Post by Josh on Aug 22, 2015 13:02:33 GMT -8
SEATTLE — A 12-year-old boy killed 8 students and two adults Monday inside a Washington state middle school, hitting students with water soaked arrows and some saying he even drove a stake into a student’s chest.
The parents told detectives "There were some issues since the sand pit massacre and previous disappearances of his fellow kid scout mates,” police Cmdr. Jim Poulsen.
A teen acquaintance said she recently got troubling texts from the boy. Alex Capra, 13, told local police she recently became friends with the boy, who seemed to be fitting in at school before he texted her last Friday, saying, "It does not matter anyway after tonight" and "They are all monsters in his eyes."
Police say Mathew suffered a mental break preaching about vampires being among the students. He left a letter stating it was his duty to cleanse these demons from the earth. Mathew had a two hour standoff with police where he let students go after dousing them with what he said was “holy water”. In his final confrontation with the police Mathew was shot while refusing to lower a crossbow at an officer.
Internal investigations are currently interviewing Jim Staller due to his excessive lethal force to subdue a 12 year old child.
"No one, including myself, can prepare for a situation like this, Mathew was clearly a disturbed young boy," Oliver, the schools guidance counselor, said in a statement. Tony Randall, 11, said he and a group of friends were hanging out near the lunch tables when he heard screaming and biblical verses being chanted. He looked up and saw a
classmate from his sixth-period class walking down the stairs from the gym into a common area that serves as a lunch room, with a wooden spike in his hand.
"We thought it was fake for a second. Then he shot off a crossbow round," said Randall, who said he was about 20 feet away from the shooter. "Everyone just started running out the back door."
Police also took journals, cellphones and laptops from the boy's home to try to discover the source of the mental break.
Classes were canceled Monday but will resume Tuesday, with counselors available. The district had just been practicing active shooter drills, and "it obviously paid off," she said, touting Olson as a good person.
Our hearts and thoughts go out to the family of those lost in such a tragic incident.
The parents told detectives "There were some issues since the sand pit massacre and previous disappearances of his fellow kid scout mates,” police Cmdr. Jim Poulsen.
A teen acquaintance said she recently got troubling texts from the boy. Alex Capra, 13, told local police she recently became friends with the boy, who seemed to be fitting in at school before he texted her last Friday, saying, "It does not matter anyway after tonight" and "They are all monsters in his eyes."
Police say Mathew suffered a mental break preaching about vampires being among the students. He left a letter stating it was his duty to cleanse these demons from the earth. Mathew had a two hour standoff with police where he let students go after dousing them with what he said was “holy water”. In his final confrontation with the police Mathew was shot while refusing to lower a crossbow at an officer.
Internal investigations are currently interviewing Jim Staller due to his excessive lethal force to subdue a 12 year old child.
"No one, including myself, can prepare for a situation like this, Mathew was clearly a disturbed young boy," Oliver, the schools guidance counselor, said in a statement. Tony Randall, 11, said he and a group of friends were hanging out near the lunch tables when he heard screaming and biblical verses being chanted. He looked up and saw a
classmate from his sixth-period class walking down the stairs from the gym into a common area that serves as a lunch room, with a wooden spike in his hand.
"We thought it was fake for a second. Then he shot off a crossbow round," said Randall, who said he was about 20 feet away from the shooter. "Everyone just started running out the back door."
Police also took journals, cellphones and laptops from the boy's home to try to discover the source of the mental break.
Classes were canceled Monday but will resume Tuesday, with counselors available. The district had just been practicing active shooter drills, and "it obviously paid off," she said, touting Olson as a good person.
Our hearts and thoughts go out to the family of those lost in such a tragic incident.