SCHOOL-RELATED DEATHS, SCHOOL SHOOTINGS,
& SCHOOL VIOLENCE INCIDENTS
2001-2002 School Year Incidents
Identified by National School Safety and Security Services, Inc.*
Cleveland, Ohio
Note: This page and the work represented herein is copy-protected and
reflects the proprietary in-house research conducted by National School
Safety and Security Services. It may
not be reproduced or otherwise used in any form without the advanced
written permission of Kenneth S. Trump, president of National School
Safety and Security Services.
* School-related deaths, school shootings, and school crisis incidents identified through print and electronic news sources
nationwide by Kenneth S. Trump, President, National School Safety and
Security Services, Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio). This is not presented as an
exhaustive list or as a scientific study. Additional incidents may
be added pending review of additional items on file.
For purposes
of this listing, the 2001-2002 school year is considered to be from
August 1, 2001, through July 31, 2002. In addition to school-related
violent deaths, this page provides a sample of school shootings that did
not result in death, a sample of bomb and bomb threat-related incidents,
and a sample of other incidents of
school-related crime, violence, and crisis situations.
For purposes of
this monitoring report, school-related violent deaths are homicides, suicides, or other violent, non-accidental deaths in the United
States in which a fatal injury occurs:
1)
inside a school, on school property, on or immediately around (and
associated with) a school bus, or in the immediate area (and associated
with) a K-12 elementary or secondary public, private, or parochial school;
2)
on the way to or from a school for a school session;
3)
while attending, or on the way to or from, a school-sponsored event;
4)
as a clear result of school-related incidents/conflicts, functions,
activities, regardless of whether on or off actual school property;
Identified School-Related Violent Deaths: 2001-2002 School
Year
Total Deaths: 17
Breakdown
by Type:
Shooting:
5
Suicides:
3
Murder-Suicide:
6
Fight:
1
Stabbing:
1
Other:
1
August 13, 2001: Dallas, TX
A 26-year-old male shot and killed his 18-year-old ex-wife and her two
children, ages 6 and 18 months, in a car outside of an elementary school
around 6:50pm. A 13-year-old brother of the woman was in the vehicle
but escaped The man then shot himself and died in a hospital,
according to police.
September 13,
2001: Los Angeles, CA
A 16-year-old male high school student was shot to death near his high
school as he was walking home from the school after dismissal. The
student died at the scene. A male passenger got out of a car that pulled up
to the victim and his friends, according to reports, asking him what gang
they were from and then shooting him.
October 12, 2001: Salt Lake City, UT
A 17-year-old male high school student committed suicide by shooting himself
with a handgun in a school hallway.
October 18, 2001: Bradenton, FL
A 16-year-old high school student was allegedly beaten to death by a fellow
17-year-old male student in an after-school fight behind a food store near
the school. The fight reportedly was arranged during a fifth period
class and stemmed from harassment over the victim's conduct during a recent
party in which the victim reportedly stripped naked. According to
reports, the victim was attempting to join a school-chartered club
consisting largely of athletes and other popular students. The victim
died from injuries sustained after his heat was beaten against the concrete
ground.
November 7, 2001:
Brookline, MA
A 16-year-old male 10th-grade charter school student, who was riding the
subway home from his school at around 6:45pm, was shot in the chest and died
from an attempted robbery by two 19-year-old suspects.
November 12, 2001:
Caro, Michigan
A 17-year-old male alternative school student armed with a .22-caliber
rifle, a 20-guage shotgun, and a package of gunpowder took a teacher and
15-year-old female classmate hostage, shot at the principal, and then shot
himself in the head after releasing his hostages. The suspect, who
died, reportedly was despondent after having broken up with his girlfriend
two days earlier. The hostages were released after being held over a
period of three hours, at which time the suspect shot himself as police
tactical officers were preparing to enter the building.
November 17, 2001: Everett, WA
A 15-year-old male high school sophomore was found unconscious and beaten on
Saturday on a middle school football field. The male died the next
evening while in the hospital. Police were seeking two teens who were
seen walking with the victim toward the school on the afternoon he was found
unconscious.
December 5, 2001: Springfield, MA
A 17-year-old male alternative high school student was arrested for stabbing
a 51-year-old counselor five to six times in the stomach and chest during an
argument in a classroom. The suspect fled from the building and was
arrested about a half-mile from the school, according to the county
prosecutor. The knife was found behind the school. Eight or nine other
students and a teacher were in the classroom at the time according to the
school's superintendent.
