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Ohio School Shooting Update

February 29, 2012 by · Comments Off on Ohio School Shooting Update 

Ohio School Shooting Update, The Ohio teenager accused of killing three students in a shooting rampage in a high school cafeteria chose his victims at random and is “someone who’s not well,” a prosecutor said Tuesday as the slightly built young man appeared in juvenile court.

T.J. Lane, 17, admitted taking a .22-caliber pistol and a knife to Chardon High and firing 10 shots at a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table Monday morning, prosecutor David Joyce said. He said Lane didn’t know the victims.

Lane likely will be charged with three counts of aggravated murder and other offenses, the prosecutor said.

A thin figure with short dark hair, Lane seemed small next to the sheriff’s deputies who led him into court, and said little more than “Yes, sir” in response to questions from the judge.

His face twitched lightly while the prosecutor recounted the attack, and he sniffled and half-closed his eyes as he left the courtroom under guard.

The hearing came hours after the death toll rose to three, and as schoolmates and townspeople grappled with the tragedy and wondered what could have set off Lane, a young man described by other students as extremely quiet, with few if any friends.

The court appearance did little to solve the mystery. Afterward, though, the prosecutor appeared to rule out rumors and speculation that the gunman lashed out after being bullied or that the shooting had something to do with drug dealing.

“He chose his victims at random. This is not about bullying. This is not about drugs,” Joyce said. “This is someone who’s not well, and I’m sure in our court case we’ll prove that to all of your desires and we’ll make sure justice is done here in this county.”

Joyce would not elaborate. Both sides in the case are under a gag order imposed by the judge at the prosecutor’s request.

Judge Timothy Grendell ordered the boy held for at least 15 days. Prosecutors have until Thursday to bring charges against him and are expected to ask that he be tried as an adult.

All three of the dead were students, as are the two wounded victims. The one student still hospitalized remained in serious condition Tuesday evening at Hillcrest Hospital in suburban Cleveland, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The Chardon police chief said authorities learned Tuesday that a wounded female Chardon High student had been released and the 18-year-old was home with her family.

Ohio School Shooting

February 27, 2012 by · Comments Off on Ohio School Shooting 

Ohio School Shooting, Sorrow and disbelief replaced the chaos of Monday morning’s school shooting in Chardon, Ohio, as residents and investigators tried to sort out what prompted a young man to open fire on a table of students in the school cafeteria, killing one and wounding four others.

“I just can’t believe it. I don’t think it’s real,” said student Danny Komertz, who witnessed the shooting. “And I just, it kills me that I saw someone hiding, and now that someone is now dead.”

The gunman, whom police said was a juvenile, opened fire in the cafeteria of Chardon High School just as the school day was getting started about 7:30 a.m., according to police. Witnesses said he walked up to a table of four students he may have known and began shooting.

Police said they arrested the suspect a short time later in Chardon Township, a community of about 5,000 people 30 miles east of Cleveland.

Police Chief Tim McKenna declined to identify the suspect, while school Superintendent Joseph Bergant said only that he was a student. But the the Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland cited student Nate Mueller, who was slightly wounded in the shooting, in identifying the suspect as student T.J. Lane.

The fatally wounded student was identified by the hospital that treated him as Daniel Parmertor.

“We are shocked by this senseless tragedy,” Parmertor’s family said in a statement released by MetroHealth Medical Center. “Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him. The family is torn by this loss.”

Ohio School Shooting

February 27, 2012 by · Comments Off on Ohio School Shooting 

Ohio School Shooting, Five students were shot when a gunman opened fire at an Ohio high school Monday morning, authorities reported. The gunman was quickly taken into custody.

The shooter was apparently chased from the building and surrendered, Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland told reporters in a televised news conference outside Chardon High School about 30 miles east of Cleveland.

Early reports suggested that the gunman was also a student, though officials were still investigating.

According to officials, the incident began about 7:30 a.m. as students were eating breakfast. The gunman opened fire in the cafeteria area of the high school, which has about 1,100 students

All of the shootings were believed to have taken place there, though victims were found in at least three different areas, McClelland said.

Four boys and one girl were taken to two hospitals. Their names and conditions were not immediately available.

Earlier reports indicated four students were injured, but officials increased that the number to five. They warned that the total could change as more information becomes available.

An adult, believed to be a teacher, chased the gunman from the building. The gunman surrendered to authorities and was being questioned at the sheriff’s office.

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