Boy, 14, Kills Principal, Then Himself in Pennsylvania School

Fox News ^ | Thursday, April 24, 2003 | Ap via Fox News

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

RED LION, Pa.  — A heavily armed 14-year-old boy shot and killed his school principal inside a crowded junior high cafeteria Thursday morning, then killed himself, authorities said.

The school shootings (search) happened about 15 minutes before the start of classes at Red Lion Area Junior High School.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

This is a terrible thing and I don't want to minimize it but we all know that the liberals will, once again, use this to try to make all guns illegal.

No doubt killing your principal is already illegal.

Students who witnessed the shooting met with counselors.

And this will probably scar the kids for life, having to meet with counselors.

[jjm2111]

"...and was sentenced to 132 to 264 years in prison."

I'm guessing he won't even serve the minimum amount.

Serially, this is sad. I don't understand how these kids think homicide is going to solve their problems.

[FReepaholic]

>>... the liberals will, once again, use this to try to make all guns illegal....<<

Just in time to protest at the NRA convention in Orlando.

[Democratic_Machiavelli]

Sounds like they should make machetes illegal as well. /sarcasm

[Beelzebubba]

"Zero-tolerance" backlash?

[exnavy]

Was this student on ridilin(sp)?

[JSteff]

This is truely sad. Right now I am about 5 miles from this school. My first thought was how sad for the principal. My next was I hope that if the guns are owned by the boys parents that they are prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law. Also I hope they are sued to the poor house for not securing their weapons... (if that is the case.)

My next thought was this is Rendel's dream come true. I know he will milk this to the limit to try for our guns. He is a stealth gun grabber and he was just hoping for a reason to start.

[DannyTN]

"I don't understand how these kids think homicide is going to solve their problems. "

Unless the suicide was an afterthought, I think you have to assume that the homicide in a homicide/suicide is an act of revenge or anger not a solution to anything.

[NautiNurse]

That's a dangerous location for principals with two attacks in two years.

[NautiNurse]

That's a dangerous location for principals with two attacks in two years.

[Physicist]

He is a stealth gun grabber

???

Rendell is a blaring-siren gun grabber.

[jiggyboy]

This is PA Dutch Country -- not the kind of place where kids are either so "diverse" that guns are a way of life or so rich and coddled that they can't handle the kinds of problems that kids who've seen Dad get laid off can handle.

A long-winded way of saying I agree with you: this sounds like a revenge problem rather than a "disturbing trend in Red Lion" problem.

[Bedford Forrest]

The timing of these school shootings is beyond uncanny. The NRA annual convention just around the corner, recent victories for the Constitution and the righteous in Colorado and Minnesota, and the current public debate on the so-called "AWB". And the fact that the perp was on Ritalin or some other illegal drug will be deepsixed. Other timelines, anyone?

[Search4Truth]

When God was expelled from school, Satan was enrolled.

What a God forsaken place the public school system is now.

[Nonstatist]

This is PA Dutch Country

Right between Baltimore and York, Pa. Typical suburban JHS.

[f.Christian]

What a God forsaken place the public school system is now.

by Search4Truth (The Truth is simple, self evident. A Lie is complex, requires explanation.)

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Reminds me of Carman's "America Again". Cool song.

[gwmoore]

Yhanks much, Forrest!!

I posted the same basic thing on the PA profile page this AM.

My query is wanting to know if this kid was A. Seeing a Psychiatrist for any reason, and (B.) On Ritalin.

It is especially troubling that this particular incident was followed shortly thereafter by news of another murder/suicide in VA, estranged father shoots his kids, then himself.

Now, taking into account that during the X42 regime, these types of shootings cropped up with almost clocklike regularity, to keep the news cycle full, then abruply stopped with the Election of GWB.

Now, we have a couple of jokers, the Backlash against Rick Santorum, the Rendell Governorship, and the BS which has alreay gone around and around about the sunset provision of the AW law. You just know this is going to be spun out of all relation to reality, and the grabbers are going to sieze the headlines again.

I am also wondering if we are seeing a cooincidental event, which simply made the news because Iraq 24/7 has ceased to occupy all of the screaming face channels...

Keep the Faith For Freedom

Greg

[syriacus]

I wonder if the young man saw Michael Moore's "documentary," Bowling for Columbine.

[goodseedhomeschool]

YET...another reason why we homeschool! :)

[lilylangtree]

Sad! Resulting in the blast from the gun control advocates. There's more to this story than meets the eye. It'll unfold in the next few days.

[depenzz]

I live in York, PA about 20 miles from this school. It has kept us glued to the TV this morning.

I also drive a school bus for another school district. I haul both High/Middle school students and Elementary students. Believe me, you can not comprehend the language coming from the Elementary students. The High/Middle school kids are very good. You hardly know they are on the bus.

