Teenage gunman killed in U.S. high school shooting spree

www.chinaview.cn 2007-10-11 03:14:22 Print

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) --

A 14-year-old gunman opened fire at fellow students and teachers at a high school in Cleveland, Ohio, Wednesday, wounding four, and was then killed, the mayor of Cleveland said.

The shooting victims include two adult men, both teachers, 57 and 42 years old; and two teenage males, 17 and 14 years old, Mayor Frank Jackson told reporters.

Another 14-year-old female hurt her knee in the chaos, he added.

The two students with gun wounds were taken to hospitals and are now in "stable" condition, according to Jackson.

He described the adults' conditions as "slightly elevated" above that of the students.

Cleveland police said the shooter, 14-year-old Asa Coon, is dead, and it appears he shot himself.

Coon, a ninth grade student described by fellow students as "odd," was upset about being suspended for fighting earlier this week.

He came to the school Wednesday with a gun in each hand and began firing shortly after 1 p.m.

Students said they took cover in closets after the school principal announced a "Code Blue" on the intercom.

The school has since been evacuated. However, it was unknown for some time whether there were still some people hiding in various areas of the building.

Student Ronnell Jackson, 15, said he saw the shooter running down the hall and ducked out the door.

"He was about to shoot me, but I got out just in time," Ronnell said. "He was aiming at me, I got out just in time."

Student Doneisha LeVert, who hid in a closet with two other students after she heard the principal say "Code Blue," said the alleged shooter had threatened students at the school last Friday.

"He's crazy. He threatened to blow up our school. He threatened to stab everybody," she said.

SuccessTech is a nontraditional high school at downtown Cleveland, and all of its 240 students are under the national poverty line.

It is a "school of choice" and students have to apply to get in.

Cleveland Schools CEO, Dr. Eugene Sanders, said Cleveland schools and all school activities are canceled for the entire district Thursday.

Cleveland students were already scheduled to be off on Friday, However, faculty and staff will meet Friday to discuss how to handle what has happened.

School shooting has become an issue under spotlight in the United States since the Virginia Tech massacre, in which a student of South Korean origin killed 32 people and wounded 25 others before committing suicide on April 16, 2007, making it the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.

Editor: Yan Liang

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