TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: school shooting

  • A year later, more Red Lake details released

    A year later, more Red Lake details released

    Weise planned a far more lethal assault:

    Anonymous sources within the investigation have revealed to the Pioneer Press that Jeff Weise’s assault on Red Lake High School could have been much deadlier than it already was…

    Jeff Weise, who killed nine people at the Red Lake Indian Reservation before taking his own life, envisioned a higher body count and wanted friends to help him turn his high school into a death trap, a yearlong investigation into the shootings found.

    His original aim was to lead an attack on Red Lake High School when it was sure to be crowded, possibly on prom night or the first day of school, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

    Weise’s massacre would have targeted the school’s gymnasium as a central “killing zone,” the sources said. Details of Weise’s initial scheme have not been previously disclosed.

    The troubled teenager considered executing his plot on April 20, the birthday of Adolf Hitler, one of the boy’s idols. That date would have marked the anniversary of the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, the deadliest school shooting in American history.

    Weise’s intent was to eclipse that tragedy, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Weise wanted to station armed accomplices at the school’s exits and in main hallways, where those who survived the gym assault would run for safety or escape, the sources said.

    “The plan was to have them picked off like sitting ducks as they came out,” said one of the sources.

    Why Weise chose March 21 to launch his assault in Red Lake remains a mystery.

    What amazes me is the fact that the article states that 39 people knew that Weise had thoughts of shooting up the school, yet none of them thought to go to school officials or law enforcement with that information.

    Remember, kids, it isn’t always “just talk”.

  • Parents to face no charges in Pine Middle shooting

    Court documents reveal chilling details about Reno middle school shooting:

    Nothing we haven’t been over already, but there was this little tidbit at the end of the article…

    Police say it’s unlikely that Newman’s parents will be charged with any crime in connection with the gun because they say there were gun locks and other reasonable security methods used at their home.

    If the security measures were so reasonable, then how did Newman obtain the gun?

  • Roseburg victim goes home

    Roseburg victim goes home

    RHS shooting victim home from hospital:

    The victim of the Roseburg High School shooting in Oregon, Joseph Monti, has been released from the hospital and is home with his family…

    He was struck four times and has since had surgery to remove two bullets and remaining bullet fragments. Family members say Monti has a long road of recovery ahead of him, including reconstructive surgery.

    Family members have said they plan to move back to California, where they moved from about two years ago.

  • More details in planning of Pine Middle Shooting

    Shooting planned, police say

    Police are now saying that James Newman was planning on shooting and killing his classmates for at least a week in advance…

    An eighth-grade student accused of opening fire in his middle school hallway, hitting one student, planned at least a week in advance to shoot and kill his classmates because he was tired of them making fun of him, according to court documents released Thursday.

    Police believe James Scott Newman, 14, was further inspired to go through with the Tuesday shooting at Pine Middle School after he researched the 1999 Columbine High School shooting rampage on the Internet, officers said in a court affidavit.

    Police said Thursday they found drawings in Newman’s locker of stick figures lying on the ground near guns with the words “die” and “kill” written on them. One note said that “no one will know me now, but tomorrow they will,” Reno Sgt. Randy Saulnier said.

    He obviously didn’t do his research well enough, or else he would have realized that the Columbine bullying was just a myth.

    And now we know how he obtained the gun and who it belonged to…

    Tuesday morning, Newman boarded his school bus with the revolver he took from his parents’ bedroom, along with three rounds he took from a bullet collection his father gave to him the day before. He tucked the gun into his notebook.

    Who gives their kids bullets? Not to mention what a great job of keeping your gun secure.

    Also, Newman did not target anyone specifically…

    Once inside Pine Middle School, Newman went into the bathroom and put the gun in his coat pocket. On his way out, he saw Alex Rueda, 14, walk by and “he decided he would start by shooting this person,” the affidavit said.

    One of Newman’s friends saw him pull out the gun and yelled at him to put it away, documents said. Newman then told the friend to run.

    “(Newman) aimed the firearm at (Rueda’s) back and pulled the trigger twice,” the affidavit said.

    Newman twice fired at Rueda, police allege, but his revolver did not fire as the hammer fell on two empty chambers.

    He then stood parallel to Rueda while still aiming the gun at his back, and shot at him three more times. Two of the rounds struck other objects but the third struck Rueda in the arm. One of the bullets ricocheted off the floor and grazed the leg of Kenzie McKeon, 14, who had been kneeling by her lower locker.

    So just like the Columbine scumbags, he planned to kill randomly. Luckily, he was a lousy shot.

    Prosecutors are still investigating the case to see whether or not Newman will be charged as an adult.

