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5 dead, 11 wounded in Arkansas school shooting
In this story:
March 24, 1998
- Teacher, four girls killed
- Classmate: Suspect recently broke up with girlfriend
- 'We had children lying everywhere'
- 'This happens somewhere else'
- No charges filed yet
Web posted at: 11:06 p.m. EST (0406 GMT)JONESBORO, Arkansas (CNN) -- Four middle school girls and a teacher were killed and 11 people were wounded Tuesday when two heavily armed boys in full camouflage gear opened fire on their classmates and teachers during a false fire alarm.
The Craighead County coroner's office identified the dead students as Natalie Brooks, Paige Ann Herring, and Stephanie Johnson, all 12, and Brittheny R. Varner, 11. Tuesday night, teacher Shannon Wright, 32, died after surgery for wounds to her chest and abdomen, Coroner Toby Emerson said.
Police did not offer a motive, but a classmate said one of the suspects had recently broken up with his girlfriend.
"He told me after seventh period (Monday) that he was never going to see me again and I wouldn't be able to see him again because he was going to run away," said Jennifer Nightingale. She did not say if any of the victims was the former girlfriend.
Lt. Ronald Mott of the Salvation Army describes the scene near the school 
116KB/10 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Tim Jones, a reporter at KDXY Radio in Jonesboro, describes what he saw when he arrived on the scene 236KB/21 sec. AIFF or WAV sound An unidentified student describes the shooting 239KB/21 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Nine of the wounded were female, including another teacher, Sara Thetford, who was listed in critical condition following surgery.
Five wounded girls were admitted to St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in stable condition. Three girls and one boy were treated and released. The wounded students were 11 to 13 years old.
State police said an 11th person was wounded but was not treated at the hospital. They did not have any more details.
The suspects, who are cousins, ages 11 and 13, were caught by police near Westside Middle School shortly after the shooting. A third boy who allegedly pulled the fire alarm was still being sought.
"Someone pulled the fire alarm inside and they went outside, and two people in camouflage clothing started shooting," said Connie Tolbert, a secretary.
"We thought it was just firecrackers," said one student, Brandy George. "I saw one of my teachers get shot. I started running towards the gym."
'We had children lying everywhere'
An unidentified woman is overcome by grief Karen Pate, a parent volunteer, was in the school gym when the fire alarm went off just after sixth-graders had finished lunch and returned to their classrooms. She ran outside and "saw girls falling to the ground."
"I helped one teacher who had been shot in the abdomen get out of there where she could lie down and we could start medical attention," Pate said. "Another student had got shot in the leg. As soon as she got hit, she couldn't walk and she fell into the doorway."
Authorities said as many as 27 shots were fired, and as their classmates fell bleeding, the other children ran back inside the school, screaming and crying.
"We had children lying everywhere," said paramedic Charles Jones. "They had all been shot."
Sheriff Dale Haas, who wept when he reported the shootings to the media, said men working on a new school building spotted the suspects and told police, who captured them as they fled through a wooded area nearby.
The boys had handguns and rifles, including a high-powered 30.06 hunting rifle. A white van was found about a half-mile from the school with guns and ammunition in it. It wasn't immediately clear if the vehicle was related to the shootings. The boys were running in the direction of the van when they were caught, investigators said.
Officer Terry McNatt said the boys offered no resistance when they were captured. The boys, who were both students at the school, were being held at the county jail, where they were scheduled for court appearances Wednesday morning.
'This happens somewhere else'
The courtyard where the shootings occurred The school was besieged by police, emergency personnel, media and parents after word of the shootings spread, and those who live in the area were unanimous in their shock and disbelief.
"This happens somewhere else," said Ralph Lee, the mayor of neighboring Bono, Arkansas, where many of the students live. "It doesn't happen in Jonesboro, Arkansas."
"You don't expect this to happen," said a bewildered young man. "You think Little Rock or Memphis, not little west side of Jonesboro."
"We're not gonna get over this in a day or two," said a woman who worked at the school. "It's gonna hurt us."
The school of about 250 sixth- and seventh-graders is on the northwest side of Jonesboro, a city of 51,200 in northeastern Arkansas. It is about 130 miles northeast of Little Rock.
President Clinton, on a visit to Kampala, Uganda, said in a statement that he and the first lady were "deeply shocked and heartbroken."
"We don't know now, and we may never fully understand, what could have driven two youths to deliberately shoot into a crowd," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and the entire Jonesboro community."
No charges filed yet
Gov. Mike Huckabee said he was angry, as a parent, that such a tragedy could happen at a public school.
"It makes me angry not so much at individual children that have done it as much as angry at a world in which such a thing can happen," he said.
No charges have been filed against the boys.
Because of their age, they cannot be prosecuted as adults or held in custody beyond their 21st birthday under Arkansas law, officials said.
If they are charged, they would appear before a juvenile court judge who would decide whether they are delinquent and whether they should be detained, according to Arkansas Attorney General Winston Bryant.
If they are held in custody, the decision would have to be reviewed every two years until they are 21.
Arkansas law does not prohibit minors from possessing shotguns or rifles, but it does bar people younger than 21 from possessing handguns. Other laws prohibit anyone from possessing a gun on public property or with criminal intent.
It was at least the third fatal shooting rampage in a U.S. school in the past five months, and Huckabee said, "I don't know that there's anything, quite honestly, that we can absolutely do to guarantee" the safety of people in schools.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CNN Community:
- Message Board: Arkansas School Shooting
Related stories:
- 4 dead in Arkansas school shooting - March 24, 1998
Related sites:
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- CNN Affiliate: KATV News, Little Rock, Ark.
- City of Jonesboro, Arkansas
- Jonesboro Public Schools
- Arkansas Department of Education (ADE)
- State of Arkansas
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
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