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.
Category: School Violence
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Suspect caught in Foss shooting
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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.
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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.
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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.
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James Lewerke gets trial date
Trial Underway for Teenager Who Attacked Classmates:
A trial date has been set for James Lewerke. He’s the Valparaiso, Indiana, teen who attacked his classmates with a machete. His trial is scheduled to start January 8th.
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Malicious intent
In our view: Memorial shooting:
Over the years on this site, there has been a lot of debate about trying juveniles as adults for school shootings and the like. The latest debate rages over Memorial Middle School shooter Thomas White. To refresh your memory, White brought his father’s MAC-90 assault rifle to school, firing one round into the ceiling before the gun jammed, preventing any bloodshed. A lot has been argued about his intent. I think this article should clear up his intent, yet I’m sure the debate will still go on. This is from an editorial in the Joplin Globe which favors trying White as an adult, but it reveals one fact that I didn’t know of until now…
We will disagree in this case, though every instance must be looked at separately. If anyone doubts the intentions of this disturbed young man, they should re-examine testimony in last week’s hearing in which a juvenile detention officer reported a conversation between White and another boy on Oct. 10, the day after the incident.
The boy remarked to White that he should have gone ahead and shot Principal Steven Gilbreth in the head.
“I would have shot him in the head,” White reportedly replied, “but my f—— gun wouldn’t shoot.”
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Thomas White to be tried as an adult
Seventh-grader to stand trial as adult in middle school incident:
Thomas White will be tried as an adult. The 13-year-old who fired a MAC-90 assault rifle inside of Memorial Middle School in Joplin, Missouri has been certified by Jasper County Circuit Court Judge William Crawford to stand trial as an adult.
Crawford said he based his decision on the seriousness of the offense and the apparent violent nature of the boy’s actions.
Juvenile officer April Foulkes testified Wednesday that she recommended certification of White to stand trial as an adult because if he was tried in juvenile court, he could be released within six months to a year. She said if he was prosecuted as an adult and convicted, White could be sentenced to a dual-jurisdiction program of the state and placed at a secure-care center in Montgomery City until he turns 18.
Now let’s hear from the “He’s old enough to fire a gun but not old enough to go to prison” crowd…
White’s lawyer, Chuck Lonardo, argued at the hearing that the boy is too young to be certified for trial as an adult. He said while treatment of the boy is needed, such treatment could best be accomplished by adjudicating him as a juvenile.
He also said the court could order that White be kept in custody until he turned 18.
Lonardo called clinical psychologist Kevin Whisman to testify about a psychological evaluation of the boy that he conducted after the incident. Whisman said in the weeks leading up to the shooting, White was feeling increased pressure to improve his grades, mostly coming from his father, who the boy said had threatened to beat him with a belt if his grades did not improve.
As we know now the father is no prize either but suck it up, kid. My dad threatened me with a belt all the time, and I was bullied too. But just because your dad and other kids at school are assclowns, it’s no reason to kill other people. Now you’ve basically thrown your life away, and you must be held responsible for your actions.
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Like father like son
Joplin middle-school student could stand trial as adult:
Authorities in Joplin, Missouri, are seeking to have Thomas White tried as an adult. White is the 13-year-old who brought a MAC-90 assault weapon to Memorial Middle School and fired a round into the ceiling. The gun luckily jammed before any bloodshed could occur.
In related news, White’s father, Gregory, has pleaded guilty today to firearm possession. Since the elder White is a convicted felon, he is not permitted to own firearms. He’s looking at a maximum of 10 years and a possible $250,000 fine.
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DA not worried about sealed records
D-A says she won’t appeal judge’s ruling regarding school records:
Like I theorized last week, Sauk County District Attorney Pat Barrett said that her case against Eric Mainshock will not be affected by the recent ruling that Hainstock’s school records will be sealed…
Barrett says she sought the boy’s school records as a matter of routine in an investigation of a crime at a school that involved school personnel. But she says she doesn’t anticipate needing the records to prosecute the case, given the number of witnesses and some admissions by the defendant.
For those of you just joining us, Eric Hainstock shot and killed Weston High School principal John Klang in front of witnesses.
Hopefully, prosecuting Hainstock will be a slam dunk.
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Sebastian Bosse’s diary
Thanks to an anonymous German reader, we have a link to Sebastian Bosse’s diary.
My German skills are basically non-existent, but I do recognize at least one phrase. On the entry dated 26.09.2006, which is September 26th for us non-Europeans, he wrote the phrase ERIC HARRIS IST GOTT. It doesn’t take a genius to know that says, “Eric Harris is god”. In the same entry, he also invokes the names of Dylan Klebold, Kip Kinkel, and Kimveer Gill.
On the following page assuming that’s from the same date is what appears to be a hit list and possibly a list of names of people to spare. From November 6th on, he writes exclusively in English. On November 17th, he states that he is “not a fucking psycho”. I beg to differ, but I’ve already expounded on that.
On November 18th, he laments over the fact that he never had a girlfriend. Neither did I until I was almost 20, but so what? Again, it’s not a reason to shoot up a school. There is no reason to shoot up a school. Cowards like this are just trying to justify to themselves about their murderous intent. It’s not the world’s fault that you don’t have a girlfriend. It’s nothing to be ashamed about. And after I got into my mid to late 20s, I had a lot of girlfriends. So trust me, you’re not going to go your whole life without a girlfriend, and there is no woman alive out there worth killing yourself or anybody else over.
He also makes a point that he’s not gay, not that there’s anything wrong with that, he says. He stated that he liked the character Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil video games. Almost like she’s a real person, which leads me to believe that Bosse was detached from reality. He says that’s why he named one of his guns Jill. He also says that he named his other gun after Homer Simpson’s gun. I must have missed that episode.
Then he talks about how much he loves his family and how much he hates himself for hurting them like this. If he had loved his family so much, he wouldn’t have done what he did. He committed one of the most selfish acts a person could commit.
He then states that he hopes the other outcasts at his school will be treated better. I can almost guarantee they won’t. Bullies and other criminals don’t care about the repercussions of their actions, so they’re probably just going to come down even harder on the outcasts. Then he says he hopes some of the outcasts will be like him and Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, heroes. Like I’ve said before, none of them are heroes. People like Bosse, Harris, and Klebold are now and have always been cowards. Unable to deal with their own issues, they take the cowardly, murderous way out and make things worse for other outcasts.
That’s not a hero.