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Another Tragedy... EMT Found Son Wounded At Minn. School Shooting.
Did any of you guys hear about the school shooting in Minnesota? If not read on...
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EMT Found Son Wounded At Minn. School Shooting.
Victim Dies From Wound; Freshman, 15, Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder.
COLD SPRING, Minn. -- When a firefighter found a second shooting victim near the weight room at Rocori High School, emergency medical technician Tom Rollins was the first to rush downstairs to give first aid.
Rocori High School Shooting victim Aaron Rollins To his horror, his son Aaron (pictured, left) lay mortally wounded near the bottom of the stairs.
Unable to stay, Tom Rollins returned up the stairs, and someone else was sent to help his 17-year-old son. Aaron Rollins died at a hospital a short time later. The shootings Wednesday also left freshman Seth Bartell, 14, in critical condition.
Fifteen-year-old John Jason McLaughlin was charged Friday with second-degree murder, and prosecutors say they are trying to have the suspect tried as an adult.
Aaron's wounds were so grievous he was sent to the hospital by ambulance; emergency workers gave Bartell (pictured, below left) the lone spot on the medical helicopter because he was considered more likely to survive.
The shooter is said to be the son of a Stearns County sheriff's deputy. By late Thursday, authorities had searched the school and McLaughlin's home, seizing three computers.
Rocori High School shooting victim Seth Bartel. The St. Cloud Times quoted freshman Stephanie Stommes, a friend who had spent time with Bartell's family at the hospital, as saying he was able to sit up and move his arms. She said he was breathing on his own and could hear people talk to him, but couldn't talk back.
Flags flew at half-staff in front of the schools and city hall, which also houses the small town's library, fire and police departments. A sign in front of Cold Spring Floral said, "God be with Aaron and Seth." The high school was cleaned as it was readied for classes to resume on Friday.
It wasn't clear whether McLaughlin knew the two victims, and authorities refused to identify a motive. Superintendent Scott Staska noted that McLaughlin and Bartell had been in the same grade in the small school district "for some time." Some students who knew McLaughlin said he was the subject of teasing, in part because of severe acne.
Tim O'Malley, assistant superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said students were still being interviewed and he didn't want to influence their statements by suggesting a motive publicly.
Authorities on Thursday gave the first detailed account of the shooting:
O'Malley said the suspect took a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol from a gym bag as he walked out of a swimming pool locker room. He fired two shots in a hallway outside the weight room in the basement, striking Rollins and Bartell.
One boy was about 10 feet away and the other about 50 feet, O'Malley said, though he wouldn't specify which was which. He said the distances could mean that one target was intentional, and the other accidental.
Students grieve after the shooting at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minn. Bartell got up a flight of stairs. The shooter followed him, found him in the gymnasium and fired again. According to newspaper reports, the second shot was from close range, hitting the victim in the head.
Mark Johnson, a 27-year-teacher and coach, was getting ready for a gym class when he heard the last shot. He took a step toward the boy with the gun, but stopped when the boy raised it. Johnson, a tall man with a commanding voice, raised his right hand and shouted, "No!"
The boy with the gun emptied the bullets out of the gun and dropped it. Johnson grabbed the gun and the boy's left wrist and hauled him to the school office before returning to attend to the wounded Bartell.
"Very quiet," Johnson said of the trip to the office. "Didn't say a word. As I escorted him to the office, didn't say one word. He came with me very willingly."
O'Malley said it did not appear that McLaughlin was intent on a Columbine-style massacre.
"This was most likely not something that was designed to injure a whole bunch of students," O'Malley said. He also moved to quell a rumor that school officials had received some warning of an attack.
McLaughlin's attorney said his client is "overwhelmed by everything" and that his parents are "crushed." McLaughlin's parents have issued a statement in which they extend their deepest sympathies to the victims' families and say "the devastation that has been caused is irreparable."
Since the shooting, Johnson has been portrayed as a hero for intervening. At the news conference, he again downplayed the idea, saying a lot of people "would have done the same thing."
"He may very well have saved others' lives," O'Malley said. "I don't know."
Rollins'uncle, Russ Van Beck, read a statement Thursday on behalf of the family, thanking law enforcement and school officials for their quick response.
"Aaron was a terrific young man with a positive attitude and a great smile which we will all miss," Van Beck said. "We all know that Aaron would expect us to make something positive from this situation. We challenge everyone to help us achieve this outcome."
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May God Bless the Rollins and Bartell families and forever look over them. I can't even begin to imagine the loss they are feeling. And may they know, that they are in our thoughts.
Bruce
, 19, EMT-1D, C.A.
R.I.P. 343, 9/11/01, God Bless America.
