TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: School Violence

  • Columbine III

    Columbine III

    S.C. teen accused of planning Columbine-like attack:

    I thought that since April 20th fell on a Sunday this year, it would be relatively peaceful. That’s what I get for thinking.

    18-year-old Ryan Schallenberger of South Carolina has been arrested for plotting an attack against Chesterfield High School. His parents were tipped off when 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate was delivered to the house. Ammonium nitrate was made infamous for being the explosive of the Oklahoma City bombing. Coincidentally, the anniversary of which was yesterday.

    Police found bomb-making materials, a detailed plan of the attack entitled “Columbine III”, and an audio tape that was to have been played after the attack. I’m guessing he’s referring to Virginia Tech as Columbine II. Police are also saying that Schallenberger was the only one involved in the plot.

    No word yet on a motive. What gets me, though, is that he was 9 when Columbine happened. He probably didn’t even know what happened at Columbine until he got into his angsty years.

    I do have to commend Schallenberger’s parents for not ignoring an obvious warning sign.

    More on this as information becomes available and as time permits.

  • Jokela report released

    Jokela report released

    Teen gun killer sought to be ‘a God’:

    Police in Finland have released their final report on Pekka-Eric Auvinen and the school shooting at Jokela High School.

    Nothing much we didn’t already know or could have guessed.

    The one thing I found interesting was this quote from his diary…

    “In the best case, this (attack) would create massive destruction and chaos, or even a revolution,” Auvinen wrote in diary entries cited by the police report. “In any case, I want this to be remembered forever. Maybe I’ll even have a follower; after all, I am a super-person, almost God.”

    Just like a typical school shooter. Deluded, selfish, and an over-inflated sense of self-worth. No revolution, no followers, and you’re not even close to God. You’ll barely be remembered outside of Finland.

  • LGBT groups want shooter tried as juvenile

    LGBT groups want shooter tried as juvenile

    LGBT Groups: Try Lawrence King’s Killer as a Juvenile:

    According to the article, 27 LGBT groups have issued a statement that said they would like to see Brandon McInerney tried as a juvenile. 14-year-old McInerney is accused of gunning down Lawrence King in cold blood at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, California. King was an openly gay student at the school. He often got back at his tormentors, including McInerney, by mockingly flirting with them.

    From the statement…

    “We are issuing this joint statement because we believe so strongly in principles of justice that protect all our young people and know that, even in the face of strong emotions, we should not abandon them.

    “We refuse to let our sense of outrage blind us to the fact that the suspect is only 14 years old.”

    By now you should know my feelings on trying murderers as juveniles, so I’ll refrain from ranting.

    However I know I have some readers that are L’s at least one B and maybe a G, hell I might even have a T. I’d like to know, do these activist groups speak for you, or do you think that McInerney should be tried as an adult?

  • Andrew Golden found

    Andrew Golden found

    Attorney Finds Andrew Golden, One Of Jonesboro School Shooters:

    Andrew Golden, the other Jonesboro gunman, has been tracked down by a lawyer representing the victims’ families.

    The article doesn’t say where Johnson was but that he was found and subpoenaed in the lawsuit against him and Mitchell Johnson.

    If you’ll recall, Mitchell Johnson gave his deposition prior to his recent troubles with the law. In that deposition, he laid the blame entirely on Golden.

  • NIU may get task force

    NIU may get task force

    NIU Shooting Investigation:

    This is a really short article, so here it goes…

    There are new calls for a task force to be created at NIU to study the school’s response to the shootings on campus. The head of NIU’s Board of Trustees say’s she’ll be asking the school’s president to create the task force later this week. She also thinks the board needs to discuss whether an extensive review of the psychiatric history of gunman, Steven Kazmierczak is worthwhile.

    Personally, I think that would be a waste of time and money. A lot of people try to make a comparison between NIU and Virginia Tech. There is no comparison here except that lives were lost on a college campus. At NIU, the school did the best job that it could have. Police were at the scene in under a minute, if I remember correctly. There’s not a whole lot that could have been done at NIU. Stephen Kazmierczak didn’t even attend NIU anymore, so it’s not like he could have tipped off anyone there to his behavior. How could anyone have known what he was planning?

