Teen Is Held in Deadly School Shootings

A 14-year-old honor student walked into a junior high school classroom in rural Washington and opened fire with a high-powered rifle, killing a teacher and two students and injuring another student, police said Friday.

The young gunman “was just a kid who said he was angry,” said Bob Garrett, youth director at a church near the school in Moses Lake, Wash. “The students I know say he had mentioned this before, that he was angry.”

Students ran screaming and weeping from Franklin Junior High School, and the incident plunged the small central Washington town into shock as community organizations set up counseling centers and churches opened for all-night prayer vigils.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen, as far as the emotional breakdown of this community right now. Weeping. Crying. It’s just total emotional breakdown,” Garrett said.

Moses Lake police officials said that the incident occurred at 2 p.m. when the student walked into a classroom and began to fire a high-powered rifle.

“Numerous rounds were fired, and one teacher and three students were shot. One teacher and two students are confirmed deceased. The third student is in serious condition,” police said in a brief statement. The injured student, a 13-year-old girl, was airlifted to a Seattle hospital, where she was listed as in stable condition.

Mary DeCouteau, who operates a nearby photography studio, said she ran to the school after she saw police cars, fire engines and ambulances rushing to the scene. She spoke to several of the students, who reconstructed the event.

The dead teacher, wife of the school’s vice principal, was teaching a math class.

“The boy, he didn’t go to class. He missed school. The kids say he just doesn’t like kids, he doesn’t like people,” DeCouteau said. “He walked in the class with his trench coat on, he opened his coat and pulled a gun. The teacher screamed and he fired.”

DeCouteau said students at the school told her that “he was just one of those kids that didn’t fit in.”

In the aftermath of the shooting, students in other classes were told to lie down on the floor behind closed doors and then all were taken to the school gymnasium.

“None of them knew what was going on. But [one of the students] looked and saw the blood and the body and she just came unglued,” DeCouteau said. “There were a lot of hysterical kids walking down that street. . . .”

Grant County Coroner Penny Sibley identified the dead as Leona D. Caires, 49, and students Arnold F. Fritz and Manuel Vela, both 14. The accused student was taken into custody within five minutes of the attack. His name was not released because of his age.

Residents of Moses Lake, a town of about 15,000 people west of Spokane, Wash., rushed to the school and the hospital to try to learn if their children had been injured.

“Everyone knows and everyone’s real upset because everyone has someone or has a friend who goes to that school or works there,” said Mary Madrishin, manager of a local restaurant.

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“Being a small community. . . , we’re very tight-knit, so this is extremely shocking,” said Craig Caraway, program director at KWIQ, the local country and western radio station. He said that all sporting events were canceled. Garrett said Immanuel Lutheran Church had already scheduled an all-night prayer vigil before the shooting and people began streaming in Friday evening for prayers and counseling.

“I think we’re probably like any small town that hasn’t dealt with or coped with this type of random violence,” Garrett said. “But the way the community has really, really rallied to this event already. At the hospital and everywhere there were so many people there, so many clergy and parents. This really unifies a community.”

Times researcher Doug Conner contributed to this story.