Echoes of Columbine

YWAM - Tiffany Johnson, 26 & Philip Crouse, 24 New Life - Stephanie Works, 18 & Rachel Works, 16 A home school shooting... Editors Note: This one is stretching the definition of a school shooting or mass shooting I do admit.  I have several reasons for including it in the research, first being that the shooter  at one time attended the youth mission center he targeted first but he was expelled for saying that he heard voices and playing scary music such as Marilyn Manson. So, in a way Youth With a Mission was his school. This was also a church shooting, but a church that had played a big role in his education too.  This one doesn't usually qualify as a mass shooting, because it didn't become one. Given the fact he had 1000 rounds of ammunition in his possession at the time he very well intended it to be. In this case, an armed security officer was there to stop him when he walked in the door and the killing stopped. So, though it is a stretch, it ...

Last updated: March 31, 2018 Date:  April 16 Year: 2007 School:  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Location:  Blacksburg State: Virginia Wounded: 23 Fatalities:  32 Shots Fired:  174/100 hits (60% fatality rate) (carried an additional 200 rounds, 17 10 - 15 round spent magazines were found at the scene) Time lapsed:  9 minutes Police response time:  3 minutes, 5 to break through chains How ended:  Suicide as police approached Civilians involved:  No Perpetrator:  Seung Hui Cho, Age:  23 Family history:  Born in South Korea, his family emigrated to the U.S. when Cho was 8. Relatives were concerned about him from a young age, because he didn't speak or make eye contact, and he was believed to be selectively mute. He was considered well behaved and obedient child, he just showed no emotion. Grandfather reports Cho never called him grandfather or embraced him as a child. ...

Date:  March 21 Year:  2005 School: Red Lake Senior High Location: Red Lake State: Minnesota Wounded: 5 Fatalities: 9 (2 home, 7 school) Shots Fired:  45 (+13 at home) Time lapsed:  9 minutes Police response time:  3 minutes (4 minute shootout with police) How ended: suicide Civilians involved: No, an unarmed security guard at the school confronted him, but he was killed. Perpetrator: Jeffrey Weise Age: 16 Family history: His father committed suicide on July 27, 1997 after a standoff with police. Mother sustained severe brain injury in an alcohol related car accident on March 5, 1999 and had to be placed in an assisted living home. His grandmother was granted custody but she died in 2003. In postings on a National Socialism forum he says he wants to be a Nazi to preserve his Native heritage, he laments the damage done by drugs and alcohol to the native people. His parents both had alcohol issues. Red flags:  Record...

Editors note:  Though Columbine has become one of the most well known school shootings, even giving rise to the term "Pulling a Columbine," it was not intended to be a school shooting at all. What most of America saw as a school shooting was originally meant to be a mass bombing of unimaginable scale. The bombs placed in the cafeteria were enough to bring the library crumbling down on the cafeteria. Both rooms were full of students at the time. The shooters were positioned outside waiting for survivors to come running out of the building as unwitting targets. Both of their cars were wired as well. They set fire to several rooms, that were put out by bystanders or sprinklers. Thankfully, the bombs were mostly defective. This was not a school shooting it was a domestic terror attack.  This topic has been covered at length, and links will follow if you would like to know more about it but we won't cover the standard details here. These are the details used for our r...

Last updated: March 23, 2018 Date: Dec, 1 Year: 1997 School:  Heath High School Location:  West Paducah State: Kentucky Wounded: 5 Fatalities: 3 Shots Fired:  8 rounds, fast succession Time lapsed:  12 seconds Police response time:  Shooting ended before police arrived.  How ended: After firing 8 shots, Carneal laid the gun on the ground and sank to his knees. some reports say he was crying. The principal approached him and took him by the shoulders, shaking him asking why he'd done it. Carneal responded "I can't believe I did that, kill me please." He was taken to the office and put under guard while waiting for the police to arrive.  Civilians involved: Carneal surrendered without intervention and was taken quietly. Perpetrator:  Michael Carneal Age: 14 Family history: Red flags: Told students that "something big is going to happen on Monday" but no one took him seriously. Mental illness history:...

Last Updated: March 23, 2018 Date:  October 1 Year: 1997 School:  Pearl High School  Location:  Pearl State: Mississippi Wounded:  7 Fatalities: 3 (including mother: stabbed prior to shooting) Shots Fired: Time lapsed:  11 minutes Police response time:  Incident was over before police arrived and suspect detained. How ended:  Attempted to flee the scene, stopped by student and staff, held until police arrived.  Civilians involved:  Yes, assistant principal Joel Myrick (a U.S. Army Reserve Commander) retrieved his personal Colt 1911 .45 auto from vehicle. Student helped pin car down. Stopped from fleeing, held at gunpoint until police arrived. Perpetrator: Luke Woodham Age: 16 Family history: Red flags: History of animal torture, he wrote in his journal about torturing his dog Sparkle to death. "I will never forget the howl she made. It sounded almost human. We laughed and hit her hard." About a...

Last updated: March 23, 2018 Date: February 2, 1996 Year: 1996 School:  Frontier Middle School Location:  Moses Lake State: Washington Wounded: 1 Fatalities: 3 Shots Fired: 4-5   (Carried 80 rounds of ammunition) Time lapsed: Police response time:  Police didn't arrive until after the shooter had been contained by a civilian. How ended: Taken. A coach offered to be his hostage to get out of the school safely. There was a struggle and the coach disarmed the shooter and held him until police arrived. The coach was unarmed. Civilians involved: Yes. Coach Jon Lane wrestled gun away from him, and held him until police arrived. Lane's thoughts on ending school violence were shared after the Parkland shooting in a very personal letter about his experience here.  Man who subdued Moses Lake school shooter 21 years ago pens letter Perpetrator:  Barry Dale Loukaitis Age: 14 Family history: Father had been unfaithful to his mot...