Violence in Our Schools

August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

School Violence Around the World Date Stats It's Not Always About the Gun School Violence Links Guest Book Email Me

To report a threat of school violence before the instigator has a chance to act on his/her intentions, please contact Speak Up at 1-866-SPEAKUP (that is 1-866-773-2587)

I would like to thank all of the Survivors and others who have contacted me with information about school violence. I really do appreciate the help, for without their help, several of these occurrences would not be here.

One other thing I would like to ask of those who read over this list of tragedies is this: If you can provide me with any more details of any of these incidents, I would greatly appreciate the information. Or, if you know of another violent act at a school that is not on this list, please forward that information to me as well. The link to my e-mail is above.

Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy (Elementary School), Decatur, Georgia

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Carrying an .762-caliber AK-47-style assault rifle and 498 rounds of ammunition, 20-year-old Michael Brandon Hill entered the charter school this afternoon around 1 p.m. He entered by following a person who is authorized to enter the building. He entered the office and took a couple employees hostage and ordered them to call WSB-TV, a local ABC affiliate, to request a camera crew record him killing police. Michael had left the office several times to go outside the building and shoot at the police. He fired six shots at the police, and they returned fire. While being held hostage, Antoinette Tuff watched Michael load up his guns with ammunition. He said he was sorry for what he was doing and that he was willing to die. She tried to keep him calm by asking his his name. At first he wouldn't tell her, but he eventually did. The she began to tell Michael her life story, including how her 33-year-old marriage fell apart and opening her own business. Antoinette told him that if she could recover, he could too. She then asked Michael to put his weapons down, empty his pockets and backpack and lay on the floor. Michael did all this and surrendered to the police and U.S. marshals. The police evacuated the students and teachers from the building via the gym and had them wait along the back fence of the school property. There was a report of a bomb in the school and in Michael's car so they couldn't go around the school. Police cut a hole in the fence and led the students and teachers through a yard to waiting school buses. They were then taken to a nearby Wal-Mart and reunited with their families. No students were harmed during this act of school violence. Michael was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, terroristic threats and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The school is named for one of the astronauts who was aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger when it exploded on January 28, 1996.

Source: ABC News - Elementary School Clerk Says She Convinced Gunman to Put His Weapons Down and Surrender; CNN - Police: Gunman Wielded AK-47 Inside Georgia School; No One Injured; Yahoo! News - Man, 20, Charged in Georgia School Shooting; NBC News - Authorities: Georgia Shooting Suspect Had Nearly 500 Rounds of Ammunition

Carver High School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Friday, August 30, 2012

At the end of a fire drill this afternoon, a school resource officer heard gun fire and raced into action. It was about 2:30 on the last Friday of August. The officer was able to apprehend the shooter, 18-year-old Christopher Lamont Richardson Jr. Christopher had opened fire on his classmates, injuring a 15-year-old student. He was taken into custody and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a firearm on school property, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and discharging a firearm with-in city limits. The injured student was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Source: Huffington Post - Christopher Lamont Richardson Charged in Carver High School Shooting Incident; CBS News - N.C. School Shooting: 1 Injured After Shots Fired at a Winston-Salem High School; Student in Custody, Report Says

Spring High School, Spring, Texas

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

This morning at 7:10, 17-year-old Luis Alonzo Alfaro bumped into a student as he entered the cafeteria. The two boys exchanged words and then shoved each other. Then, another student who was nearby shoved Luis and hit him in the left side of his face. Luis then pulled out his pocket knife from his shorts and held his left forearm over his face while he waved the knife in his right. A fight ensued and Luis stabbed 17-year-old Joshua Broussard in the neck. Deavean Bazile, 16, was stabbed in his side by Luis's flying knife. Two other students sustained minor injuries. Several students tried to carry Joshua to the nurse's office, but he died in his school this morning. Deavean was airlifted to Memorial Hermann-The Texas Medical Center in Houston where he recovered from his wounds. Initially, the police arrested three individuals, but later released two of them and held on to Luis. The police said today's fight, between Latino and African American students, was possibly gang-related and an extension from argument that happened last night.

