Posted on 01/13/2006 9:46:28 AM PST by OXENinFLA
Deputies shot a "suicidal" 15-year-old student who brandished a gun at Milwee Middle School near Longwood this morning after chasing the boy into a restroom, Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said.
The student was taken to a hospital, and his condition was not disclosed.
The boy brought a gun to school in his backpack, Eslinger said, and briefly took a fellow student hostage in a classroom while other students evacuated. After a scuffle, the 15-year-old ran from the classroom and "traveled with this firearm throughout the campus," Eslinger said. He was pursued by deputies into a restroom and isolated there. The other student was not injured, Eslinger said. Neither were any other students, teachers or school staff.
"He was suicidal," Eslinger said, and while deputies attempted to establish a dialog, he raised his gun to his neck and said he would kill himself or "die one way or another," Eslinger said.
At one point, the boy raised his weapon, and deputies shot him, Eslinger said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
Ping.....
15 is a bit old to be in 8th Grade.
Depending on how the school is set up, 9th grade could be at middle.
I bet the gun belonged to one of his parents and boy are they gonna be in trouble.
Not if one flunks a few grades
I went to school with a guy who flunked so many times that he drove to school in 8th grade and was able to to drink legally in high school
Plus why shoot a suicidal person, shoot the gun, disable them somehow but don't shoot to kill.
I agree 15 is about 2-3 years to old for the 8th grade. I was 13 in the 9th. Yeah for me, right.
suicide by cop....
At least the LEO's entered the school and ended the situation unlike the Columbine ones who set up camp first.
SLIDESHOW: Images From Scene
Also at link
"No, kid - don't kill yourself! Let us handle it."
You're not an experienced shooter are you?
Yup,15 is a tad old for 8th grade. I am all for education but some kids just are not cut out for school. I would be in favor of some sort of trade school for kids that can't make it in regular school. Lots of different trades out there that generate good wages that do not require a high school education.
You've obviously been watching too many TV shows. Shooting at the extremities of a person is not a sure thing. It's easier to be moving your hand around faster than the center of your mass. And what happens if the perp moves their hand suddenly and your shot misses? Do you think the OTHER person with a gun would start firing back, hitting who knows what(or whom)?
That is simply a bad idea.
OK, when did Katie Couric start posting at FR?
To many 1950's cowboy movies.
You are watchign WAYYY too much TV. Real life is not like that, where every cop can hit a quarter from 50 paces away.
Cops, shooting with a handgun, aim for the center of mass. With a gun pointed back AT them they cannot afford to miss.
That is the stuff of movies, not reality.
I know of only one case where an armed criminal was purposefully disarmed through shooting the gun out of his hand. He was sitting in a lawn chair in his front yard with a young child in his lap who he was holding hostage. The gun was in his right hand and it was resting on the arm rest, virtually motionless. A SWAT sniper on a roof across the street was able to shoot the pistol out of his hand.
What makes you say that?
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