NERVUN
15-03-2006, 12:43
Thanks to the Internet I can keep up with the news back home on a daily basis, which also means I get to hear that Reno, Nevada is now on the list of places with school shootings. Thankfully no one was killed, but once again it just makes you wonder what the hell is going on.
Hallway shooting rocks middle school
Teacher gets boy to give up weapon
JACLYN O'MALLEY
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 3/15/2006
A Reno eighth-grader was booked on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly wounding two Pine Middle School classmates with gunfire Tuesday morning in what police said was a planned attack.
Teacher Jencie Fagan was credited with convincing James Newman, 14, to put down the pistol he allegedly fired twice at a boy opening a locker, wounding him in an arm. A third shot ricocheted off the floor and struck Kenzie McKeon, 14, who was kneeling at her locker, police said.
"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.
"It was clear to us what he was trying to do and that's why he was booked into jail for attempted murder," Donnelly said. "He fired more than once and picked (the boy he shot at). It's a miracle (the boy) wasn't shot in a more significant way and died."
Police using dogs searched every student locker Tuesday but found no weapons or contraband.
Officials said it was the first time a student shot another student in a Washoe County public school.
Police didn't know how the suspect got the gun and said he only had three rounds of ammunition.
Witnesses said Newman didn't say anything before or after he fired and had "kind of a blank stare" after the shooting.
Eighth-grader Evan Richardson said he lives next door to Newman in Arrowcreek and considers him a close friend. He said he was standing about 10 feet away from the suspect.
"He just pulled out a gun. I thought it was a cap gun, but he shot it," Richardson said. "I think he was trying for attention. I got a ride with him this morning, and I didn't see it coming."
Karen Sabori lives on Stonebridge Trail near the suspect's home.
"They just moved here from Las Vegas because they wanted a nicer climate for the kids to go to school in. There wasn't much for the kids to do in Las Vegas and they thought here there were more things for kids to do," she said.
"Nobody can believe it. My neighbor next door said, 'I can't believe he would do that,' " Sabori said. "They're really, really nice people. We've seen their son out playing basketball."
Minutes before the shooting, students had been milling around, waiting for the day to begin, authorities said. With the snow, classes were to begin at 9 a.m.
Donnelly said Newman was walking down the hall by the cafeteria and targeted a boy at his locker. He said the boy did not know Newman, but knew of him, and had no problems with him.
"He was intent on harming students," Donnelly said. "Not any student in particular, just fellow students."
Donnelly said school officials had characterized Newman as a "generally unhappy person."
The teacher heard gunfire, saw Newman holding the gun and called his name, Donnelly said.
"She tried to calm him, said she cared for him and loved him," Donnelly said. "She was empathetic and tried to appeal to him. He put the gun down."
The school principal announced on the intercom that the school was having a "Code Red" and the students were locked in their classrooms, huddled together in corners or under desks.
Nicholas Gomez lives near the school and ran outside after seeing a commotion of police cars and paramedics.
"This is too much," he said upon learning of the shooting. "I'm scared for my daughter. But I'm not surprised."
"It's terrifying that someone here brought a gun to school and wanted to hurt one of us," said student Holly Garrick, 14.
After more than an hour of lockdown, Stacy Sandige, 14, was in tears as she stood with her mother, Rose, and recounted what happened in the hallway near the cafeteria. She had been walking down the hall near Newman, who she typically rode the bus with, when the shooting occurred.
"I'm upset but I guess it's a part of what school's about," she said. "They say it doesn't happen at your school, but it happens everywhere."
Sandige's mother also was troubled by the shooting.
"The world we live in now is not what it used to be," she said. "People have no respect for life and have nothing better to do than cause trouble."
Leaving school
Students were released so buses could take them home. A sea of parents, many who received text messages from their children, waited to take them home.
Steve Geerling, whose wife alerted him of the incident after a friend saw it on television, said he was worried, too.
"I didn't know who was hurt or if they caught the shooter. It's scary," he said.
Geerling's daughter, Danielle, 13, and her friends hugged each other and tried to comfort one another. They had been in English class when the shooting occurred.
"Our teacher was reassuring and very nice," Danielle Geerling said, "and promised we would be safe. We are all freaked out."
Andrew Arguello, 13, had been in math class when the shots were fired. He didn't hear them, but listened to his principal announce on the intercom they were going into lockdown.
"I always thought something like this might happen in this neighborhood," he said. "But I'm not scared to go back to school tomorrow. I feel safe here. You have to go on with life."
Megan Perez, 13, said: "It's not right to bring guns in school. Someone could have been killed."
In 1997, Vaughn Middle School Vice Principal Pat Schellin disarmed an eighth-grader who had three pistols at school and was threatening people.
"You gotta do what you gotta do when it comes to the safety of students," Schellin said. "Students this age obviously lack maturity and think things like this is the solution to their problems."
Usually, students will tell other students about their plans, Schellin said, and those students usually tell authorities or use the student Secret Witness.
"Education and conscientious parents are the keys," he said. "The fact that so many weapons end up in school has become so blase after Columbine is nerve wracking. School is the last place a gun should be brought."
Newman also was booked on the use of a firearm by a minor and was held in Washoe County Jail in lieu of $150,000.
"It's very disturbing and you're always worried something like this is going to happen in our town," Donnelly said. "We've been lucky in Washoe County that we haven't had something like this because potentially it could have been a lot worse."