December 11, 2001: Woodbridge, VA
A private security guard found the body of a 24-year-old male who was shot
to death in his vehicle in a middle school parking lot shortly before 11pm.
Police suspect that the shooting was drug-related.
December 13, 2001: Sun Valley, CA
A 15-year-old male high school student was shot and killed as he walked home
with friends through an alley near his high school at 11:35am. Police
were investigating whether the shooting was gang-related. They had no
suspects.
January 30, 2002: Zanesville, OH
A 59-year-old male school maintenance worker shot a female school bus driver
three times in the head and back as she was preparing to start her route and
then fatally shot himself. The female driver, age 41, later died.
February 15, 2002: New Orleans, LA
A 46-year-old Orleans Parish school system custodian shot himself with a
single gunshot to the head, according to police, as detectives were headed
to his come to arrest him on allegations of stealing more then $20,000 in
paychecks that were still being issued by the district to a former employee.
An investigation started when the former employee received a tax withholding
form for the period and informed the school system. Police stated that they
believed he killed himself because of the pending charges.
February 20, 2002: Milwaukee, WI
A 16-year-old male high school student was shot to death in the parking lot
of another high school around 8:45pm following a basketball game between two
rival city high school teams. A male who identified himself as the
victim's uncle stated that he was shot in the head. The shooting
occurred during a brawl that involved approximately 100 people, according to
reports.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sample of Reported
School-Related Shootings Not Resulting in Deaths
A sample of school-related shootings occurring nationwide
in the 2001-2002 school year not resulting in death is listed below.
It should be noted that this is only a sample and and
is not intended to include
all of the many incidents involving firearms confiscated but not used, and other weapons possession
or use that occur in U.S. schools.
List includes individuals shot but not killed and firearms discharged in
schools, on school campuses and buses, at school-sponsored events, to
and from school involving students, and as a clear result of
school-related incidents/conflicts.
September 4, 2001: Plant City, FL
A 6-year-old mentally handicapped first-grader accidentally fired a
.22-caliber gun when he stuffed his hand into his right pants pocket to
get some change as he was standing behind his desk waiting to go to
physical education class. Police were investigating where the boy
got the gun.
September 5, 2001: Compton, CA
Gunfire from a vehicle near a high school sent a pickup truck with five
people, two of them students, crashing into a wrought-iron gate. Two
individuals in the car suffered superficial gunshot wounds and a
17-year-old student leaving the school at the time of the incident
suffered a broken leg according to reports.
September 7, 2001: Charlotte, NC
Four suspects were arrested for weapons-related offenses after gunfire
erupted around 9:45p.m. as a crowd of over 2,000 left a high school
football game. Two people were injured and a 15-year-old suffered a
broken ankle when a car hit him as he ran from the gunfire.
Additional security measures were subsequently planned for future games.
September 12, 2001: Covington, KY
A 30-year-old woman was arrested and a .380 caliber semi-automatic gun was
confiscated after an adult female was shot in the neck outside of an
elementary school as school was dismissing. When the victim arrived
at the school, the suspect reportedly walked from across the street and
fired. A news report included a statement from a witness who said
the two had prior conflicts. Students were taken back inside the
school and held in the cafeteria until the scene was secured.
September 20, 2001: Baltimore, MD
A 17-year-old male 11th-grader was shot at a doorway in the back of the
school by a suspect who allegedly grabbed him by the collar and shot him
in the stomach. The victim ran and was shot again in the buttocks.
School officials said the victim was off school grounds without permission
before the shooting occurred.
October 26, 2001: Redondo Beach, CA
A 16-year-old male high school student was shot in his left side, piercing
a lung before exiting his body, when a friend's handgun accidentally fired
as the backpack tumbled off a ledge outside the school around 10am in the
morning.
October 26, 2001: Saginaw, MI
A 17-year-old male charter school student was charged after another
17-year-old male student was shot in his left calf when a gun in the other
student's coat pocket discharged as students were tossing around the coat
in the classroom.
November 16, 2001:
Manteca, CA
Two teens, ages 16 and 17, were shot in what police suspected as a
possible gang-related incident when a group of 10 to 20 males showed up on
high school grounds at 6pm in the evening. One student was shot in
the arm and chest, and the other was shot in the back.
November 27, 2001: Columbia, SC
A 15-year-old male high school student was arrested after a .380-caliber
handgun carried in his book bag fired when he accidentally dropped his
bag. The student reportedly ran away and put the gun in the trunk of
another student's vehicle, but school officials and the school resource
officer located the students moments later. No one was injured and
the student was charged.
