TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: School Violence

  • Osantowski resentencing delayed again

    Osantowski resentencing delayed again

    Mount Clemens: Resentencing delayed:

    Our favorite Michigan Neo-Nazi school shooting wannabe scamp, Andrew Osantowski, has had his resentencing rescheduled again.

    The re-sentencing, originally scheduled for Monday, is a result of a recent Court of Appeals decision that upheld Andrew Osantowski’s conviction under Michigan’s 2001 terrorism law.

    He was originally sentenced to 4/12 years for plotting an attack against Chippewa Valley High School, but his sentence was appealed by prosecutors, who said the judge did not interpret the law correctly. Osantowski could get an additional 20 years.

  • Bowling for Columbine influenced would be shooter

    Bowling for Columbine influenced would be shooter

    Calgary teen dreamed about shooting teachers after seeing Bowling for Columbine:

    A 14-year-old from Calgary was arrested back in April for threatening to kill two of his teachers on the Anniversary of Columbine. Recently, the charges against him were dropped after he agreed to what the article calls a one-year peace bond.

    The peace bond requires the teenager to report to a probation officer, reside with his parents and not have any contact with the two teachers or any students involved in the matter.

    He’s also not allowed to go within one city block of the southwest junior high school he once attended, use the Internet without supervision or come into contact with any firearms.

    My beef here isn’t with the kid because he told his parents, who went and got him help. However, as the headline states, he came to the conclusion that he wanted to kill his teachers after viewing Michael Moore’s ‘documentary’ Bowling for Columbine.

    This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about a potential threat against a school that wasn’t in some way influenced by the film. Yet, you never hear the media speaking out about the movie. It’s always video games or violent movies that they usually cite as the cause.

    Do I think Michael Moore’s disgrace of a film caused this kid to want to shoot his teachers? No, of course not. I just think if people are going to get into an uproar about video games and the like, they should be getting into an uproar about this film as well.

  • Thomas White’s attorney seeks house arrest

    Thomas White’s attorney seeks house arrest

    House arrest sought for teen accused in school-gun incident:

    The public defender for Thomas White is seeking to have his client put under house arrest while he awaits trial. White is the 14-year-old gunman who fired a round from an assault rifle into the ceiling of Memorial Middle School in Joplin, Missouri and allegedly tried to shoot his principal but the gun jammed. Let’s hear from White’s attorney, James Egan…

    “Under our system, the purpose of bail is to ensure the defendant show up for trial,” Egan wrote in his motion. “Here, (defendant) is a 14-year-old boy with no means of transportation. Further, any inappropriate actions of (defendant) during the period he is on house arrest will certainly be used against him if this court grants the requested relief and there is another certification hearing. Moreover, (defendant) risks having the preliminary writ quashed if he flees the jurisdiction.”

    The motion also says the boy is entitled under state law to educational services that “cannot be adequately provided” while he is in jail.

    A 14-year-old may not have any means of transportation, but I’m sure his parents do. And as we’ve seen, at least one of his parents isn’t above breaking the law. If you remember, White’s father, Gregory White, was an ex-felon who was in possession of a firearm. Not only that, but we’ve already seen what Thomas White thinks of educational services. He fires bullets into them.

    It’s his attorney’s fault that he hasn’t gone to trial yet, anyway. His attorneys filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court back in September, trying to get the case sent back to juvenile court. The state Supreme Court won’t even hear the appeal until February 28, 2008.

    Besides, it’s not like he’s been charged with jaywalking. He’s being charged with first-degree assault, among other charges. House arrest would be a joke.

  • Dillon Cossey sentenced

    Dillon Cossey sentenced

    Pa. Boy Sentenced for Stockpiling Guns:

    Dillon Cossey is the 14-year-old homeschooled boy from Pennsylvania who pleaded guilty to plotting an attack against Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. Today, he was sentenced to 7 years in a juvenile facility. The case has been noteworthy because of Cossey’s mom, Michele Cossey, buying guns for her precious little snowflake. She’s facing charges as well, however the judge let her have it in court today…

    In court, the judge said Dillon’s mother, Michele Cossey, had created a “me and mom against the world” attitude in her son.

    “This kid has been so totally desocialized, he has no friends,” Tressler said.

    “You want this kid dependent on you? Go buy a dog, go buy a pet,” he told Michele Cossey.

    And you don’t let him sit on the computer all day unsupervised.

    I’m guessing mom won’t receive nearly as much time as her mutant brood, but she should.

  • Cleveland cop suspended over death picture

    Cleveland cop suspended over death picture

    Officer who took Coon photo suspended:

    The Cleveland police officer who took the cellphone picture of Asa Coon after he committed suicide has been suspended for 8 days as of Monday.