    So save the taxpayers some money or use the money for the school’s mental health assistance program.

    Sometimes there just aren’t any answers.

  • Mitchell Johnson pleads not guilty to latest charges

    Mitchell Johnson pleads not guilty to latest charges

    Jonesboro Shooter Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges:

    Jonesboro gunman Mitchell Johnson pleaded not guilty this past Tuesday to the theft charges against him.

    Johnson is accused of taking a debit card that a customer lost in the mini-mart and using it.

    Johnson is now back in jail for violating his bail agreement while he was awaiting sentencing from his federal firearms trial.

  • Cossey tipster sentenced

    Cossey tipster sentenced

    Former hero in Cossey case gets probation:

    Lew Bennett III was the teen who turned in Dillon Cossey for plotting against Plymouth Whitemarsh High School. Then Bennett, along with some other teens, broke into the Cossey’s home to steal some of the Cossey’s property.

    Bennett and his cohorts were sentenced to probation…

    At yesterday’s juvenile disposition hearing, the equivalent of an adult sentencing, the three learned that as a condition of their probation, they will have to attend a residential camp, perform 50 hours of community service, pay a fine, and make restitution. Bennett and one teen will attend the camp for two weekends, the other teen will have to attend for one weekend.

    In addition, they are subject to a curfew, and must write a letter of apology, submit to random drug and alcohol testing, and attend individual and family counseling.

    I’m disappointed that the suspects didn’t receive any time in detention for their crimes. I think community service and apology letters will do no good in teaching these kids a lesson.

  • Thomas White trial to remain in adult court

    Thomas White trial to remain in adult court

    Missouri Supreme Court: Thomas White’s case to remain in adult court:

    The State Supreme Court of Missouri has ruled that the trial for Thomas White will remain in adult court.

    White was 13 when he discharged a round into the ceiling from a MAC-90 assault rifle at Memorial Middle School in Joplin, Missouri.

    Police allege that he tried firing the gun at the principal of the school, but the gun had jammed.

  • NIU gunman’s autopsy

    NIU gunman’s autopsy

    NIU gunman’s autopsy shows some antidepressant, cold medicine in his system, police say:

    The autopsy of NIU gunman Stephen Kazmierczak showed that the only drugs in his system were trace amounts of an antidepressant, a cold medicine, and nicotine.

    Well, that blows my Ambien theory to hell.

    Now the question is, will the anti-pharmaceutical Luddites blame this on the antidepressant, the lack thereof, or the cold medicine?

    Don’t be surprised if we hear from the anti-smoking brigade either.

    UPDATE: It wasn’t an antidepressant at all that was found in his system. It was the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.

  • Ohio mutant claims Columbine was his idea

    Ohio mutant claims Columbine was his idea

    Newark man claims he suggested Columbine attack:

    You may remember the tales of Patrick Gauchel that I’ve posted before.

    First, he was arrested for sending threatening, violent, harassing messages to the lead Columbine investigator. Then he claimed that he was in contact with cowardly scumbags Harris and Klebold prior to Columbine. According to the article, he has also sent threats to the parents of Columbine victims

    Now he’s claiming that Columbine was his idea…

    “The suspect also stated it was his idea for the Columbine shooting, and it was not Eric’s fault for what happened,” Detective Cliff Biggers wrote.

    Cliff Biggers is an awesome name for a cop, but I digress.

    By claiming that Columbine wasn’t the fault of Eric Harris, this may just make Gauchel the king of all mutants, which is kind of like being the president of NAMBLA. It makes him the ultimate Columbine apologist by saying that his hero is innocent.

    The following quote, though, explains everything…

    Other messages included in the update are nonsensical.

    As he noted in his report, Biggers said Gauchel appears to have mental health issues.

    Most mutants do.