Students Knew of Rampage Plot, Officials Say (Red Lake School Shootings)

Washington Post.com ^ | 04/02/2005 | Dana Hedgpeth and Dan Eggen

[drt1]

As many as four believed to have helped plot attack. Updated: 2:07 p.m. ET April 2, 2005 RED LAKE, Minn., As many as 20 teenagers may have known ahead of time about plans for the shooting spree that resulted in the deaths of 10 people on the Indian reservation here March 21, tribal and federal officials said Friday.

Capt. Dewayne Dow of the tribal police told a group of parents, teachers and staff at a three-hour school board meeting that authorities believe as many as 20 students were involved.

One law enforcement official said the FBI believes that as many as four students -- including gunman Jeff Weise and Louis Jourdain, a classmate arrested Sunday -- were directly involved in planning an attack on Red Lake High School, and well over a dozen others may have heard about the plot....

[drt1]

For a 'Loner' who was not in school attendance this guy seems to have had a lot of friends willing to conspire with him. What is the reality?

[OldFriend]

Whole lot of kids emailing each other.

What a tragic story for that community.

Will all the students be looking at each other with suspicion for the rest of their lives?

[drt1]

Yeah. I think it also says something about the level of desensitizing of people in society. If this report is even close to true that would mean a significant number of students who weren't directly involved must have had some knowledge of what was about to happen yet said or did nothing.

An even broader question, how many other plots at other schools are being hatched as I type this. It's hard to believe this mind set is an isolated phenomena.

[OldFriend]

Seems every spring we have these tragedies. Used to be the spring would bring bomb threats so students could get out of school or out of tests......but this......there are no words.

[Old Professer]

Sounds like that old "guilt by association" nonsense.

[hispanichoosier]

Even if 20 or so of the knew about it, that doesn't mean they're criminally involved. There's no general legal obligation on the part of the citizenry to inform authorities about suspected criminal activity, though there certainly is a moral one.

[Mount Athos]

This article omits the key fact that some students warned officials of a rumored plot more than one year before it happened. The suspect himself posted that authorities had suspected him earlier in an internet forum.

So some of these students who knew about a possible plot, may have been the ones who tried to warn authorities earlier...

[drt1]

Hadn't heard that. If that is true this article is pure crap for not having mentioned this very important detail. Perhaps the press trying to help the Police for the fact that there was a warning and they didn't react effectively to head this off.

[Crusher138]

Is there any racial/religious motivation to the targeting?

I have heard that the shooter asked the targets if they believed in God. If they answered yes, he shot.

I have also heard that they may have been some targeting of non-Native Americans...

Is any of this true?

[drt1]

Did hear about the God question but have not heard about any of the other things. They are being very tight lied about it up to now but I hope, once the investigation is complete, the details will emerge.