are as follows:

    1. A 14-year-old female sustained an injury to the knee.

    2. A 14-year-old male sustained a gun shot wound to the side and was transported to Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital

    3. A 17-year-old male sustained a gun shot wound to the elbow and was transported to Metro Health Hospital.

    4. A 42-year-old male sustained a gun shot wound to the chest and was transported to Metro Health Hospital.

    5. A 57-year-old male sustained a gun shot wound to the back and was also transported to Metro Health Hospital.

    Luckily, all the victims are expected to recover. The gunman, not so much. Multiple news outlets are reporting that the gunman took the cowards way out by taking his own life. I’ve seen reports that the gunman was suspended earlier in the week for fighting.

    The description of the shooter is taken right out of the school shooter’s handbook…

    We are also getting new information on the shooter – he is a white male described as goth and was wearing a Marilyn Manson t-shirt with black fingernails.

    The school itself is described as a non-traditional school with a very stringent admissions process.

    Even though it’s been a few hours since the shooting, any of this information may change as more details become available.

    Thanks to Jim, Soobs, and Bonnie’s Blog of Crime.

  • Tobin Kerns found guilty

    Tobin Kerns found guilty

    Marshfield teen found guilty of helping to plan Columbine-style attack:

    Today, Tobin Kerns was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and threatening to use deadly weapons. After the verdict, Tobin was remanded to a juvenile facility. His sentencing is scheduled for November 5th.

    A personal note to Judge Louis Coffin. You have made a tragic mistake and imprisoned an innocent kid.

    Tobin, I’m sorry.

  • Tobin Kerns to finally learn his fate?

    Tobin Kerns to finally learn his fate?

    Kerns hearing set for Thursday:

    Could there finally be a resolution to the case of Tobin Kerns? Could his long nightmare finally be over, or has it just begun?

    For those of you new to the party, Tobin Kerns was arrested back in 2004 for allegedly plotting against his high school, Marshfield High in Massachusetts. At the time of his arrest, I thought he was just another mutant. However, after receiving comments and e-mails from his family and friends and doing a little research on my own, I am convinced that Tobin is innocent.

    There have been many delays in reaching a resolution for this case. We just may find out tomorrow what Tobin’s fate is.

    Plymouth Juvenile Court Judge Louis Coffin has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. in the case of former Marshfield High School student Toby Kerns, accused of plotting a Columbine-style attack at the school.

    Kerns, 19, was tried as a youthful offender in juvenile court last October, but Coffin did not issue a verdict while waiting for a ruling from the Supreme Judicial Court on the validity of one of the charges against him.

    The SJC ruled Aug. 9 that Kerns should be charged on the basis of a state law passed in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, after Coffin had indicated he might apply a different statute.

    Kerns was indicted in 2004 on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, promotion of anarchy and the threatened use of deadly weapons at a school, which was the disputed charge. Coffin dismissed the anarchy charge during the trial.

    While this is all going on, the man who I believe to be the true culprit, Joe Nee, son of the head of the Boston Police union, has barely even sniffed a courtroom…

    Alleged co-conspirator Joseph Nee, 21, was indicted on the same charges, but his case has not yet gone to trial. He will be tried as an adult.

    No word on when Nee’s court date is yet.

    I encourage you to read the archives about this case.

    Good luck Tobin.

  • White’s lawyers appeal to Mo. Supreme Court

    White’s lawyers appeal to Mo. Supreme Court

    Lawyers take school shooting case to Mo. Supreme Court:

    The lawyers for Thomas White are appealing to the Missouri Supreme Court to have White tried as a juvenile.

    Public defenders said Monday they have appealed to reverse a lower court’s July decision that Thomas White, 14, should be tried as an adult. He faces four felony counts related to the school shooting last October and a charge of attempted escape from juvenile custody.

    White was 13 at the time of the shooting at Memorial Middle School.

    Nobody was injured when White allegedly fired a single shot into the ceiling. Prosecutors allege that White repeatedly tried to shoot the school’s principal but that the gun jammed.

    The public defenders are just delaying the inevitable. Now, all court proceedings will be postponed until the state supreme court issues a decision or reverts the case back to a lower court. My prediction is that the Missouri Supreme Court will more than likely refuse to hear the case.