November 29, 2001: Philadelphia, PA
A 16-year-old drop-out was wounded after shots were fired in a dispute
among teenagers behind a high school around 3:30pm after school had been
dismissed. Police did not believe that individuals involved were
students and the area is reportedly a known drug activity area.
November 30, 2001: Friendswood, TX
A junior high school campus was locked down for three hours after a
teacher reported that a bullet was fired into a classroom wall, striking a plastic cup and then a
teacher's desk. At the time of the incident, 20 students were in the
class, but nobody was injured and many reported not hearing any gunshots. The slug was fired from a .357-caliber gun.
An investigation later resulted in the indictment of the teacher for
allegedly bringing a gun to the school and firing it earlier in the day
while the class was empty.
December 13, 2001: Tampa, FL
A 20-year-old female university student was carjacked in front of her
apartment and driven to a deserted elementary school where she was shot
three times and left to die. The victim survived after suffering a
fractured jaw, bruised brain, and bullet lodged in her esophagus that had
been swallowed. One of the suspects, a 17-year-old, was arrested in late
December.
January 15, 2002: New York City
(Manhattan), New York
Two students, ages 17 and 18, were shot in a fourth-floor hallway of a
high school. One student was shot in the back and the other in the
buttocks, and both were hospitalized in serious condition. A
.380-caliber handgun was found on the school's fifth floor and the
incident may have resulted from a dispute concerning a girl, according to police.
No suspects were identified.
February 6, 2002: Gardena, CA
Two high school students, ages 16 and 19, were wounded during a robbery
attempt outside their high school about 15 minutes prior to dismissal.
The shooting occurred in an outdoor area near a classroom when one of
three suspects demanded money from the 19-year-old student, according to
police.
February 7, 2002: Chicago, IL
Three 16-year-old high school students were wounded in a shooting in front
of a Chicago high school at dismissal, according to police. One
female victim was a student at the school where the shooting two place and
the two other victims, who were males, were students from a nearby high
school. Police suspect that the incident was gang-related.
June 21, 2002: Indiana, PA
A 39-year-old male was charged with two counts of attempted homicide
after entering an administrative office of a high school and allegedly
shooting a 48-year-old secretary in the leg. The suspect was
reportedly demanding to see the superintendent, who was not in the
building at the time. The suspect was reported to be the husband of
a former school district teacher.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sample of Bombs, Bomb
Threats, and Explosive Incidents
The
following is a sample of reported school-related bomb, bomb threats, and
explosive incidents. This is only a sample and is not
intended to represent a complete listing of incidents that occur in U.S.
schools.
August 24, 2001: Lake
Alfred, FL
A 13-year-old student was arrested for making a homemade bomb with
water and chemicals inside a plastic soda bottle, which was exploded in an
agricultural and livestock area of the school, according to police.
The school resource officer was notified by another student and the
officer, along with the principal, investigated. A second bottle was
found inside a corral where a calf is kept, according to reports.
The student was charged with one count of throwing a destructive device to
cause harm.
August
28, 2001:
Dalton, GA
Two high school freshmen, ages 14 and 16, were arrested and charged with
felony weapons charges for allegedly tossing a homemade bomb into a
plastic garbage can near a school exit door around 1:00pm in the afternoon
while classes were underway. No one was hurt according to reports.
A small plastic bottle containing acid and other chemicals was reportedly
found at the scene.
September 4, 2001: Williamson, W.Va.
A high school and middle school were evacuated before classes began after
the high school's band director found a bomb device was found outside of the
band room's outside back door. The device was made of three flares
with shortened fuses, leading police to believe that the flares had been
removed and substituted with explosives. The device had a digital
timer and although the bomb device could not explode, police believed it
could start a fire.
September 5, 2001: Great Mills, MD
An eight-inch pipe bomb was found by a teacher in a trash can near an
entrance to a high school around 2:20p.m., just minutes after school
dismissed for the day. The homemade device was made of metal pipe and
was defused by bomb squad technicians after students in after-school
activities were evacuated. According to reports, the teacher found the
device, brought the bomb into the school, and showed it to a school resource
officer (county deputy).
September 12, 2001: Haines City, FL
Middle school students and staff were evacuated for more than hour after an
eighth-grade male student told a school resource officer that another boy
approached him on the school track, displayed a small box with a switch on
it, and told him that he was going to blow up the school.
October 30, 2001: Petersburg, VA
Two high school students, both 15-years-old, were charged with felonies in
separate bomb threat incidents during the week of October 22, 2001. On
October 26, school resource officers observed one of the males acting
suspiciously and sized a cell phone when the student took it out at lunch.