    Patrolman Walter Emerick, a 12-year veteran, admitted shooting the photo of Asa Coon, 14, in a hearing with Police Chief Michael McGrath, said Safety Director Martin Flask. Coon committed suicide after shooting four others in SuccessTech Academy Oct. 10.

    No word if that was without pay or not.

  • Mitchell Johnson Wal-Mart threat just a rumor

    Mitchell Johnson Wal-Mart threat just a rumor

    Wal-Mart says holiday crowds, not threats, reason for police:

    I received an e-mail the other day from a nice reader from Fayetteville, Arkansas who said she received an e-mail stating that Wal-Mart was increasing its security because Jonesboro gunman Mitchell Johnson was planning an attack on the store. It was alleged in the e-mail that Johnson was recently fired from there and that his girlfriend left him.

    I said to the reader that I doubt Johnson was planning anything because after his New Years Day arrest on weapons charges I would think that local law enforcement and the feds are probably keeping a close eye on him.

    Now, this article confirms it that Wally World just requested additional security for the Christmas season.

    Police Sgt. Matt Partain confirmed that Johnson was formerly employed by the store but was terminated months ago. He further confirmed that Johnson’s girlfriend is a current Wal-Mart employee.

    “Yes his girlfriend works there, but we haven’t even seen him there since we’ve been there,” he said.

    Partain said Johnson is not believed to have had any involvement in a recent bomb threat at the Wal-Mart in north Fayetteville.

    So the people of Fayetteville have nothing to fear at Wal-Mart except the usual, other Wal-Mart shoppers.

  • Dillon Cossey’s mom held for trial

    Dillon Cossey’s mom held for trial

    Mother of Plymouth Whitemarsh High youth held for trial:

    Michele Cossey, the mother of would be school shooter Dillon Cossey, has been ordered to stand trial on charges of unlawful transfer of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a minor, and child endangerment. If you recall, it was revealed after Dillon Cossey was arrested that his mother was the one who bought the firearms for the 14-year-old.

    Dillon Cossey came to the attention of police on Oct. 10 after a friend told authorities the teen planned a Columbine-like assault on Plymouth Whitemarsh High School. Cossey, who is in the custody of juvenile authorities, admitting the plot and said his mother bought him the weapons, which led to charges against his mother.

    This is the first case that I can recollect where a parent is being charged in connection with a school shooting plot.

  • Threats close NIU

    Threats close NIU

    Threat Closes Illinois University:

    Writing threatening graffiti in the school bathroom isn’t just for middle school kids anymore. Now college students are getting into the act.

    Two threats found in women’s rooms of Northern Illinois University caused classes to be canceled today.

    One said The VA tech shooters messed up with having only one shooter. Another message mentioned Monday’s date and said things will change most hastily at NIU.

    The threats included a racial slur.

    I wonder if it had anything to do with this?

    NIU President John Peters canceled exams Monday.

    For whatever reason, I hope they find the lugnut that did this and lock him/her in a cell until next semester ends, at least.

  • Asa Coon was sober

    Asa Coon was sober

    SuccessTech shooter was sober during attack:

    According to Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, Asa Coon had no drugs or alcohol when he went on his shooting spree at SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland, Ohio.

    I didn’t know this was an issue, since I’ve never heard of a drunk or stoned school shooter.

  • YouTube rejects mutant monitoring

    YouTube rejects mutant monitoring

    YouTube rejects calls to monitor videos:

    YouTube and their parent company Google are saying they will not monitor their site for videos inciting violence against schools. Much like the video that Pekka-Eric Auvinen posted shortly before killing 8 at Jokela High School in Finland.

    Peter Fleischer, privacy counsel at Google, which bought YouTube last year, said the website was not considering passing more information to the police to avert such events. “Logistically we couldn’t do pre-screening,” he said. “We don’t want to become censors of the web.”

    I fail to see how that would be any different from pulling copyrighted material off their site. They don’t seem to have an issue with that.

    Mr Fleischer said privacy was of paramount importance but admitted there was no blanket ban on passing on information. “If it were child pornography then we would inform the authorities immediately. In the case of somebody doing a video that looks something like hate speech, however, we would remove the account. In most of these cases we don’t report it.”

    Except they don’t suspend the accounts. The accounts for Auvinen and Dillon Cossey were still active after their respective incidents occurred. Cossey’s was even up for weeks after his arrest.

    As long as YouTube allows these hate-filled mutants to post video tributes to mass murderers, they’ll just continue to be the whipping boy whenever one of these events happens.