Gunfire erupts at Cleveland high school

**Buttercup** · 10-10-07, 03:14 PM

Gunfire erupts at Cleveland high school

16 minutes ago

-AP

A gunman opened fire in a downtown high school on Wednesday, and five people were taken to a hospital, the mayor said.
Mayor Frank Jackson said three young people and two adults were hurt. SuccessTech Academy had been secured and there was only one suspect, he said.

"They have the shooter," Jackson said. He did not elaborate.
Ronnell Jackson, 15, said he saw the shooter running down a school hallway.
"He was about to shoot me but I got out just in time," he said.
Another student, Doneisha LeVert, said she heard the principal say "Code Blue" over the public address system, and the students started running. She said she hid in a closet with some of her friends.

Students stood outside the building, many in tears and on cell phones. Family members also stood outside, anxiously waiting for their children to be released.
"I'm scared. I'm hoping no more people got hurt," Jackson said.
Tammy Mundy, 38, who has a son and daughter at the school, told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland that her daughter called when the shooting started.
"She said, 'Mom they're shooting in here, kids are running out, I'm hiding in the closet,'" Mundy told the newspaper.
Then she called her 18-year-old son, Darnell Rodgers, on his cell phone, and he told her he had been shot in the arm.
"He said, 'Mom I got shot,'" Mundy told the newspaper.

The small, alternative high school is in the center of downtown across from the FBI's offices and three blocks from where the Cleveland Browns play football. The school enrolls 240 students grades nine through 12 and emphasizes technology education. All the students are poor under federal poverty guidelines.

**bufford408** · 10-10-07, 03:17 PM

I just don't understand it. What is this world coming to.

**MonsterMash** · 10-10-07, 03:37 PM

This is a tragic event, don't get me wrong. Prayers go out to all involved. However....has anyone else noticed that major shootings go on the rise before a major presidential election year? Last time they were this bad was right before the last assault weapons ban.

**PapaBear** · 10-10-07, 03:42 PM

With the proliferation of weapons on the streets, kids don't think twice about using them to solve their persoan issues. The ironic thing is they do not see the reality of their actions becasue they compare them to the video games they play. Tragic, just tragic!

**MacLean** · 10-10-07, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by PapaBear

With the proliferation of weapons on the streets, kids don't think twice about using them to solve their persoan issues. The ironic thing is they do not see the reality of their actions becasue they compare them to the video games they play. Tragic, just tragic!

There were more weapons in schools when you went to high school than when these kids do.

Don't buy into the "proliferation" argument boss, this has to do with social ills and social skills.

According to Grossman, your video game analogy might be closer to the truth.

**MacLean** · 10-10-07, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by MonsterMash

This is a tragic event, don't get me wrong. Prayers go out to all involved. However....has anyone else noticed that major shootings go on the rise before a major presidential election year? Last time they were this bad was right before the last assault weapons ban.

I've noticed the shootings tend to be used that way politically, but not that they increase any.

**bufford408** · 10-10-07, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by maclean

There were more weapons in schools when you went to high school than when these kids do.

Don't buy into the "proliferation" argument boss, this has to do with social ills and social skills.

According to Grossman, your video game analogy might be closer to the truth.

When I was in high school I used to take hunting trips on the weekends. I carried a shot gun on several occasions through school and would keep it in my locker. No one even thought twice about it. Nor would I have ever used it to hurt anyone. I have to say that Grossman(who is from Arkansas I might add) has a valid point. These kids sit in front of a video game all day killing everything in sight maybe that does have something to do with all this violence.

**MacLean** · 10-10-07, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by bufford408

When I was in high school I used to take hunting trips on the weekends. I carried a shot gun on several occasions through school and would keep it in my locker. No one even thought twice about it. Nor would I have ever used it to hurt anyone. I have to say that Grossman(who is from Arkansas I might add) has a valid point. These kids sit in front of a video game all day killing everything in sight maybe that does have something to do with all this violence.

Exactly.

**ex401mp** · 10-10-07, 04:48 PM

I know that when I was in high school in the 80's, it was nothing to see pick up trucks parked in the student and faculty parking lots with rifles and shotguns on the racks. Try that now and you get nailed with a felony in my state. Man, things sure have changed over the years.

**Pudge** · 10-10-07, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by bufford408

These kids sit in front of a video game all day killing everything in sight maybe that does have something to do with all this violence.

I see it as a valid possibility, yet I'm still going to disagree. I would be more inclined to believe that today's pop culture is more to blame. More kids walking down the street wishing they just fell out of a music video are quick to recite lyrics to whatever rapper is popular at the time than you'll find reenacting their latest Halo or GTA kill.

**Hannibal** · 10-10-07, 05:25 PM

Dave Grossman talks about the increase of school (and workplace) shootings. He seems pretty accurate with his predictions so far.

He also discusses the influence of media and video games. He doesn't say they cause the violence per se, but suggests that the games produce 'better' results in acheiving body counts. I tend to agree.

The only reasonable solution I see is to beef up the number school resource police officers and train school staff to recognize possible threats and what to do in an active shooter scenario.

Just sad.

**Willowdared** · 10-10-07, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by bufford408

I have to say that Grossman(who is from Arkansas I might add) has a valid point. These kids sit in front of a video game all day killing everything in sight maybe that does have something to do with all this violence.

It's not the killing that is the problem (IMHO) it's that they get back up again after being killed.

Or their car reappears after it crashes.

Is it any wonder they can't imagine death as permanent?