After saying all this, I have two students on my High/Middle school run that were expelled from school last month, one for terroristic threats and the other for not telling the truth of what he heard.. It has been very hush hush, I believe the school districts do not want this kind of news to get out because it doesn't set well on the supertendents resume for future jobs.

The Elementary kids are very defiant and repeat, what I feel certain, they are hearing from their home. About 25 out of 69 come from a housing apartment project and most are broken homes and mixed race marriages. I report all bad things I hear and name the student involved. I had one student that told other students he was going to bring a gun to school and kill them. He got 5 days suspension from the bus. I believe when I turn in a report on a student, 80% of the time it is no surprise to the administrators, those kids are also bad in school.

I feel sorry for the principal and his family but this is not just restricted to any particular community, it is everywhere and it is the responsibility of the liberal beliefs that come from the years of defying the "establishment"

[Saundra Duffy]

The suspect's parents were helpful and said they had no reason to think anything was wrong, according to police.

(Why am I not surprised?) May the Lord bless the families of the victims.

[Darksheare]

Wonder if the Principal was a little TOO friendly with that student.
Reason I'm wondering is that we had a certain principal have a homosexual relationship with a student in his school.
He got caught, but afterwards it was found that the school board knew of the relationship and helped cover it up.
The principal, of course, denies anything was wrong with him having a 'friendship' with a minor.

The student in question is now 'suicidal.'

[Julliardsux]

Great area. I grew up in the Southern York County School District. Near Glen Rock, but on a farm.

[First Amendment]

Believe me, you can not comprehend the language coming from the Elementary students.

As a bus driver, your observations are a clue here. As a mother (kids now grown) I have seen how kids are deteriorating in their behavior and morals rapidly. And also (therefore) becoming more and more miserable, suicidal, and violent. Middle school kids are now commonly into sex, drugs, alcohol, and when that's combined with broken families and watching crap on TV and vicious computer games, it's a recipe for more of the same.

And then for the cherry on the cake, add diversity training - teach'em how to do fisting and sodomy - and schools are now officially slaughterhouses and whore houses. Homeschooling or very good private schools are the only answer. It's too far gone to fix.

Anyone heard of Grand Theft Auto (I think that's the name) - the hugely popular game that teaches how to murder, rape and and run a gang???

[hsmomx3]

I'm not trying to come across as a smart aleck, but was he on ritalin?

[hsmomx3]

I hear ya!! The schoolkids pass by everyday to/from school and the language is awful. I'll be on the driveway with my kids as we mind our own business, when all of a sudden these kids are spewing things I never heard at their age. They don't need ritalin, they need a good dose of discipline.

[Spook86]

This IS a tragedy, but it sounds like the school system failed to learn its lesson after the first attack. No metal detectors? Inexcusable. What about a police presence on campus? What about a system for funneling students through security check points and metal detectors? Did the shooter enter the school unobserved? Too many unanswered questions.

Look behind any school shooting and you'll normally find lax security. With a little time, effort, and money, we can make schools much safer. Unfortunately, too many school officials--including principals--are unwilling to take the necessary steps. Consider the middle school where I now teach. No metal detectors, no regular police presence, lots of unguarded/unobserved entrances/exits, and our last "shakedown" was almost 2 years ago. It's a disaster waiting to happen. All we need is an angry student and a gun. And, BTW, tightening gun laws will not make our school safer. What we need is a realistic approach to school security....

[OldPossum]

As most of you Freepers past the age of, say, 50, know, this sort of thing never went on when we were kids. I cannot remember anyone bringing even a knife to school (the consequences were terrible: mandatory expulsion from the school system).

What is going on here? Why are we having school shootings? I just don't understand.

Note this one excerpt from the report: Robinson said the school does not have metal detectors but does have security cameras. Now, isn't that comforting? They have security cameras. With the situation the way it is in any given school, certain teachers and perhaps the principal should be given firearms training as they do in Israel. Knowing that there are armed personnel in the school might give some of these cretins pause.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

What we need is a realistic approach to school security....

If only that would work. We keep passing more laws and tightening security while at the same time encouraging parents to NOT raise their kids. We promote single motherhood as cool. We say that kids don't need fathers. We eliminate the foundation for morality, Christianity and the Jewish faith, from everything in public including where the kids spend most of their awake hours... the schools. Then, we wonder why violence is getting worse amoung kids.

What it boils down to is liberalism (no rules, tolerance of everything EXCEPT religion, no right or wrong unless it is a conservative view then is not only wrong but hateful, etc.) is destroying our soiciety and our kids.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

When God was expelled from school, Satan was enrolled.