  • No Guarantees

    Parents seek assurances:

    I’m surprised at the level of honesty school officials are using towards parents regarding the fallout of the Pine Middle School shooting…

    Washoe County school officials told hundreds of anxious Pine Middle School parents Wednesday they didn’t know how to prevent shooting incidents such as the one that wounded two eighth-graders the previous morning.

    “We cannot guarantee we can make this school 100 percent safe, just as you cannot guarantee your child’s safety when he or she gets in a car,” Superintendant Paul Dugan told more than 500 students, parents and teachers. “Metal detectors are not a guarantee for safety.”

    He’s right. Red Lake High School had metal detectors, and that didn’t stop Jeff Weise. I would also say that liability lies more with the parents than it would with the schools. Most school shooting plots are planned in the home rather than at school. So, in this case, whoever owned the gun that James Newman used should have been responsible for keeping the gun secure and keeping it out of the hands of a 14-year-old.

    Also, according to the article, Newman had been planning this for a while…

    “You can see he had been thinking about this and considering it,” Lt. Ron Donnelly said after detectives interviewed the suspect, found drawings and writings in his locker and talked with his family and friends.

    “Students who heard him talk about bringing the gun to school thought it was just talk,” Rusk said. “Now they feel very guilty and wonder what they should have done. They felt (his comments) were just middle school bravado and that he wasn’t serious.”

    When will kids learn that when someone talks about bringing a gun to school that it might not be a joke? Luckily, no one was killed this time.

  • Gun used at Pine Middle School shooting belonged to family

    Gun used in Reno school shooting belonged to suspect’s family:

    The .38-caliber pistol used in the Pine Middle School shooting by James Scott Newman belonged to an unidentified family member and was obtained without permission. The owner of the gun may also face charges. It hasn’t been determined yet whether or not Newman will be charged as an adult or not…

    That’s because the Nevada Supreme Court recently required that the state must prove a juvenile had a specific intent to kill in order to bring an attempted murder charge, he said.

    Yeah, I’m sure he brought the gun to school to use as a party favor.

  • Pine Middle Shooter named

    Pine Middle Shooter named

    Reno teacher hailed as hero after shooting:

    This article is basically about how a gym teacher who wishes to remain anonymous was able to stop the Pine Middle School shooter from doing any more harm. However, in the article, the shooter is named, and he is one James Scott Newman, an eighth-grader.

    Here’s how it went down…

    The teacher at Pine Middle School heard three shots just before 9 a.m. and rushed out of a room to find the alleged shooter, James Scott Newman, standing outside the school cafeteria.

    “She empathized with him, tried to be understanding and de-escalated the situation. She was successful in having him place his gun on the ground which is pretty amazing,” Reno police Lt. Ron Donnelly told KKOH Radio.

    After he dropped the gun, the teacher “bear hugged” Newman until additional staff arrived on scene, Donnelly said. “It was an heroic job done by the school teacher,” he said.

    Still no word on how the gun was obtained.

  • More from Pine Middle School

    More from Pine Middle School

    USATODAY.com – Police: Boy opens fire with handgun, injures 2 students:

    The shooter was an eighth-grade student who has no known connection with the two victims…

    “It appears he decided to engage in school violence,” the officer said. “He brought a gun to school today and randomly targeted these two students.”

    The shooter is being charged as an adult and is being held on $150,000 bail on attempted murder charges.

  • School Shooting in Reno

    School Shooting in Reno

    Reno School Shooting Update:

    There was a school shooting at Pine Middle School in Reno, Nevada today. Two students were injured when a seventh or eighth grader opened fire in a hallway with a .38-caliber pistol…

    Reno Police Lieutenant Ron Donnelly says a boy was wounded in the upper arm and taken to Washoe Medical Center for treatment. A girl received a superficial wound to the leg from shrapnel and was treated at the scene.

    No word on a motive or how the gun was obtained.

    More on this as information becomes available.

  • News from Roseburg

    News from Roseburg

    RHS school shoot motive, details remain under wraps:

    Roseburg police investigating the shooting at Roseburg High state they have narrowed down a motive for the shooting of Joseph Monti by Vincent Leodoro. However, they’re remaining tight-lipped for now…

    Roseburg police Lt. Pat Moore said this morning details of the motive cannot be released until the prosecuting entities — including the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office and the Douglas County Juvenile Department — agree to do so.

    He provided a vague description of a tense relationship between the two Roseburg High School students and their social circle which is believed to have led to the early morning campus shooting.

    “There haven’t been any real variations from that,” he said, adding that most rumors police have checked into have been found to be unsubstantiated.

    School shooting victim in fair condition after Thursday surgery:

    Meanwhile, Joseph Monti underwent surgery to remove bullet fragments near his spine and is said to be in fair condition. He has also lost some feeling and control of his left foot.