**Roses** · 10-10-07, 06:08 PM

In the 70's and probably even the 60s, the Cleveland City schools had students carrying weapons (guns, knives) and they were killing other students. At that time the students were afraid to go to school because of the killings. Finally, those that brought weapons into the school suffered the consequences such as a suspension. Kids felt safer when they finally were able to go to school without being threatened or killed by a gun or a knife. Some of the schools installed metal detectors . I don't remember all of the news on those incidents nor what they did to the students who brought weapons to school. Killing in school has been going on before violent video games.

**MacLean** · 10-10-07, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by Roses

Killing in school has been going on before violent video games.

Grossman doesn't just lay blame to video games, but also points at the ideas mentioned above - immortality programming in such games and mass media like music, videos, etc.

**PapaBear** · 10-10-07, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by maclean

There were more weapons in schools when you went to high school than when these kids do.

Don't buy into the "proliferation" argument boss, this has to do with social ills and social skills.

According to Grossman, your video game analogy might be closer to the truth.

I went to high school in So. CA from 1954-1957 and in HI 1957-1958. The only weapons I ever saw were in the ROTC area and they would not fire. We never had a weapon used in school or did anyone carry a handgun in school. We all carried small pocket knives and they were not used to attack anyone.

When I attended college the only weapons I was aware of were the ones carried by other LE students - and most of them were left locked in car trunks during classes. Never had a weapon used on any of the campuses I attended.

**PapaBear** · 10-10-07, 06:38 PM

I forgot to add, when I attended school I had to walk five miles up hill each way, barefeet and in the snow!

**MacLean** · 10-10-07, 06:39 PM

California may well have been a lot different, especially in the cities.

There were guns in racks when I was in high school, in just about every truck during hunting season.

Boys carrying rifles to school predates both of us was my point, and they weren't shooting each other frequently.

**MacLean** · 10-10-07, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by PapaBear

I forgot to add, when I attended school I had to walk five miles up hill each way, barefeet and in the snow!

LOL! You could only pull that off if you didn't say SoCal and HI already.

**Roses** · 10-10-07, 07:07 PM

Here is a link that has a listing of some of the school killings in various areas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_massacre

**Pudge** · 10-10-07, 07:43 PM

Update to the story from Cleveland News

CLEVELAND -- Police said a gunman who opened fire at a Cleveland school Wednesday is dead and it appears that he shot himself.

The gunman was the only one to die in the shootings in which four others were injured.

Officials said the 14-year-old boy shot two students and two adults at Success Tech School, a small non-traditional high school located at East 13th Street and Lakeside Avenue.

Police and neighbors have identified the shooter as Asa Coon.

Police are at the boy's home, located at West 43rd Street and Carlyle.

Police said they were at the home on Monday evening for another incident and weapons were found inside, so the teen had access to weapons, NewsChannel5's Ron Regan reported.

Neighbors described Coon as an angry young man who seemed short-tempered and ready to go off at any minute.

Mayor Frank Jackson and school CEO Eugene Sanders held a new conference Wednesday afternoon to give updates on the conditions of the people who were injured.

An 18-year-old, identified as Darnell Rodgers, was shot in the elbow and will be treated and released from MetroHealth. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the side and is in stable condition at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

A 57-year-old man, identified as David Kachadourian, are also in stable condition at Metro.

A 42-year-old man underwent a surgery that lasted 90 minutes to 2 hours and is now listed in stable condition. His name hasn't been released.

A 16-year-old female student was also injured when she fell and hurt her leg during the chaos of the scene. She was treated at Rainbow and is expected to be released soon.

Jackson said the families of all the victims have been notified and the school has been secured.

Witnesses said the incident stemmed from an altercation between two students that took place on Tuesday.

One of the students, who had been suspended from the school for fighting, returned on Wednesday with a gun and reportedly opened fire inside the building.

Police said he then turned the gun on himself and was dead when police entered the building.

Police believe the shooting took place on the fourth floor, which is where officers found the shooter's body. The body of the shooter has been taken to the coroner's office.

Dozens of police cars were at the scene and the area was blocked off earlier in the afternoon. Some students were in the building at the time of the shooting and the school went into lockdown.

Students were evacuated shortly afterward and reunited with their parents.

Police conducted a floor-to-floor sweep of the school and counselors were at the scene to talk to the students who witnessed the traumatic event.

Police are expected to give another briefing at 8 p.m. to give any updates they may have on the investigation.

Classes Canceled

Sanders said that all Cleveland Metropolitan School District activities will be canceled beginning at 5 p.m. and that classes will be canceled on Thursday.

Several recreation centers throughout the city will be open beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday for students and parents.

Administrators and staff will meet on Friday, a scheduled day off for students, to talk about preparing for classes on Monday.

Sanders also addressed reports of security concerns at the school, where parents said they have been trying to get increased security.

Sanders said the school's security plan will be under review.

School Violence

NewsChannel5 investigator Duane Pohlman reported that there was trouble brewing at Success Tech before Wednesday.

According to Student-Parent Organization President Charles Blackwell, there was a fistfight outside the school on Monday that involved the shooter.

Police have not confirmed anything about the fight at this point.

Blackwell said there was a series of escalating violence at the school, both verbal and physical, before the fatal shooting.

There is also word that there was a code used over the loudspeaker on Wednesday to warn other children at the school about the shooting.

Officials Respond To Shooting

Government officials from around Ohio issued statements and offered condolences after today's shooting.

Gov. Ted Strickland released the following statement:

"I am deeply saddened and troubled by the tragic shooting at SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland today. Frances and I grieve for the families, students, teachers and administrators affected by this horrible incident. Our prayers and thoughts go out to them and to the great City of Cleveland during this difficult time. The State of Ohio stands ready to assist in any way possible in the coming days and weeks."

State Sen. Shirley Smith also offered her condolences to the shooting victims and their families.

"We are saddened by today's violence and tragic loss of life," Smith said. "We pray for the recovery of the victims and for our community as a whole."