Source: NBC News - One Student Killed, Three Others Injured in Stabbing at Texas High School; NBC-DFW Channel 5 - 1 Killed, 3 Injured in Stabbing at Houston-Area High School; Softpedia - Students Stabbed in Houston, 16-Year-Old Dies in Latino - African American Brawl; Fox News - Sheriff's Office: 1 Student Stabbed to Death, 3 Hurt in Fight at Houston-Area High School; Houston Chronicle - Gang Rivalry Led to Fatal Stabbing at Spring High

College of Agriculture, Gujba, Yobe, Nigeria

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Two weeks ago, the state commissioner for education begged schools and colleges to open, and promised they would be protected by soldiers and the police. That promised protection was not in place at Yobe State College this weekend, resulting in a deadly act of school violence. Shortly after the hands of the clock passed midnight, making the day Sunday, Islamic extremists slaughtered dozens of students as they slept in the college's dormitories and torched the empty classrooms. The instigators opened fire on the four hostels containing the sleeping male students at about 1 a.m. The instigators did not target the one female hostel on the school's campus. Initial reports said as many as 50 students, all between the ages of 18 and 22, were killed. Soldiers were able to recover 42 bodies and transported 18 wounded students to Damaturu Specialist Hospital. At the hospital, two more students died. Hospital workers lined the bodies of the 44 students who were killed in an orderly row on the lawn for the family members to identify. Authorities believe the Islamic extremists are part of the Boko Haram group, who have attacked other schools in Nigeria before, most recently on July 6, 2013 in which they killed 29 students and a teacher. (More information about that act of school violence is on the School Violence 2012-2013 web page.)

Source: MSN - Militants Kill Students in Nigeria College Attack; News.Malaysia.MSN.COM - 'At Least 28 Dead' in Nigeria College Shooting; BBC News - Nigeria Attack: Students Shot Dead as They Slept

Sparks Middle School, Sparks, Nevada

Monday, October 21, 2013

Fifteen minutes before this morning's first bell rang, 12-year-old seventh-grader Jose Reyes opened fire on his school's playground. He was armed with a Ruger 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Jose's first shot ripped through the shoulder of a fellow student. He then shot and killed 45-year-old math teacher, and former Marine, Mike Landsberry, who was walking toward him. After that, our young instigator shot a second student, identified only as 12-year-old Mason, in the abdomen. Jose brought the violence to an end by shooting himself in the head while on the school's basketball court. The injured students were taken to Renown Regional Hospital for treatment.

Source: CNN - Nevada School Shooting 911 Call: 'I Got a Kid Down Who's Been Shot'; Fox News - Boy Says Classmates Tried to Talk Nevada School Shooter Out of Firing; NBC News - Slain Teacher Hailed as 'Fallen Hero' After School Shooting; ABC News - Nevada School Shooter's Name Released; WXII Channel 12 - Victim, 12, Recounts Nevada School Shooting

