TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: School Violence

  • Platte Canyon timeline

    Platte Canyon timeline

    Timeline Shows Gunman Cased School Before Shooting:

    The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has established a timeline of Duane Morrison’s activities prior to him storming Platte Canyon High School and eventually killing Emily Keyes and himself…

    It was around 11:30 a.m. the day before Duane Morrison shot and killed Emily Keyes and himself when he was first recorded at the school.

    His jeep was spotted in the upper administration parking lot leaving about a half hour later at noon.

    The next day, September 27, the tape showed that Morrison arrived in the upper administration parking lot at 8:42 a.m. and left 2 minutes later at 8:44 a.m.

    The camera then showed his car parked in the student lot at 8:46 a.m.

    Morrison then apparently left the area for about an hour. At 8:57a.m., the camera showed his car gone from parking space but at 9:44 a.m., Morrison’s car was back in same spot.

    One hour and 9 minutes later, the camera would catch the gunman leaving his jeep and mixing in with students returning to class. At 10:53 a.m., Morrison was seen on the video exiting the vehicle.

    Not until 48 minutes later does the first call come from the school at 11:40. Less than 3 minutes later the first deputy arrived at Platte Canyon High School.

    About 4 hours later, SWAT team members burst into the classroom where Morrison opened fire on hostage Emily Keyes.

    “The single gunshot wound Emily sustained was caused by Morrison,” said Steve Johnson from the CBI.

    This quote sums up the entire incident…

    The timeline may help answer the question “how” but the “why” is still unanswered.

    And we may never know why.

  • Roberts’ grave vandalized

    Roberts’ grave vandalized

    Grave of Amish schoolhouse gunman desecrated:

    Desecrated is a pretty harsh word. I’d say vandalized. But any way you put it, the grave of Charles Roberts, the gunman who killed 5 girls in the Amish school shooting, has been defiled…

    Someone trashed the freshly dug grave of the man who shot 10 Amish girls last week, killing five of them before he reloaded his pistol and killed himself.

    Tuesday morning “was the first incident where the grave site was damaged,” said state police Trooper David Fedorshak. “The caretaker’s wife was walking through the cemetery about 7 a.m. when she noticed the grave was kicked about. Flowers and a stuffed animal stomped on and kicked around there, the flowers ripped out and thrown around.”

    I get the feeling it won’t be the last time, either.

    In other news from Dutch Pennsylvania, Roberts is not a suspect in any other crimes.

    The schoolhouse where the shooting took place is scheduled for demolition tomorrow.

    Area hospitals that treated the victims of the shooting are waiving the costs to treat them.

  • Is the Kerns trial finally starting?

    Is the Kerns trial finally starting?

    Kerns trial starts Monday:

    The trial of Toby Kerns is supposed to get underway again this Monday, October 15th. For those of you who have not heard about this case, it’s been going on for the past two years.

    Toby was arrested for plotting an attack against Marshfield High School in Marshfield, Mass. The only problem is the person who turned him in is also implicated in the plot. Joe Nee, who is being tried separately, turned Tobin in but was arrested later after others implicated Nee.

    Joe Nee is the son of the head of the Boston Police union. Joe Nee also has a Columbine fascination and wore a shirt to school that had pictures of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold that said: “Remember The Heroes”. In my opinion, Joe Nee implicated Tobin Kerns when Tobin opted out of the plot.

    Joe Nee has obvious police connections. My theory is Joe Nee implicated Tobin before Tobin could implicate Nee. For more details, you can check the Marshfield archives.

    With any luck, Tobin will be exonerated.

  • Roberts may be attempted rape suspect

    Roberts may be attempted rape suspect

    Roberts eyed in sex attack on Amish woman in 2005:

    Charles Carl Roberts IV, the gunman in the Amish school shooting, is being looked at as a possible suspect in the 2005 attempted rape of an Amish woman in her home.

    The victim’s father, who interrupted the assault, said that neither he nor his daughter got a good look at the attacker because it was dark at the time. And they have no definitive proof it was Roberts.

    Police are investigating by comparing fingerprints from both crime scenes.

    Roberts lived less than one-quarter mile from the victim.

  • Joplin shooting could have been worse

    Joplin shooting could have been worse

    Bloodbath averted:

    It seems that yesterday’s shooting incident in Joplin, Missouri could have been much worse than it was. The 13-year-old suspect, who was dressed in a mask and trench coat and carrying his parents’ Mac-90 rifle, tried to fire additional shots after firing the initial shot into the ceiling.

    However, through nothing short of a miracle, the gun jammed. Most reports today are saying that the suspect had a fascination with Columbine but have not elaborated. Also, the suspect had bomb-making instructions and plans for the school, but no explosives were found.

    Still no ID or motive.

  • Teen fires gun in Mo. middle school

    Teen fires gun in Mo. middle school

    Student, 13, fires AK-47 in Missouri school:

    A masked Joplin, Missouri 13-year-old fired an AK-47 inside his middle school. Luckily, no one was injured.

