TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: school shooting

  • 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.

  • Roberts did not molest relatives

    Roberts did not molest relatives

    Kin Say School Gunman Didn’t Molest Them:

    NICKEL MINES, Pa. — Two relatives of the man who attacked an Amish school said they were not molested by him 20 years ago as he had claimed, investigators said Wednesday.

    Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, revealed to his family in notes he left behind and in a cell phone call to his wife from inside the West Nickel Mines Amish School that he was tormented by memories of molesting his two young relatives 20 years ago. He also spoke of having dreams about doing it again.

    Investigators spoke to the two women, who would have been 4 or 5 at the time, and they said there was no such abuse.

    “Both of them have no recollection of being sexually assaulted by Roberts,” state police Trooper Linette Quinn said.”They were absolutely sure they had no contact with Roberts.”

    Which makes his victims’ deaths even more pointless.

  • Rocori lawyer calls lawsuit baseless

    Rocori lawyer calls lawsuit baseless

    Attorney for Rocori school district calls allegations ‘baseless’:

    Did anyone really expect him to say anything else?

    Shamus O’Meara, who represents the district and former principal, said much of the “information referenced about the school district is inaccurate and false … and that criminal investigative agencies have determined to be baseless.”

    O’Meara said he couldn’t be more specific about what parts of the lawsuit he was calling inaccurate. But when asked if one of them involved the alleged alert, he said: “That’s an example of one of them.”

    The district believes its crisis management and response plans in place at the time of the shooting were sound, O’Meara said.

    Tom Rollins explains the motivation behind the lawsuit…

    Rollins’ father, Tom Rollins, said filing it was one of the toughest decisions they’ve had to make.

    “It took us (the Rollins and Bartells) two years to decide to do it,” he said. “It’s not about the money. It’s about getting the truth out.”

    He said he knows some in the community don’t agree with their decision.

    But, he said, “We’d all like to know if there were things that could have been done to prevent it. Any concerned parent would say if there were indications there was a threat, what was done?”

    Earlier today, I received a comment from someone close to one of the victim’s family who said that the families have been financially devastated by this tragedy, and they are only trying to save what they have left.

  • Roberts planned attack for days

    Roberts planned attack for days

    Amish school gunman bought supplies 6 days before killings:

    It seems that Charles Roberts was planning his deadly siege of the Amish school days before the attack. According to the article, he bought most of his supplies six days before the siege. That means that Roberts already had his siege in mind before Duane Morrison shot and killed a female hostage and himself at Platte Canyon High School in Colorado. Still, one has to wonder if the Platte Canyon siege further egged on Roberts’ desire to molest and kill. Even more disturbing than the fact that sexual lubricant was found at the crime scene was this…

    A piece of lumber found in the school had 10 large eyebolts spaced about 10 inches apart, suggesting that Roberts may have planned to truss up the girls and sexually assault them.

    The article also states that the relatives that Roberts claims to have molested are being interviewed by police.

    The article also contains a list of the casualties…

    The victims were identified as Naomi Rose Ebersole, 7; Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12; Marian Fisher, 13; Mary Liz Miller, 8; and her sister Lena Miller, 7.

    May God have mercy on your soul, Charles Carl Roberts IV.

  • Wrongful death lawsuit against Rocori shooter

    Wrongful death lawsuit against Rocori shooter

    Wrongful death lawsuit filed in Rocori school shootings:

    The families of Seth Bartell and Aaron Rollins have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the school district that Rocori High is in, the former Rocori principal, the gunman John Jason McLaughlin, and McLaughlin’s father, Stearns County Deputy Sheriff David McLaughlin. For those of you who may have forgotten about the Rocori shooting…

    Jason McLaughlin was 15 when he brought a loaded .22-caliber pistol to school and shot Bartell, 14, and Rollins, 17. In 2005, he was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

    Some startling revelations have been made in the lawsuit that weren’t in the criminal trial…

    The lawsuit claims the school district and principal were told a week before the shootings that “an unidentified student planned to bring a gun to Rocori for the purposes of carrying out a shooting.”

    And on the day of the killings, the lawsuit alleges, there was another warning. It says a janitor found “4-20” written on the school, – a possible reference to the Columbine school shootings in Colorado on April 20, 1999, or 4-20-1999.

    The lawsuit also alleges security equipment at the school was not in working order, and that the district didn’t have a crisis plan in place.

    And it alleges that McLaughlin’s father, Stearns County Deputy Sheriff David McLaughlin, provided “virtually unlimited access to a cache of semiautomatic weapons and handguns in the home.”

    Except for the 420 reference, which could just be from a stoner, I think that the lawsuit definitely has merit. In my opinion, I doubt that this is a case of the family making a money grab, but rather justice because of people who could not be punished during the criminal trial.

  • 20 years ago

    20 years ago

    Police: School killer told wife he molested family members:

    What’s a word for ‘more than horrified’?

    (CNN) — Pennsylvania schoolhouse killer Charles Carl Roberts IV said he molested minor family members 20 years ago and was dreaming about molesting again, police said Tuesday.