Arapahoe High School, Centennial, Colorado

Friday, December 13, 2013

One day before the one year anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, gunfire echoes in the halls of a suburban Denver school. Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, entered his school today looking for his librarian and speech and debate coach, Mr. Tracy Murphy, who had disciplined him back in September. He was carrying a pump-action shotgun as he walked in the door, not bothering to hide it at all. He had a backpack on, and in it was a machete and three incendiary devices. Karl also had rounds and rounds of ammunition strapped to his body. When Tracy heard that he was the target, he fled the school. Karl fired one shot down the hallway. His second shot was aimed at Claire Esther Davis' face. He enters the school's library and fires twice more. Karl could hear the school's resource officer running down the hall yelling at students to take cover. He realized his rampage wouldn't last much longer. He ignites a Molotov cocktail, which burns three bookshelves. He then moves to the back of the library and commits suicide, shooting himself in the head. The reign of terror lasted only 80 seconds. Claire, 17, is rushed to Littleton Adventist Hospital for treatment. Police say she was shot at random and was not Karl's target. Police also say that Karl purchased the shotgun legally just a week ago. Claire was in critical condition when she arrived and entered into a coma from which she never awoke. She died eight days later, on December 21, 2013 at 4:29 p.m. Arapahoe is just over 8 miles away from Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Colorado Girl Shot, Pupil Kills Himself; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Sheriff: School Shooter Armed Heavily; Denver Post - Learning from the Arapahoe High School Shooting; Denver Post - Graphic: 80 Seconds of Terror at Arapahoe High School; CNN - Colorado High School Shooting Victim Dies at Hospital

Ibrahimzai High School, Hangu, Kyber Pakhtunkhwa Region, Pakistan

Monday, January 6, 2014

Aitizaz Hassan Bangash, 15, was late for school today. The school administration punished him by not allowing him to attend assembly. He and two of his classmates were standing outside their school and they noticed a suicide bomber getting out of a car and walking toward their school. Wearing the school uniform, the suicide bomber, in his early to mid-twenties, asked Aitizaz about the school and seeing the principle. Aitizaz, a ninth-grader, became suspicious of the bomber and challenged him at the entrance to the school. The two males scuffled briefly before the bomber detonated 13 pounds of explosives in the jacket he was wearing. The blast killed Aitizaz and our unidentified suicide bomber instantly, but saved the lives of over 1,500 other students. Two other students were wounded. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an anti-Shia sectarian militant organization, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Source: NBC News - 'Heroic' Student Killed Stopping Suicide Bomber at High School in Pakistan; CNN - Teen Dies Stopping Suicide Bomber at School in Pakistan; NPR - Pakistani Teen Dies Stopping Bomber from Striking School; The Express Tribune - Saving Lives: A Teenager's Sacrifice for Hundreds of Mothers

Berrendo Middle School, Roswell, New Mexico

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

This morning, as he rushed his way toward the school's gym, 12-year-old seventh grader Mason Campbell bumped into eighth grader Odiee Carranza. Odiee told Mason to be careful. He apologized and continued toward the gym. Once inside, he pulled out a .20-gauge shotgun with wood stock sawed off from his band instrument case and opened fire on his classmates. They were gathered in the gym waiting for school to start. He shot and wounded two of his classmates before eighth-grade social studies teacher John Masterson walked toward him, asking him to drop the shotgun. Mason dropped the gun and end this act of school violence, which began just ten seconds earlier. The police responded at 8:11 and arrested our young instigator. The injured students, an 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl by the name of Kendal Sanders were rushed to Eastern New Mexico Medical Center and then later flown to University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, for treatment. The wounded boy, who police say was the instigator's target, was shot twice in the face and Kendal was shot in the arm. An unidentified adult staff member was slightly hurt during the shooting and refused medical treatment. Our young instigator was transferred to an Albuquerque psychiatric hospital the next day. By the end of the week, Mason was charged with three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Source: MSN - Governor Says Teacher Ended NM School Shooting; ABC News - Student, 12, Used Shotgun to Shoot 2 Students in Roswell, New Mexico, Cops Say; ABC News - Teacher Hailed for Persuading School Shooting Suspect to Drop Gun; MSN - Boy Faces Battery Charge in New Mexico School Shooting

Delaware Valley Charter (High) School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Friday, January 17, 2014

At the end of the week on the east coast, in a different gym, another male student and another female student were wounded from gunfire. About 3:20 this afternoon, a17-year-old male student and an 18-year-old female student were shot in the arm as they stood gathered inside their school's gymnasium. The suspect is an unidentified teen, a classmate of the injured students, who pulled a handgun and fired, whether intentionally or unintentionally remains to be seen. The injured students were taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center for treatment. About an hour later, police caught up with the instigator in South Philadelphia and questioned him. After questioning him, the boy was released. On the plus side, however, a second unidentified boy turned himself in and a third suspect is being sought. On Saturday, police announced that the unidentified boy who turned himself was no longer a suspect. He was released. Once again, on the plus side, later in the day, police did say 17-year-old Raisheem Rochwell did turn himself in and he is the shooter. He has been charged with aggravated assault.

