Posted on 04/18/2007 8:22:11 PM PDT by Afronaut
Teen death linked to N. Meck lockdown
DAN TIERNEY
dtierney@charlotteobserver.com
HUNTERSVILLE --
A 16-year-old North Mecklenburg High junior, allegedly upset over an ex-girlfriend, is suspected of pointing a gun at two students on campus Wednesday before shooting himself later at a Huntersville gas station.
Huntersville police didn't identify the student, who was pronounced dead after being transported to the Carolinas Medical Center, or how he got a gun.
North Meck principal Joey Burch wouldn't comment on the student's behavior or past. He also didn't know, as of a press conference around 4 p.m., if the student was ever on campus or in class at any point in the day.
Chief Philip Potter said a Huntersville sergeant had contact with the student at a previous Special Olympics event and "spoke very kindly of his work."
The incident put North Meck and nearby Blythe Elementary, Alexander Middle and Lake Norman Charter on lockdown around 12:45 p.m. for about an hour.
"It looks like it worked as well as it could in this case," CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman said of the emergency procedures. "Unfortunately, it didn't avert a tragedy in the end."
Huntersville Capt. Michael Kee said the student around 12:30 p.m. drove to a North Meck student parking lot near an outdoor area called "The Pavilion," where students eat lunch. He then took a handgun out of his truck and pointed it at two students, one of whom allegedly dated the ex-girlfriend, Kee said.
The student then drove off while the two students told school resource officers about the confrontation, which led to the lockdown and call to police.
Kee said the student was found "a very short time" after the lockdown was lifted at a Citgo gas station on Statesville Road. The student sat in his truck and showed his gun as officers approached.
Despite repeated requests from officers asking him to drop his gun, Kee said, the student turned the gun on himself and fired once.
CMS Superintendent Gorman applauded the schools' following of emergency procedures.
"At first look, this happened exactly the way it should have happened," he said. "Quickly, efficiently and effectively."
This is right up the street...
ping
Bizarre headline. It reads like the lockdown was responsible for the teen’s death.
At first, I thought this was referring to the actual shooting.
My Daughter attends Hopewell High which is part of the same school system. Kids get busted for weapons all the time. School is pure garbage. We are looking at alternatives.
I expected to read a story where the school administration screwed up, and a student died. Here the administration did everything right, and the perp killed himself.
I don't understand the newspaper's spin. The shooter wasn't responsible for killing himself -- it was the lockdown's fault?
Hey. It’s the Charlotte Observer.
This situation could have been much worse. I wonder if it will be a national headline?
The headline implies that a student died because he had a medical emergency caused by or left untreated because of the lockdown. Sheesh.
You live in Huntersville? We have been considering moving there.
I am in Cornelius,
Hope your children are not of high school age! The schools are a bad dream. Beyond help.
We have one that will be a freshman next year but we plan to send him to the Catholic school in Charlotte.
I pulled my daughter out of high school 2 years ago. Put her in home studies and she only meets with her teacher once a week for about 1 1/2 hrs. She graduates in a couple of months and I am so happy she is out of the school system.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are a nightmare. However, Huntersville, as a location, is quite nice.
You’re right, Steve. The writer is probably a graduate of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Skools, where he was Prepared for Greatness. I suppose sentence structure is beneath the notice of Great people.
same here, I figured the teen missed getting to his medicine or something due to a lockdown.
wow! this incident is a shock to me. i went to school at north meck before i moved to virginia in october! i was very scared when i found out wat happened! i was scared for my friends and was hoping they were ok. i wish the Cook family the best of luck with the loss of their child. and i will keep you in my prays!
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