    If they do hear the case, I’m sure they’ll get a bunch of tear-stained letters from suburban housewives who think no teen is capable of murder. Just on that possibility alone, I wouldn’t hear the case if I was a Justice.

  • Cho’s broken dream

    Cho’s broken dream

    Killer’s Parents Describe Attempts Over the Years to Help Isolated Son:

    I feel bad for the parents of Cho Seung-Hui. According to the article, it seems that they did everything they possibly could for their son. But that’s not what I’m here to discuss.

    The part of the article I want to discuss is what his sister thinks may have been his motive…

    Although the panel said neither it nor the police had uncovered a motive for Cho’s rampage, his sister provided a key piece of the puzzle. Cho began his college career as a business information technology major but, by the time he was a sophomore, decided to switch to English, which was one of his weakest subjects. Nevertheless, he was convinced that he could be a great writer. He had written a novel, which he described to teachers as “sort of like Tom Sawyer except that it’s really silly and pathetic,” the report said.

    Later that year, after his sister found a rejection letter from a New York publishing house, she noticed that he became increasingly depressed and detached. His English grades ranged from B’s to D’s, and his rage grew as he felt no one understood him or his talent.

    If you’ve been following this like I have, you’ve read Cho’s writings. I wouldn’t exactly call what he had “talent”. It just comes down to more selfishness and arrogance from a deranged lunatic. Over 30 people dead because this assclown couldn’t form a coherent sentence If you spotted him the noun and the verb.

    If you’re one of those types that think the world doesn’t recognize your “talent”, try a new craft because it’s obvious that you suck.

  • Virginia Tech Panel’s Report

    Virginia Tech Panel’s Report

    Report: Virginia Tech could have saved lives:

    So the long-awaited report from Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine’s eight-member panel about the Virginia Tech massacre was finally delivered from on high. What does it tell us? A bunch of nothing that we didn’t already know.

    RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Tech failed to properly care for a mentally troubled student gunman and waited too long to warn faculty and students after he killed his first two victims in a shooting spree that eventually claimed 31 more lives, including his own, a panel’s report concluded.

    Let me interrupt just for a second? Why was it VT’s responsibility to “properly care” for Cho? As far as I can recall, VT did all they could to help him. It was up to Cho to help himself, but he obviously didn’t do that.

    Had university officials not waited more than two hours to tell the campus about the initial shootings, lives could have been saved when Seung-Hui Cho later began his massacre inside a classroom building, according to the report, released Wednesday night.

    I can’t argue with that, but I said that when it first happened.

    “Warning the students, faculty and staff might have made a difference,” the panel wrote. “So the earlier and clearer the warning, the more chance an individual had of surviving.”

    But the report concluded that while swifter warnings might have helped students and faculty, a lockdown of the 131 buildings on campus would not have been feasible.

    And while the first message sent by the university could have gone out at least an hour earlier and been more specific, Cho likely still would have found more people to kill, the report found.

    “There does not seem to be a plausible scenario of a university response to the double homicide that could have prevented the tragedy of considerable magnitude on April 16,” the report said. “Cho had started on a mission of fulfilling a fantasy of revenge.”

    So, basically, what they’re saying is even if the campus was notified of the original murders, Cho would have still killed a lot of people, just maybe some different people. And it took them 4 months to come to this conclusion? I’m glad I’m not a Virginia taxpayer.

    The whole boring report can be found here.

  • Then why was he there?

    Then why was he there?

    Cho Advised Not to Attend Big School:

    In a conference call to wounded victims and their families of the Virginia Tech massacre, the panel investigating the attack said that Cho Seung Hui was advised not to go to a large school like Virginia Tech.

    That was a key revelation in a private teleconference to brief injured students and their families on a report by a panel investigating the attacks, said Derek O’Dell, who was of the 23 injured in the April 16 attack that left 33 dead, including Cho.

    A separate call was held later with families of the deceased, hours before the public release of the report Thursday.

    “It was recommended that he not apply to school as big as Virginia Tech because he had selective mutism and also ongoing psychiatric needs that a big university probably wouldn’t address as well,” O’Dell said.

    What I’d like to know is how did this barely functioning troglodyte (Cho) even get into Virginia Tech? After reading his “plays” and hearing about all his alleged mental difficulties, it makes one wonder how he wasn’t a complete drooling idiot.