Source: NBC News - Two Shot Inside Philadelphia High School; USA Today - 2 Students Shot Inside Philadelphia High School; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - 2 Teens Shot in Philadelphia School Gym; KYW Channel 3 - 2 Students Wounded in Philadelphia High School Shooting; Philadelphia Inquirer - Delaware Valley Charter School Shooting Suspect Surrenders; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Teen Charged as Adult in Gym Shooting

Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Cody M. Cousins, a 23-year-old teaching assistant, walked into a basement classroom of the Electrical Engineering Building, pulled out a gun and shot and killed Andrew Boldt, a 21-year-old senior electrical engineer teaching assistant. The murder happened at about noon today and witnesses heard four to five gun shots. Cody dropped the gun, then walked outside the building and surrendered to a West Lafayette police officer. Two days later, Cody pleaded not guilty in court to murder charges.

Source: USA Today - Police Said the Suspect Appeared to Have Targeted His Victim, Then Gave Himself Up; MSN - Not-Guilty Plea Entered for Man in Purdue Shooting

South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina

Friday, January 24, 2014

For an undisclosed reason, 19-year-old Justin Bernard Singleton shot and killed 20-year-old Brandon Robinson while the two stood outside the Hugine Suites dormitory on the campus of SCSU. The shooting occurred at about 1:30 this afternoon. Justin was arrested shortly after midnight on Saturday.

Source: MSN - Suspect Charged with Murder in SC Campus Shooting; CNN - Student Killed at S.C. State University; Police Seek 4 Suspects

Roosevelt High School, Honolulu, Hawaii

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

A 17-year-old runaway boy was recognized by officials at Roosevelt High School this morning. He is a former student of the school, but wasn't enrolled in this semester's classes. The police was called and officers responded to the counselor's office to take the boy into custody. He lunged at them, while holding a knife, cutting one of the officers on the torso. He then hit two other officers. An unidentified police officer fired his weapon twice at the boy, striking him in the wrist. He was taken to the hospital in serious condition. This act of school violence occurred at 8:30 in the morning. Later in the day, police authorities said they would charge the unidentified teen with three counts of attempted murder.

Source: Christian Science Monitor - Hawaii School Shooting: Cop Shoots Teen Who Assaulted Three Officers; UPI - Hawaii School Shooting: Officer Shoots Runaway Teen in Wrist

Franklin Regional High School, Murrysville, Pennsylvania

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

This morning, 16-yer-old Alex Hribal, a sophomore, came to school with two knives. He began roaming the halls and stabbing his classmates and a security guard. Before he was tackled by Sam King, the school's assistant principal, and taken into custody, he had injured 21 people, four critically. The 911 calls started rolling in at 7:13 a.m. and the situation was under control 30 minutes later. The security guard was stabbed in the stomach. A second adult experienced a "medical condition" during the rampage and was treated at the hospital. A 17-year-old boy had his liver, diaphragm and several major blood vessels pierced by Alex. He was on life support at UPMC Presbyterian. Alex was charged with four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault. Murrysville is 15 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Source: NBC News - School Stabbing Spree: 20 Hurt in Pittsburgh-Area Bloodbath; NBC News - Teen Suspected in Stabbing Spree Will Be Charged as Adult; Good Morning America - Franklin Regional High School Students, Administrator Hailed as Heroes During Stabbing Horror

Jonathan Law High School, Milford, Connecticut

Friday, April 25, 2014

Totally missing the point of Easter, which was the previous Sunday, Chris Plaskon, a 16-year-old male student, stabbed to death Maren Sanchez, also 16, after she declined his invitation to prom, which was later that night. Maren, a junior, was stabbed in the throat in one of her school's hallways and rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Our young instigator was arrested and charged with murder as a juvenile offender. Hours later, even though the prom had been postponed, Maren was elected prom queen. Her classmates gathered at a nearby beach in their prom attire and her boyfriend held her prom dress for a group photo. A week later, Chris was charged as an adult in Maren's murder.

Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Girl Slain at School; Boy Held; NBC News - Connecticut Town Mourns Girl Killed Before Prom; Fox News - Autopsy: Connecticut Student Died of Stab Wounds to Neck, Body; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Teen Stabbing Suspect Appears in Court

Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, Washington

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Just after 3:00 today, 26-year-old Aaron Rey Ybarra walked into the lobby of Otto Miller Hall, the engineering and math building, and began shooting. He was also carrying a knife and extra rounds of ammunition. After he emptied his shotgun he paused to reload. During this time Jon Meis, a student working as a desk lobby monitor, pepper sprayed Aaron and tackled him. Other students then piled on and held Aaron down, ending the rampage. Aaron killed a 19-year-old male student from Portland and injured 19-year-old Sarah Williams, a 22-year-old unidentified man and a 24-year-old unidentified man. The injured students were treated at Harborview Medical Center. Seattle Pacific University is a private Christian college that Aaron did not attend. Aaron was arrested by the authorities and charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in the first degree.

Source: NBC News - Suspect in Seattle Pacific University Rampage Researched Mass Shootings; NBC News - Officials Hail Hero Students in Seattle Pacific University Shooting; Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Seattle Pacific University Shooting: "It's Unimaginable" Gunman Pepper Sprayed by Student After Opening Fire in Otto Miller Hall; NBC News - Seattle Pacific University Shooting Suspect Charged

Reynolds High School, Troutdale, Oregon

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

This morning as school was beginning, 15-year-old Jared Michael Padgett arrived at school carrying a guitar case and a large duffel bag. Inside the the bags was an AR-15 rifle, a handgun, nine magazines of ammunition and a large knife. He was wearing a non-ballistic tactical vest, to carry ammunition, and a camouflage helmet. He went into the gym, and then into the locker room where he used the rifle to kill 14-year-old Emilio Hoffman. The first call to police came in at 8:07 a.m. A unidentified student heard two gunshots, then saw Jared chasing physical education teacher Todd Rispler down a hall. Todd was grazed on the hip. Another teacher suffered a non-life threatening injury was treated at the scene. As Todd fled our young instigator, the police arrived and Jared made his way to a bathroom, locking himself inside. When the police searched the bathroom, they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Reynolds High is one of the largest schools in Oregon, with a student population over 2,600.

Source: NBC News - Shooter and 1 Student at Oregon High School Confirmed Dead: Police; The Oregonian - Police Say Shooter and Student Victim at Reynolds Have Both Died; NBC News - Emilio Hoffman, 14, Identified as Victim of Oregon School Shooting; NBC News - Oregon Police Say School Shooter was 15-Year-Old Freshman

Edouard Herriot Primary School, Albi, France

Friday, July 4, 2014

The French school year came to a bloody end today as a 47-year-old mother with serious psychiatric problems entered the classroom of her 5-year-old daughter, pulled out a knife and stabbed 34-year-old teacher Fabienne Terral-Calmes to death. The attack happened early in the morning. Another teacher took the traumatized students into another classroom and began talking to them. The authorities said the mother thought Fabienne called her daughter a thief. They believe this misperception might have led to the attack. The mother was taken into custody.

Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Pupils See Their Teacher Fatally Stabbed; USA Today - Mom Kills Pre-School Teacher in Class, French Authorities Say

Never Forget Always Remember