Springfield Crisis: Home Hit, Too
Two Adults Found Dead In Alleged Shooter's Home
SPRINGFIELD, Ore.,
Updated 5:52 p.m. May 21,
1998 -- The Lane County
Sheriff says two adults are
dead at the home of the
freshman student who
allegedly opened fire on
his
high school classmates this
morning. There are fears
that
the adults are the boy's
parents.
The boy's father is a teacher at Thurston High School,
where police have
confirmed one student is dead, as many as 25 are injured -
and at least
seven critically - after shots were fired in the school's
cafeteria.
That's the latest word from KOIN 6 News in Portland.
KOIN says the alleged
shooter, 15-year-old Kaplind
"Kip" Kinkel (pictured), is a
student who was expelled
yesterday for attempting to
bring a gun to school. Kinkel
reportedly entered the
cafeteria this morning shortly
before 8 a.m. and opened fire
on fellow students during a
Senior Men's Excellence
breakfast attended by up to 300-400 students. Witnesses saw
the
suspect, dressed in a cream-colored trench coat, run
through the cafeteria
firing his rifle from the hip.
Kinkel, who allegedly used a rifle and a handgun, is in
custody, according
to KOIN. Apparently, after the gunfire, several students
tackled the boy
and held him until officials arrived at the scene.
Several students told KOIN the alleged shooter had often
talked
previously of killing people. In addition to the firearms,
the freshman
student reportedly also had military knives in his
possession. He allegedly
had just registered to join the National Guard, KOIN says.
One parent told the television station when Kinkel was sent
home for
expulsion yesterday, he should have not been allowed back
in the building
this morning. "Somebody should be feeling very guilty right
now," the
parent told KOIN.
McKenzie Willamette Hospital, where many
of the
injured have been taken, is in full disaster alert. The
most severely injured
have been transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene.
KOIN
reports as many as seven suffered gunshots to the head,
chest and
abdomen.
Ten Red Cross volunteers, who are professional crisis
counselors, have
been dispatched to the scene of the shooting and to area
hospitals to
provide counseling for those affected in the tragedy, KOIN
says.
High school officials assembled concerned parents in the
school's parking
lot to inform them of the situation. Officials read the
names and conditions
of about 25 students who had been injured in the incident.
KOIN reports
many of the victims were injured by flying debris during
the mayhem.
The Lane Memorial Blood Bank is accepting blood donations
at
541-484-9111.
...go back to Guns and Their Kids Page.