    Roberts’ assault Monday killed five girls and wounded five others, police said, before he killed himself. Police have been trying to determine the motive behind the attack by talking to family members and analyzing suicide notes.

    Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller said Roberts may have targeted the school for its girl students and — given the various items found in the school — intended to molest the children.

    He said KY Jelly lubricant was found in the schoolhouse where the assault occurred but there is no evidence that the victims were sexually assaulted in any way.

    “It’s very possible, when he talks about doing the things and having dreams for the last two years about doing things that he did 20 years ago … he perhaps planned, with the kind of wood and eyebolts and flex cuffs and KY Jelly and other things, it’s very possible that he intended to victimize these children in many ways prior to executing them and killing himself,” Miller said.

    Roberts also said he was mad at God for the death of his premature baby, Elise, born nine years ago, Miller said.

    Miller said Roberts called his wife Monday morning and said, “‘I am not coming home. The police are here.’”

    Then Miller said Roberts stated, “‘I molested some minor family members, family members that were 3 or 4 years old, 20 years ago.’”

    “Roberts mentioned in his suicide note that he was having dreams of molesting again,” Miller said.

    Miller said both sides of Roberts’ family were interviewed, including his parents, and his wife, and they said they had no knowledge of any molestation by Roberts affecting any family member or anyone else.

    Could he have picked any more innocent victims to terrorize than Amish children?

    There were a million things that Charles Roberts could have done to alleviate his guilt. Why did he have to choose this one?

  • Fifth Amish school shooting victim dies

    Fifth Amish school shooting victim dies

    5th girl dies after Amish schoolhouse shooting:

    This is getting to be more than I can handle…

    NICKEL MINES, Pa. – A milk-truck driver carrying three guns and a childhood grudge stormed a one-room Amish schoolhouse Monday, sent the boys and adults outside, barricaded the doors with two-by-fours, and then opened fire on a dozen girls, killing three people before committing suicide. Early Tuesday, two more children died of wounds, a hospital spokeswoman and state police said.

    At least five other victims were critically wounded, authorities said.

    The fourth victim, a 7-year-old girl, died about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday at Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey, hospital spokeswoman Amy Buehler Stranges said.

    “Her parents were with her,” Buehler Stranges said. “She was taken off life support and she passed away shortly after.”

    Shortly afterward, state police announced the death of a fifth child at a hospital in Delaware, Pennsylvania.

    The article also states that Roberts’ ‘revenge’ may have had something to do with the death of Roberts’ child in 1997, but that’s hardly 20 years ago.

  • Fourth victim in Amish school shooting dies

    Fourth victim in Amish school shooting dies

    Amish School Shooting Leaves Four Girls Dead:

    A fourth victim of Charles Carl Roberts IV has died…

    Three girls were pronounced dead soon after the incident. A fourth girl later died at a Pennsylvania hospital, and at least six victims were still critically wounded, FOXNews confirmed.

    Most of the victims had been shot execution-style at point-blank range after being lined up along the chalkboard, their feet bound with wire and plastic ties, authorities said. Two young students were killed, along with a female teacher’s aide who was slightly older than the students, state police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller said.

    The victims were members of the Old Order Amish. Lancaster County is home to some 20,000 Old Order Amish, who eschew automobiles, electricity, computers, fancy clothes and most other modern conveniences, live among their own people, and typically speak a German dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch.

    My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

  • Hainstock’s bail set

    Hainstock’s bail set

    Judge Sets Bail For Accused Teen School Shooter:

    (AP) BARABOO, Wis. A judge set bail at $750,000 Monday for a 15-year-old boy accused of killing his high school principal after prosecutors said the teen may have been looking for others to attack as well.

    Sauk County District Attorney Pat Barrett told the judge there were other “persons of interest” for Eric Hainstock when he went to Weston Schools in Cazenovia Friday morning and shot Principal John Klang. She told reporters after the five-minute hearing that Hainstock may have had additional targets picked out.

    “There were potentially other people that he had a beef with at the time,” she said, but did not elaborate.

    Hainstock’s attorneys asked for $10,000 bail, saying the teen has lived in the Sauk County area his whole life and has no convictions.

    But Circuit Judge Patrick Taggart agreed with Barrett.

    “It goes without saying the public does need protection in this matter,” he said.

    $10,000 bail for shooting a man at point-blank range in cold blood? Defense attorneys never fail to crack me up.

    Search warrants show deputies found a note at Hainstock’s house from him to his father, along with boxes of ammunition, discipline reports from Weston Schools and a photo of a girl with her eyes poked out. Klang gave Hainstock a disciplinary notice for having tobacco in the school Thursday, the day before the shooting, according to the criminal complaint.

    Court records also say Eric Hainstock had a medical condition that affected his behavior but he was not receiving treatment because the family could no longer afford drugs or counseling.

    It seems like to me, they just were too lazy to get him treatment or didn’t care. There are state agencies and programs designed to help people like this. Not that any of this is an excuse for killing.