Oklahoma 8th-grader’s suicide prompts school lockdown

— A 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in a hallway at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday, police said, terrifying teenagers who feared a gunman was on the loose.

Staff members quickly locked down the school and evacuated about 700 eighthand ninth-graders, along with students from an adjacent elementary school, to a safe location, police Capt. Randy Dickerson said. The eighthgrader was found dead in a hallway, Dickerson said.

Some students who fled the building said they found out it was a suicide from news reports. Other students who had witnessed the shooting spread word that a classmate had killed himself, police said.

Jake Green, 14, said he was among dozens of students who meet to pray every morning who heard the single shot ring out from an adjacent hallway about 10 feet away.

“We heard this loud boom and everyone just got quiet,” Jake said. “No one said a word.”

A teacher yelled at the students to get out of the building and head to a playground at the elementary school, Jake said.

“Everyone was really scared. We didn’t know if the kid shot himself or if there was a shooter outside the school who shot in,” Jake said. “Everyone didn’t know what was going on, so they were screaming and running as fast as they could to get to the playground.”

Dickerson said the eighthgrader shot himself once in the head with a handgun.

Police wouldn’t say where the weapon came from or how he got it into the school.

Dickerson said the 13-yearold didn’t leave a note, and authorities don’t know why he killed himself.

Superintendent Ann Caine said there aren’t any metal detectors at the school. She expects that there will be discussions about the policy, but said Wednesday that school officials were still trying to deal with the shooting.

The teen had been a goodstudent who got along with other kids, and there was no indication he was bullied, Caine said.

Jake said that students who were already in their classrooms when the shooting happened were locked inside the building for about an hour after that.

“It was really scary,” said Jake, a ninth-grader. “Everyone’s kind of traumatized and doesn’t know how to act or respond.”

Counselors will be available for students, Caine said.

Stillwater Junior High sent a statement to parents saying there had been a “single shooting incident” at the school and that staff members and students had been moved to a safe location. Parents were told to pick up their children at a nearby shopping center. Stillwater is about 70 miles west of Tulsa.

“It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of a tragic incident at our [school] this morning,” Caine said in a letter to parents. “At 7:50 a.m. one of our students died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. All other students and staff are safe.”

Wednesday evening, about 120 people attended a vigil at Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Hana Sumpter, a 14-yearold eight-grader, said she was friends with the boy and was standing nearby when he shot himself.

“I heard the gunshot. I turned around and he was on the floor,” Hana said, adding that he had given no indication of problems beforehand.

The Rev. Derrek Belase led the group in prayer. Members of the student’s family did not attend the service.

Information for this article was contributed by Ken Miller, Sean Murphy, Ashley M. Heher, Jeannie Nuss and Jill Bleed of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 09/27/2012

Upcoming Events