Staff writers Benjamin Kieckhefer and Alex Newman contributed to this report.
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060315/NEWS10/603150348/1002
Hallway shooting rocks middle school
Teacher gets boy to give up weapon
JACLYN O'MALLEY
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 3/15/2006
A Reno eighth-grader was booked on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly wounding two Pine Middle School classmates with gunfire Tuesday morning in what police said was a planned attack.
Teacher Jencie Fagan was credited with convincing James Newman, 14, to put down the pistol he allegedly fired twice at a boy opening a locker, wounding him in an arm. A third shot ricocheted off the floor and struck Kenzie McKeon, 14, who was kneeling at her locker, police said.
"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.
"It was clear to us what he was trying to do and that's why he was booked into jail for attempted murder," Donnelly said. "He fired more than once and picked (the boy he shot at). It's a miracle (the boy) wasn't shot in a more significant way and died."
Police using dogs searched every student locker Tuesday but found no weapons or contraband.
Officials said it was the first time a student shot another student in a Washoe County public school.
Police didn't know how the suspect got the gun and said he only had three rounds of ammunition.
Witnesses said Newman didn't say anything before or after he fired and had "kind of a blank stare" after the shooting.
Eighth-grader Evan Richardson said he lives next door to Newman in Arrowcreek and considers him a close friend. He said he was standing about 10 feet away from the suspect.
"He just pulled out a gun. I thought it was a cap gun, but he shot it," Richardson said. "I think he was trying for attention. I got a ride with him this morning, and I didn't see it coming."
Karen Sabori lives on Stonebridge Trail near the suspect's home.
"They just moved here from Las Vegas because they wanted a nicer climate for the kids to go to school in. There wasn't much for the kids to do in Las Vegas and they thought here there were more things for kids to do," she said.
"Nobody can believe it. My neighbor next door said, 'I can't believe he would do that,' " Sabori said. "They're really, really nice people. We've seen their son out playing basketball."
Minutes before the shooting, students had been milling around, waiting for the day to begin, authorities said. With the snow, classes were to begin at 9 a.m.
Donnelly said Newman was walking down the hall by the cafeteria and targeted a boy at his locker. He said the boy did not know Newman, but knew of him, and had no problems with him.
"He was intent on harming students," Donnelly said. "Not any student in particular, just fellow students."
Donnelly said school officials had characterized Newman as a "generally unhappy person."
The teacher heard gunfire, saw Newman holding the gun and called his name, Donnelly said.
"She tried to calm him, said she cared for him and loved him," Donnelly said. "She was empathetic and tried to appeal to him. He put the gun down."
The school principal announced on the intercom that the school was having a "Code Red" and the students were locked in their classrooms, huddled together in corners or under desks.
Nicholas Gomez lives near the school and ran outside after seeing a commotion of police cars and paramedics.
"This is too much," he said upon learning of the shooting. "I'm scared for my daughter. But I'm not surprised."
"It's terrifying that someone here brought a gun to school and wanted to hurt one of us," said student Holly Garrick, 14.
After more than an hour of lockdown, Stacy Sandige, 14, was in tears as she stood with her mother, Rose, and recounted what happened in the hallway near the cafeteria. She had been walking down the hall near Newman, who she typically rode the bus with, when the shooting occurred.
"I'm upset but I guess it's a part of what school's about," she said. "They say it doesn't happen at your school, but it happens everywhere."
Sandige's mother also was troubled by the shooting.
"The world we live in now is not what it used to be," she said. "People have no respect for life and have nothing better to do than cause trouble."
Leaving school
Students were released so buses could take them home. A sea of parents, many who received text messages from their children, waited to take them home.
Steve Geerling, whose wife alerted him of the incident after a friend saw it on television, said he was worried, too.
"I didn't know who was hurt or if they caught the shooter. It's scary," he said.
Geerling's daughter, Danielle, 13, and her friends hugged each other and tried to comfort one another. They had been in English class when the shooting occurred.
"Our teacher was reassuring and very nice," Danielle Geerling said, "and promised we would be safe. We are all freaked out."
Andrew Arguello, 13, had been in math class when the shots were fired. He didn't hear them, but listened to his principal announce on the intercom they were going into lockdown.
"I always thought something like this might happen in this neighborhood," he said. "But I'm not scared to go back to school tomorrow. I feel safe here. You have to go on with life."
Megan Perez, 13, said: "It's not right to bring guns in school. Someone could have been killed."
In 1997, Vaughn Middle School Vice Principal Pat Schellin disarmed an eighth-grader who had three pistols at school and was threatening people.
"You gotta do what you gotta do when it comes to the safety of students," Schellin said. "Students this age obviously lack maturity and think things like this is the solution to their problems."
Usually, students will tell other students about their plans, Schellin said, and those students usually tell authorities or use the student Secret Witness.
"Education and conscientious parents are the keys," he said. "The fact that so many weapons end up in school has become so blase after Columbine is nerve wracking. School is the last place a gun should be brought."
Newman also was booked on the use of a firearm by a minor and was held in Washoe County Jail in lieu of $150,000.
"It's very disturbing and you're always worried something like this is going to happen in our town," Donnelly said. "We've been lucky in Washoe County that we haven't had something like this because potentially it could have been a lot worse."
Staff writers Benjamin Kieckhefer and Alex Newman contributed to this report.
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060315/NEWS10/603150348/1002