Absolutely right. Liberals, the ACLU, and their ilk, ask for this stuff.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

I cannot remember anyone bringing even a knife to school

I graduated H.S. in 1979. Carried a pocket knife with me everywhere. Yes, to school too. They were never a problem becasue no kid would even think of using it as a weapon. I guess I'd be expelled if I were in school now...

I still carry a pocket knife and now have to leave it with security when going into govt. buildings.

[Aliska]

Why are we having school shootings?

I guess kids are "acting out" things they didn't used to need to act out. That was back when boys were boys and girls were girls. Now it's hard to tell which is which.

[Theodore R.]

I wonder how this principal viewed human nature: as inherently good, or inherently bad. Most liberals seem to be of the former persuasion. I wonder too if this principal had taken previous disciplinary action against this child/killer. If he had taken appropriate action, he might be alive today.

[m1-lightning]

Middle school kids are now commonly into sex, drugs, alcohol, and when that's combined with broken families and watching crap on TV and vicious computer games, it's a recipe for more of the same.

Broken families and peer pressure I can see. TV and computer games?-no. Kids know the difference between reality and fantasy. What these kids need in their life is God - somone to turn to when mom and dad are just too old to remember how hard it was to be a kid.

[Spook86]

I can't disagree with your comments. But changing society is something that takes time--decades perhaps. We should, of course, attempt to restore morality and values in our culture, but in the meantime, we've got to make our schools safe. And, BTW, enforcing rigid discipline is a good way to start.

But enforcing discipline requires backbone and courage--qualities all-but-lost in today's school system. In another post from this thread, someone noted that a kid on his/her bus was suspended for five days for threatening to bring a gun to school. What's wrong with this picture? That's a terroristic threat, plain and simple. That kid--whether he's a third-grader or a high school senior--should be expelled for the remanider of the year, and referred to the local juvenile justice system for further prosecution. Five days is a slap on the wrist, and only encourages that sort of behavior.

And there's the rub. School discipline has become a revolving door. Kids move through the matrix of detention, in-school suspension, corporal punishment (in some cases) alternative school and (in rare cases) expulsion. Once the punishment is served, they come right back in the classroom and start the cycle over again.

Here's the bottom line: about 6% of the kids in school today are responsible for 60% of our discipline problems, and the overwhelming majority of serious incidents. Find a way to get those kids out of the system---permanently--and schools will improve overnight.

[m1-lightning]

It all started going downhill when spanking was outlawed from schools in the late 80's.

[demlosers]

I graduated H.S. in 1979. Carried a pocket knife with me everywhere. Yes, to school too. They were never a problem

So did I...no problems.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Too bad the principal wasn't packing...at least it would have been a fair fight...I noticed that the headline said the student was "Heavilly Armed" other stories I have seen say that the student had 2 pistols...If that is heavilly armed then Holy Crap they dont want to look in the back of the truck when we go out target shooting...

[elbucko]

I wonder if the young man saw Michael Moore's "documentary," Bowling for Columbine.

I don't know if the kid saw that movie, but a $100 bucks says he saw "Basketball Diaries".

The movie shouldn't be "banned", but it should be restricted to those over 18 and or out of school.

[Frohickey]

This has got to be a bogus story.

According to Congress and all the laws enacted, kids are not allowed to have guns. They are also not allowed to have guns in school.

Where is the journalistic integrity? from Fox, even.

Congress said that if there were only laws against guns in schools/kids with guns, things like this could not possibly happen. [end-sarcasm]

[elbucko]

There's more to this story than meets the eye. It'll unfold in the next few days.

I agree. But the media will not report the details with the same enthusiasm that they report on the blood and guts. We will know what happened, but not why, other than the gun control spin.

[Remedy]

Keep the guns GOV : Basics of the Second Amendment

Abolish the schools ED : The real reason the state opposes homeschooling

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

The anti-gun crowd are behind this!They can't get legislation passed that they want,so they have to do something shocking.

[ladylib]

"After saying all this, I have two students on my High/Middle school run that were expelled from school last month, one for terroristic threats and the other for not telling the truth of what he heard.. It has been very hush hush, I believe the school districts do not want this kind of news to get out because it doesn't set well on the supertendents resume for future jobs."

I believe that under No Child Left Behind that information has to be reported to the state so parents have the necessary information to determine whether they want their child removed from a "dangerous school."

These superintendents might have more to worry about than their resumes if they hide that information.

[concerned about politics]

Was this student on ridilin(sp)?

Psycotic episodes being one of the side effects. My bet is he was.
The other "shooters" were, as far as what has been reported. With some, they wouldn't say yes OR no. They wouldn't answer that question - Go figure.

[tomkat]

So did I...no problems

hell, in southern IL in the early 70s, kids had rifles in the trunk/rack for squirrel huntin' after school ...

[dis.kevin]

..."and mixed race marriages"

I take it you have a problem with this?