Police said the phone is believed to have been one used in making the four
threats. The other student was accused in a separate incident of
making an e-mail that was sent to students claiming that the high school was
going to blow up on October 25th or 26th.
October 29, 2001: Phoenix, AZ
A Phoenix elementary school was locked down after a homemade explosive and a
used pipe bomb were found in a park next door to the school. The
lockdown lasted for about two hours as a police bomb squad disposed of an
explosive made out of gunpowder and household materials, according to
reports. The items were found in a park a few hundred yards from the
school playground.
October 31, 2001: Charlotte, NC
Students were dismissed early at a high school after a suspicious package, a
box with tape around it and wires protruding from it, was found in a
restroom. The device was checked by police and turned out to be a hoax.
Students were dismissed early after having been held at a nearby church for
two to three hours.
November 1, 2001: Watsonville, CA
Two men, ages 31 and 55, were arrested after a series of bomb threats that
forced the evacuation of two schools on October 30-31, 2001. Three
pipe bombs were found at an elementary school over the two-day period.
Bomb threats also were made elsewhere in the community. All of the
bombs were made of galvanized pipes roughly six inches long, according to
police. One of the bombs at the elementary school reportedly had been
disposed of by a custodian who thought it was construction debris and the
others were exploded by the sheriff's bomb squad.
December 12, 2001: Clearbrook, MN
A 30-year-old female high school teacher and a 16-year-old female student
were charged with aiding and abetting terrorist threats after police
received a tip from students that the two were involved in making a bomb
threat to the school. According to the county attorney, the teacher
allegedly wrote the threat on a school computer, gave it to the student, and
the student to it to a restroom. The student returned to the restroom,
retrieved the note, and then took it to the the teacher, who then took it to
the principal and reported it as a legitimate bomb threat. The school
was evacuated and students were taken to a nearby church while police and
fire officials searched the school.
December 13, 2001: Casper, WY
A 15-year-old male junior high school student was banned from school buses,
placed in an alternative school, and charged in juvenile court after a bus
assistant overheard him tell a friend that his backpack contained
explosives. Bomb technicians were called and found no explosives in the
backpack or on the bus.
December 21, 2001: Craig, CO
Three high school males, aged 15 to 17, were arrested on charges of
conspiracy to commit murder and terrorist training activities in connection
with allegedly conspiring to detonate explosives at school and a courthouse.
The terrorist training activities charge is reportedly for a person who
demonstrates or teaches someone how to use weapons to cause injury or death.
January 9, 2002: Rosenberg, TX
A 13-year-old male seventh-grader was arrested for planning to blow up his
junior high school, according to police. Police reportedly found five
small homemade bombs and bomb-making material at his home. He was
arrested after other students reported that he was bragging about having
bombs at his house.
January 10, 2002: Kiowa, Colorado
A high school science teacher was suspended and a 17-year-old student faced
possible criminal charges in connection with a bomb that the student brought
to his high school's science fair. According to the district
attorney's office, while the device was incapable of exploding, the student
had the necessary ingredients to make a live bomb and instructions on how to
use them. The teacher allegedly had supervised the project and had
given at least one student an assignment "specifically about bombs"
according to reports.
January 11, 2002: Fort Worth, TX
Three female high school students, two age 15 and one age 16, were suspended
and faced potential charges in connection with a string of bomb threats that
temporarily forced the lockdown of seven Fort Worth schools.
February 14, 2002: Warren, OH
A male high school student was arrested after being stopped by the principal
and assistant principal who found two sticks of dynamite and blasting caps
in his coat. His father tipped off police that he may have had a gun
and, although no guns were found, the student resisted school officials who
stopped him and found the dynamite.
February 20, 2002: Corpus Christi, TX
A 15-year-old male high school student was arrested for calling in a bomb
threat to his own school from a pay phone around 3pm. The suspect had
been observed within the sight of the high school's security cameras at the
time the threat was made and when confronted, he ran, as did three other
males.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sample of Other
Reported
School Crime, Violence, and Crisis Incidents in 2001-2002
August 16, 2001:
Nashville, TN
A 17-year-old high school student was hospitalized with facial cuts and
bruises on his head after an altercation in his high school parking lot
after school. The victim was found by the school resource officer,
who had been told by another student of the attack, and the officer was
able to assist the student into the building where he received medical
attention until the ambulance arrived. The victim spent a week in the
neurological intensive care unit at the hospital before being released,
according to reports. The suspect was a student from an alternative
school.
