- MONROE, Louisiana (Reuters)
- On the second anniversary of the nation's worst school shootings at
Columbine
High School in Littleton, Colorado, a 14-year-old student opened fire on
faculty and students Friday morning at the alternative school he attended,
authorities said.
-
- The large-calibre handgun misfired after four shots and
no one was injured, authorities said.
-
- The boy was disarmed and arrested after two police
officers
rushed him, said Kelly McGee, spokeswoman for the Monroe School
District.
-
- Each student at the Sherrouse Alternative School, set
up for children who have been removed from regular classroom because of
behaviour problems, is checked in each morning by faculty members and
Principal
Charles Rohner and subjected to metal detector, McGee said.
-
- "Charles heard a click and looked up and six feet
away was a gun pointed at him," she said. "He grabbed kids and
the four teachers out there and herded them through the auditorium and
away from the boy. He and a teacher held the door closed as the boy fired
into it."
-
- "They didn't hear anything else so they started
out as the boy came into the auditorium through another door and fired
again," McGee said. "Then two police officers arrived and he
hid behind some boxes. They could hear the gun clicking but it didn't fire.
One of them said, 'I don't want to have to kill this kid' and they rushed
him. He didn't fight it."
-
- "We were lucky. This could have been so very
serious,"
she said.
-
- At Columbine, 18-year-old Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold,
17, stormed their school, killing 13 people and injuring 20 others before
committing suicide.
-
- In Monroe, a passing school bus driver spotted the
trouble
at 7:20 a.m. CDT (8:20 a.m. EDT)(1220 GMT) and police arrived within two
minutes, Chief Joe Stewart said. The two officers who arrested the boy
completed specialised training in rapid deployment and crisis management
on Thursday, he said. "It's kind of ironic, but everybody -- our
people
and the school people -- did exactly what they were supposed to
do."
-
- Stewart said federal officials will try to trace the
background on the .380 magnum gun the boy was carrying to deter mine where
he got it. The youth was being interviewed by authorities to determine
his motive and intended targets, he said.
-
- Psychologists have been called to the school to help
students and faculty, McGee said.
-
- She said the boy was sent to the school in October 2000
after being involved with marijuana, was discharged in March and readmitted
this week. The reason he was sent back was not immediately known.
-
-
-
- MainPage
http://www.rense.com
-
-
-
- This
Site Served by TheHostPros
|