"ALWAYS REMEMBER, NEVER FORGET".
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EMT Found Son Wounded At Minn. School Shooting.
Victim Dies From Wound; Freshman, 15, Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder.
COLD SPRING, Minn. -- When a firefighter found a second shooting victim near the weight room at Rocori High School, emergency medical technician Tom Rollins was the first to rush downstairs to give first aid.
Rocori High School Shooting victim Aaron Rollins To his horror, his son Aaron (pictured, left) lay mortally wounded near the bottom of the stairs.
Unable to stay, Tom Rollins returned up the stairs, and someone else was sent to help his 17-year-old son. Aaron Rollins died at a hospital a short time later. The shootings Wednesday also left freshman Seth Bartell, 14, in critical condition.
Fifteen-year-old John Jason McLaughlin was charged Friday with second-degree murder, and prosecutors say they are trying to have the suspect tried as an adult.
Aaron's wounds were so grievous he was sent to the hospital by ambulance; emergency workers gave Bartell (pictured, below left) the lone spot on the medical helicopter because he was considered more likely to survive.
The shooter is said to be the son of a Stearns County sheriff's deputy. By late Thursday, authorities had searched the school and McLaughlin's home, seizing three computers.
Rocori High School shooting victim Seth Bartel. The St. Cloud Times quoted freshman Stephanie Stommes, a friend who had spent time with Bartell's family at the hospital, as saying he was able to sit up and move his arms. She said he was breathing on his own and could hear people talk to him, but couldn't talk back.
Flags flew at half-staff in front of the schools and city hall, which also houses the small town's library, fire and police departments. A sign in front of Cold Spring Floral said, "God be with Aaron and Seth." The high school was cleaned as it was readied for classes to resume on Friday.
It wasn't clear whether McLaughlin knew the two victims, and authorities refused to identify a motive. Superintendent Scott Staska noted that McLaughlin and Bartell had been in the same grade in the small school district "for some time." Some students who knew McLaughlin said he was the subject of teasing, in part because of severe acne.
Tim O'Malley, assistant superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said students were still being interviewed and he didn't want to influence their statements by suggesting a motive publicly.
Authorities on Thursday gave the first detailed account of the shooting:
O'Malley said the suspect took a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol from a gym bag as he walked out of a swimming pool locker room. He fired two shots in a hallway outside the weight room in the basement, striking Rollins and Bartell.
One boy was about 10 feet away and the other about 50 feet, O'Malley said, though he wouldn't specify which was which. He said the distances could mean that one target was intentional, and the other accidental.
Students grieve after the shooting at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minn. Bartell got up a flight of stairs. The shooter followed him, found him in the gymnasium and fired again. According to newspaper reports, the second shot was from close range, hitting the victim in the head.
Mark Johnson, a 27-year-teacher and coach, was getting ready for a gym class when he heard the last shot. He took a step toward the boy with the gun, but stopped when the boy raised it. Johnson, a tall man with a commanding voice, raised his right hand and shouted, "No!"
The boy with the gun emptied the bullets out of the gun and dropped it. Johnson grabbed the gun and the boy's left wrist and hauled him to the school office before returning to attend to the wounded Bartell.
"Very quiet," Johnson said of the trip to the office. "Didn't say a word. As I escorted him to the office, didn't say one word. He came with me very willingly."
O'Malley said it did not appear that McLaughlin was intent on a Columbine-style massacre.
"This was most likely not something that was designed to injure a whole bunch of students," O'Malley said. He also moved to quell a rumor that school officials had received some warning of an attack.
McLaughlin's attorney said his client is "overwhelmed by everything" and that his parents are "crushed." McLaughlin's parents have issued a statement in which they extend their deepest sympathies to the victims' families and say "the devastation that has been caused is irreparable."
Since the shooting, Johnson has been portrayed as a hero for intervening. At the news conference, he again downplayed the idea, saying a lot of people "would have done the same thing."
"He may very well have saved others' lives," O'Malley said. "I don't know."
Rollins'uncle, Russ Van Beck, read a statement Thursday on behalf of the family, thanking law enforcement and school officials for their quick response.
"Aaron was a terrific young man with a positive attitude and a great smile which we will all miss," Van Beck said. "We all know that Aaron would expect us to make something positive from this situation. We challenge everyone to help us achieve this outcome."
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May God Bless the Rollins and Bartell families and forever look over them. I can't even begin to imagine the loss they are feeling. And may they know, that they are in our thoughts.
Bruce
, 19, EMT-1D, C.A.R.I.P. 343, 9/11/01, God Bless America.
"ALWAYS REMEMBER, NEVER FORGET".
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