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U.S. NEWS Friday 15 September 2017
Suspect in school shooting said victim who died bullied him

BY NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS fice wrote in an affidavit.
Associated Press He pulled out the AR-15
ROCKFORD, Wash. (AP) rifle and tried to fire it in a
— A 15-year-old boy ac- hallway but it jammed, the
cused of shooting four records said. That’s when
classmates at a rural high a classmate approached
school in Washington state Sharpe. “I always knew you
had been meeting with were going to shoot up the
a school counselor over school,” the student said
suicidal thoughts before before Sharpe shot him in
bringing two guns from the head and abdomen
home and killing a student with the handgun, accord-
he said had bullied him, ing to the documents.
according to court docu- Sharpe told police that he
ments released Thursday. had been bullied by that
The documents and his student but did not target
classmates detailed trou- him specifically.
bling behavior by Caleb “Instead he’d come to the
Sharpe, saying he brought school to teach everyone In this Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 photo, Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies escort Caleb Sharpe
notes to school about do- a lesson about what hap- from the Public Safety Building to the Juvenile Detention Center in Spokane, Wash. Authorities
ing “something stupid,” pens when you bully oth- say Sharpe opened fire Wednesday in a hallway at Freeman High School in Rockford, south
was obsessed with past ers,” the documents said of Spokane, killing a classmate who confronted him and wounded three others before being
school shootings and post- Sharpe told investigators. stopped by a custodian.
ed videos online showing He kept firing the handgun, (Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review via AP)
him playing with guns. striking three students, until so because of the severity released in public docu- wounded victims remained
Sharpe, a sophomore at it also jammed, documents of the accusations and be- ments and was widely used in the hospital but were ex-
the school of 300 students, said. He dropped the cause Sharpe’s name was in local media. The three pected to survive. q
also had left a suicide note handgun and surrendered
at home for his parents, the to an approaching janitor,
records said. Joe Bowen, who ordered
Freeman High School in him to the ground and held
the tiny town of Rockford him for authorities, the doc-
has not responded to calls uments said.
for comment on how they Spokane County Sheriff
dealt with Sharpe’s behav- Ozzie Knezovich called
ior outside of counseling for Bowen “a true hero” who
his suicidal thoughts. stepped into the line of fire.
He took an assault weapon Sharpe was arrested and
and a handgun from his has yet to make an ap-
father’s gun safe, to which pearance in juvenile court.
he knew the combination, It was not immediately
and brought them in a duf- clear if he had an attorney
fel bag to the school south to speak on his behalf.
of Spokane Wednesday, The Associated Press
an investigator for the Spo- doesn’t typically name ju-
kane County Sheriff’s Of- venile suspects but is doing

Ruling could be imminent in

St. Louis police shooting case

By JIM SALTER thy Wilson will rule Friday.
Associated Press Activists have threatened
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A judge civil disobedience if Stock-
may be close to a ruling ley is acquitted. Greitens,
in the case of a white for- a Republican, said the
mer St. Louis police officer National Guard may be
charged with first-degree needed to help protect
murder in the 2011 death infrastructure and free up
of a black man who was police to handle security
a drug suspect, and Mis- at protests. Meanwhile, St.
souri Gov. Eric Greitens said Louis police said officers will
Thursday that he has put the begin working 12-hour shifts
National Guard on standby starting Friday in anticipa-
in case unrest breaks out. tion of a ruling. Mayor Lyda
Testimony in Jason Stock- Krewson said in a video
ley’s trial in the death of statement that the Missouri
Anthony Lamar Smith end- State Highway Patrol and
ed Aug. 9. KMOV-TV cites St. Louis County police will
multiple but unnamed law provide support, with the
enforcement and court patrol handling any pro-
sources saying Judge Timo- tests on state highways.q