TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: School Violence

  • Chanthabouly pleads not guilty

    Chanthabouly pleads not guilty

    Teen Pleads Not Guilty In School Shooting Trial:
    Suspect’s mom weeps for son, slain student:

    Douglas Chanthabouly, the gunman who killed Samnang Kok in the Foss High School shooting, pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of first-degree murder. However, no motive is still being offered.

    Police are still saying that the shooting was not gang related, but some students of Foss High are saying otherwise. It seems that Kok used to run in gangs prior to his son being born. Kok had an arrest record that contained charges of auto theft and drug possession. Most say that Kok turned his life around after the birth of his son. But as I mentioned, there are those who say the shooting was gang-related…

    “I think it’s gang related — just because of the kind of person Sam used to be,” said his friend, Derek Banghart, 19, speculating that the attack might have been retribution for a perceived offense from years ago.

    Right now, I’m not so convinced that it was gang-related. Gang shootings have happened in schools before, but something about this doesn’t seem like a gang shooting. But without a motive, that remains to be seen.

    The gun Chanthabouly used was stolen from a house in Tacoma in 1999. Police are still trying to determine how the gun came to be in Chanthabouly’s possession.

  • Chanthabouly isn’t talking

    Chanthabouly isn’t talking

    Washington Teen Refuses to Tell Cops Why He Shot and Killed Fellow Student:

    Douglas Chanthabouly, the 18-year-old gunman of the Foss High School shooting, refuses to give a motive behind his killing of Samnang Kok.

    A teenager refused to tell police why he shot and killed a fellow student at Henry Foss High School, saying, “I can’t tell you why, I don’t want it in the news,” according to a probable cause statement filed Thursday.

    The motive can’t stay secret for long. Any defense attorney worth his salt will have to use it as part of his defense. Plus, what will the school shooting apologists use as a rallying cry unless the motive is made public?

    The article also details the shooting itself…

    The probable cause statement, written by county Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ed Murphy, said Chanthabouly “did not know Mr. Kok, but knew of him.” Witnesses told police that Chanthabouly pointed a handgun at Kok, said “What’s up?” and fired a shot into his face, Murphy wrote. Police believe the shot was fired from no more than a foot away.

    The shooter stood over the body and fired twice more, hitting him in the lower left side and left buttock, the statement said.

    Shot once in the face and then twice more when down. There’s no doubt in my mind that this shooting was very intentional.

    I get the feeling that when the motive is known, that it will be something pettier than we’ve ever heard before.

  • More on Foss High

    More on Foss High

    Chief: School shooting victim, suspect acquainted, but motive unknown:

    Like the headline says, the Chief of Police Don Ramsdell in Tacoma says that the victim and the shooter in the Tacoma school shooting did know each other, but the motive is still unclear.

    However, he says that the shooting does not appear to be gang or racial related. The victim of the shooting, 17-year-old Samnang Kok, left behind a 2-year-old son. The shooter, Douglas Chanthabouly, was arrested without incident, and the police recovered a handgun in the arrest. Chanthabouly did not have a criminal record.

  • Foss High shooter identified

    Foss High shooter identified

    Same news link as the last post.

    According to booking records at the Pierce County jail, the shooting suspect is Douglas Chanthabouly.

    Thanks, yet again, to Ima.

  • Foss High School victim identified

    Foss High School victim identified

    Student slain at Tacoma school; suspect captured:

    The victim in the Foss High School shooting has been identified…

    The Pierce County medical examiner’s office identified the dead boy as Samnang Kok.

    My prayers and condolences go out to the friends and family of Samnang Kok.

    Thanks again to Ima.

  • Missouri shooter’s father pleads guilty

    Missouri shooter’s father pleads guilty

    Father of Joplin school shooter pleads guilty:

    Gregory White, the father of Memorial Middle school shooter Thomas White, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Missouri to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

    He’s looking at 10 years and a $250K fine. A date for sentencing has not been announced yet, and a hearing is being held today to see if Thomas White will be tried as an adult.

  • Suspect caught in Foss shooting

    Suspect caught in Foss shooting

    Student shot, killed at Tacoma high school:

    TACOMA-A male student was shot to death at Foss High School this morning and police said about two hours later that they had a captured a suspect.

    No identities released as of yet.

    Thanks to Ima.

  • Foss High School shooting

    Foss High School shooting

    Officials: Student Shot by Gunman at Washington State High School Dies:

    The 1st day back from Christmas Break and we’ve had a school shooting. An unidentified male student was shot at Foss High School, in Tacoma, Washington, and died on the way to the hospital. A school official is quoted as saying that they have a strong suspect that ran from campus. As of this article, it is unknown if the killer is in custody or not. I’ll bring more to you as soon as I get it.

    HT to Steve Huff.

  • James Lewerke pleads guilty

    James Lewerke pleads guilty

    Lewerke pleads guilty in slashings:

    James Lewerke, the Indiana teen who was arrested for a 2004 slashing attack against his classmates, has pleaded guilty but insane to his charges. Under the plea, he could face a maximum of 10 years. Lewerke was to be tried as an adult when his trial was supposed to start next week. The sentence will be determined on February 23rd. Hopefully, the judge will take leniency on Lewerke because, in my opinion, he is one of the few cases where the suspect is legitimately mentally ill.

  • Christopher Penley’s father files lawsuit

    Christopher Penley’s father files lawsuit

    Slain boy’s father says he plans to sue Seminole sheriff’s office:

    For those of you who may have forgotten, Christopher Penley was the Florida teen who was shot and killed by police for brandishing a pellet gun in a threatening manner at Milwee Middle School. At the time of the shooting, police were not aware that it was a pellet gun as it was altered to look authentic. An investigation by the state ruled that the shooting was lawful.

    Now Christopher Penley’s father, Ralph Penley, has filed a lawsuit in hopes the SWAT officer Lt. Michael Weippert will be fired. Weippert was the officer who shot and killed Penley.

    “The guy that murdered my son is still on the sheriff’s department squad,” Penley said, choking back tears in a telephone interview.

    “We’re gonna pursue this now because I’ve waited a long, long time,” he said.

    The civil lawsuit alleges that Weippert, the SWAT team member who shot Christopher Penley, violated the boy’s civil and constitutional rights and acted with premeditation, Keith Parker, a private investigator for the family said last week.

    “(Weippert) was not reacting to the assailant. He had already plotted out that he was going to shoot him,” Parker said. “They had that bathroom surrounded. They had enough fire power to start a war. That kid wasn’t going anywhere.”

    The family is also suing for one count of negligent retention, claiming Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger should have known that Weippert allegedly has a mental condition from past shootings and should not have been allowed to remain on the SWAT team, Parker said.

    I know that grief can cloud your judgment, so I’m not trying to condemn Mr. Penley, but this lawsuit is clearly in the wrong. None of this would even be an issue if Christopher Penley had not brought the pellet gun to school, taken another student hostage, barricaded himself in the bathroom, then threatened police with the weapon. The only person responsible for Christopher Penley’s death is Christopher Penley.