    The student was wearing a mask and pointed the assault rifle at Principal Steve Gilbreth, Assistant Superintendent Steve Doerr and two students, saying, “not to make me do this,” Superintendent Jim Simpson said.

    Simpson said the teen then fired a shot into the ceiling, breaking a water pipe, and said again, “Please don’t make me do this.”

    Gilbreth and Doerr persuaded the student to leave the building, where he was arrested by police.

    Joplin police Officer Curt Farmer said officers found a note in the student’s backpack indicating that he had placed an explosive in the school, which has about 700 students. Students in the school were moved to nearby Joplin Memorial Hall, and the school was closed while officers searched the building.

    The student was wearing a mask and apparently had been planning an attack for a “long time,” Simpson said. He didn’t elaborate and said authorities did not know whether others were involved.

    No ID or motive was given yet.

    Thanks to Magz for the tip.

  • Victim taken off life support shows improvement

    Victim taken off life support shows improvement

    Family Asks For Prayers As Girl Shows Some Improvement:

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lancaster County’s coroner said one of the Amish girls was released from the hospital Thursday and brought home to die. Since then, News 8 has learned that the 6-year-old victim was taken back to the hospital because she began showing signs of improvement.

    “I promised the families not to talk a lot about what’s happening right now,” said Rev. Rob Schenck of the National Clergy Council. “I will say there is a lot of talk of miracles and answer to prayers. And one of the families said to me, ‘There’s always something to thank God for.’”

    The victim’s family has not said much. But they have asked for prayers. They said they appreciate all of the prayers and well wishes and think that they are making a difference.

    I’ll still be praying for this girl’s survival. I hope you will as well.

    Thanks to Magz for the tip.

  • Amish school shooting victim removed from life support

    Amish school shooting victim removed from life support

    Amish Shooting Victim Taken Off Life Support:

    GEORGETOWN, Pa. (AP) — The number of dead from Monday’s Amish schoolhouse shooting could soon rise by one more.

    A county coroner and a doctor who serves Amish children said it appears that one of the survivors is being taken off life-support and taken home to die.

    I can’t even imagine the pain that family must be going through right now.

    My heart breaks for them and my prayers are with them.

  • Day late, Dollar short

    Day late, Dollar short

    School ‘security’ is wrong response:

    This is a letter to the editor of a Wisconsin newspaper about new security measures being put in place after the killing of Weston Schools principal John Klang…

    Dear Editor: I have great sympathy for those affected by the Weston school shooting last week, particularly the family of John Klang.

    That said, the new “security measures” in place as students return to school seem to be a prime example of the wrong sort of response, the kind Americans are so good at these days, of putting good people on lockdown in the wake of a singular act by a single person. One very troubled youth commits a horrific act, and now the rest of the school is subject to armed surveillance and the registration of outsiders?

    What sort of message is that intended to send we are trying to prevent further armed attacks by bringing in more arms and suspecting everyone?

    I urge the School Board to consider intelligently and rationally addressing root causes here, even in the wake of a very irrational and heartbreaking incident, before initializing knee-jerk measures that can only result in more fear and anguish.

    Not to mention the fact that the steps they seem to be taking are like closing the barn door after the horses are already out.

  • Autopsies released on two different shootings

    Autopsies released on two different shootings

    Castillo autopsy fills in details of killing:

    The autopsy of Rafael Huezo Castillo, the father of North Carolina shooter Alvaro Castillo, has been released…

    CHAPEL HILL — Rafael Huezo Castillo, who was allegedly shot by his son, Alvaro Castillo, died of multiple gunshot wounds to his head and neck, according to an autopsy report.

    The autopsy report, released Wednesday by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, also states that multiple notes were left in the house in which Alvaro Castillo took credit for the shootings.

    The autopsy report reveals that Rafael Castillo was sitting on the couch in a pair of boxer shorts and a white T-shirt between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., when his son allegedly began firing at him with a 9 mm rifle. An investigator at the sheriff’s office said it appeared the elder Castillo was reading a newspaper at the time of the shooting.

    One shot hit Rafael Castillo on top of his left shoulder, and five shots hit him in the left side of his face. One shot struck him in his left ear and then entered his skull. The tracks of the wounds were from left to right and slightly back to front in a downward direction, the report said. No powder residue was present on the skin around any of the wounds.

    The bullets caused multiple skull fractures, massive disruption to the brain and destroyed the brainstem, the report said.

    So Alvaro Castillo fired at his father from a distance, and Rafael Castillo never even saw it coming. Alvaro Castillo is just another coward in a long line of cowardly killers.

    Autopsy: Bailey gunman shot 4 times:

    Some details of Duane Morrison’s autopsy were also released. Morrison was the gunman at Platte Canyon High school in Bailey, Colorado, who took six girls hostage, sexually assaulted some, and shot and killed Emily Keyes before shooting himself.

    Morrison had no drugs in his system, prescription or otherwise, nor any alcohol.

    Four bullets were found in him. Three from SWAT and one from himself. It’s unknown at this time which one killed him.

    The complete autopsies of Morrison and his victim Emily Keyes are not being released to the public.