Category: School Violence

Student: ‘We don’t need a Columbine here’:

From special needs teacher James Nowak who had a metal stapler thrown at him by Hainstock.

During testimony Monday afternoon in a Baraboo courtroom, teacher James Nowak recounted his own rising sense of tension with Hainstock, beginning with an incident on Sept, 14. That day, he said, Hainstock threw a metal stapler at him, narrowly missing his head and chipping the wall. When he returned to the classroom with Klang and Buildings and Grounds Director Phillip Rachuj, they found Hainstock holding a chair.

“He had a chair above his head and he looked like he was going to swing it at us,” said Nowak.

Rachuj was able to take the chair from Hainstock, and he was suspended from school for three days.

Apparently, someone fashions himself as Stone Cold Steve Austin. Well, Trench 3:16 says your ass is going to prison.

From Angela Young, the guidance counselor at Weston Schools…

She said Hainstock was a boy who sought attention, enjoyed playing the victim and often placed blame for his actions on others. Young said he was often teased by other students, but he picked on them in return.

Young testified that she was in the hall when Hainstock walked into the school but said she could not see him because of the decorations. She testified she heard Hainstock say “I’m going to (expletive) kill somebody.”

You can’t play the bullying card when you’re a bully yourself. Then again, this whole incident was never about bullying. It’s about a selfish and self-absorbed punk kid who wanted to exact his revenge on a man who cared enough to actually discipline Hainstock.

Witness: Armed Wis. Teen Said He’d Kill:

Two members of the staff of Weston Schools testified that Eric Hainstock declared his intention to kill before shooting Principal John Klang.

Custodian Dave Thompson testified he was talking with assistant football coach and social studies teacher Chuck Keller before school when they saw Hainstock walking across the parking lot with a shotgun raised.

Thompson said the teacher asked the 15-year-old freshman what he was doing with a gun in school and Hainstock replied, ‘”I’m here to (expletive) kill somebody.” ‘ He then pointed the gun barrel to within inches of Keller’s face.

Thompson ripped the gun away from him, telling him, “No, not in my school,” he recalled. Hainstock then reached into his pocket, Thompson said.

Fearing the boy had another gun, Thompson ran outside with the shotgun, telling Keller to run.

After Thompson had taken the shotgun, Keller said that he tried to corner Hainstock in the entryway, but that the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a .22 revolver.

Notice that Hainstock didn’t say that he was there to (expletive) scare someone.

Keller also testified about the character of Hainstock…

Keller testified he had Hainstock in class a year earlier. The boy was disruptive, touching other students and heckling him during his lectures, Keller said.

Hainstock was equal parts victim and instigator, he said, but the shenanigans didn’t seem serious.

If the kid was a loudmouth and an attention seeker, he probably brought any alleged bullying on himself. But again, none of his alleged abusers were his target, only John Klang was.

Opening Statements in Principal Shooting:

Today was the opening day in the trial of Eric Hainstock. He’s accused of the shooting death of Weston Schools principal John Klang.

The defense is trying the argument that Hainstock only meant to scare John Klang.

Hainstock’s attorney, Rhoda Ricciardi, told jurors they should not convict him of first-degree murder because his actions were not intentional, but reckless. She said he told police he only meant to scare people.

She said Hainstock was upset with kids calling him a “fag.” Ricciardi said his stepbrother sexually abused him when Hainstock was 6, and that his father abused him and refused to give him medication for attention deficit disorder.

This is the first I’ve heard of claims of sexual abuse, but again Hainstock did not strike back at the people who allegedly abused him. He shot and killed someone who was actually trying to help him.

The prosecution remains unfazed…

District Attorney Pat Barrett maintained that Hainstock’s anger toward Klang had been building for two weeks before homecoming.

She noted Klang kicked Hainstock out of school for three days after Hainstock threw a stapler at his special education teacher. Klang also gave Hainstock an in-school suspension after Klang found chewing tobacco in the boy’s backpack.

Pointing her finger at jurors like a pistol, Barrett also pledged they would hear statements Hainstock gave to investigators in which he said he pulled the trigger on Klang on purpose and testimony from a school janitor who heard Hainstock say he was at the school to kill someone.

Barrett also said Hainstock brought 50 cartridges for the revolver to school.

Do 50 rounds of ammunition sound like he was just trying to scare someone? Let’s not forget that Hainstock also brought a shotgun to the school as well, even though the shotgun was taken away by a school custodian. Fear was not Hainstock’s objective. Death was.

Librarian: Hainstock seemed “proud” of violent incident weeks before shooting:

Librarian Kay Amborn testified today that Eric Hainstock took pride in his throwing a metal stapler at special needs teacher James Nowak.

Librarian Kay Amborn testified Friday that Hainstock, 16, seemed “proud” a week later on Sept. 21 when he saw a story about the incident published in the Reedsburg Independent, showed it to several other students and asked Amborn to make a copy of it for him. She declined.

“He said he wanted a copy for his dad, because his dad didn’t get the newspaper,” Amborn testified.

The stapler incident is what led to Hainstock being suspended by Klang, which is what prosecutors believe that led to Hainstock shooting Klang. I tend to agree.

No new charges for teen accused of killing principal:

A judge has ruled that the attempted murder charge recently alleged against Eric Hainstock will not be considered.

The judge rejected the additional charge, saying it would violate Hainstock’s right to a fair trial and would be prejudicial. He also cited concerns that Hainstock’s defense wouldn’t have time to prepare a defense against the charge, with the trial set to begin in under a week.

I thought the charge was frivolous anyway. Just pointing a gun at someone is not attempted murder. The prosecution does not need to get creative right now. Hainstock shot principal John Klang in front of multiple witnesses. The prosecution needs to play it safe and just get the murder conviction.