August 17, 2001:
Deltona, FL
An 11-year-old middle school student was arrested after
threatening classmates with a pellet gun at their bus stop, according to
police. The sixth-grader targeted two male students, ages 11 and 12,
after allegedly being harassed and teased by them. The students on
the bus reported the incident to their school resource officer and the boy
was arrested at his home.
August 20, 2001: Los
Angeles, CA
A 19-year-old male was arrested on August 22nd in connection with the
raping and robbing of two teachers in an elementary school kindergarten
room as they prepared for the opening of the school year. Students
were not in school on the day of the attack.
August 20, 2001: New
Orleans, LA
A 17-year-old female high school student was arrested for slapping
a teacher who was escorting the student to the back of the lunch line.
August 22, 2001:
North Charleston, SC
Two students were arrested and a third student was at large in
connection with weapon and drug charges at a high school. A shotgun
and loaded pistol were found after school resource officers stopped the
students in a rental car in the high school parking lot, smelled
marijuana, and searched the car.
August 23, 2001:
Nashville, TN
An 18-year-old high school senior was arrested and charged for bringing a
fully loaded semiautomatic pistol, a .44 caliber Desert Eagle magnum, to
school along with 10 grams of marijuana and a box of ammunition for
another caliber firearm. The student was apprehended by school
resource officers are students reported to them that a gun was seen in the
senior's car in the school parking lot.
August 24, 2001: Port
St. Lucie, FL
Two 13-year-old middle school students were arrested after putting a snake
in the book bag of a classmate who panicked and threw it at the feet of
his school bus driver, almost causing a crash.
August 24, 2001:
Greensboro, NC
A 42-year-old male English teacher broke his leg in two places while
trying to break up two middle school students fighting in the hallway
outside of his classroom. The teacher underwent surgery and will
reportedly miss at least one week of work and his leg will be in a case
for six weeks, with a full recovery expected in six months. Both
students, ages 15 and 16, were expected to be charged for fighting and
assault on the school official.
August 27, 2001:
Greensboro, NC
A 24-year-old female high school teacher was hit in the face while trying
to assist another teacher break up a fight between two girls, ages 14 and
16. The incident happened outside the main school building around
7:45a.m., 15 minutes before school starts, according to reports.
August 27, 2001:
Milwaukee, WI
A 49-year-old elementary school teacher was allegedly attacked by a male
identified as her husband after he reportedly rammed her car as she drove
away from the school parking lot at the end of the school day. The
school's principal, maintenance workers, and bystanders assisted the
woman. The attacker was arrested. News report indicated that the
incident was an apparent domestic dispute, although this was not
confirmed, as a witness stated that the male made comments about his check
and divorce papers.
August 28, 2001:
Sarasota, FL
A 17-year-old student was charged with aggravated battery after school
officials said he was ramming his car into a school security guard who was
pursuing him for allegedly pushing two teachers who tried to take away his
cellular phone that was prohibited from having in school. A private
investigator who witnessed the incident intervened and the teen stopped
after the investigator pulled his firearm.
August 30, 2001: Palm
Beach, FL
A 16-year-old ninth-grader was slashed in the abdomen with a box cutter by
another 16-year-old ninth-grader during a fight in a school courtyard
about 10 minutes before the high school's dismissal. The victim was
treated and released at the hospital.
September 4, 2001:
Lowell, IN
A high school and an elementary school went into a lockdown after police
notified them of a hostage situation at a nearby bank. A gunman with
a sawed-off shotgun took hostages and police notified the schools of the
activity in the area.
September 4, 2001:
Vero Beach, FL
A 17-year-old female high school student was arrested for possession of a
weapon on school grounds after being found with a box cutter with a large
razor blade after a violent altercation with another student, according to
the school resource officer.
September 4, 2001:
San Jose, CA
Two 18-year-old male high school students were stabbed in a high school
parking lot during a suspected gang-related fight involving six males at
the end of the school day. The males suffered stab wounds to the
stomach.
September 4, 2001:
Punta Gorda, FL
A 13-year-old male high school student was arrested for bringing a knife
to school to allegedly protect himself from bullies. The student had
shown the knife to a middle school student, who reported to his school
resource officer, who in turn followed up with high school officials.
The two-bladed butterfly knife was found in the boy's backpack.
September 5, 2001:
Logansport, LA
Two 10-year-old elementary students were arrested for having a loaded .25
caliber gun on campus two times in a two-week period. School
resource officers investigated the report and located the gun at a home of
one of the students.
September 5, 2001:
Atlantic Beach, FL
Police arrested a 17-year-old vocational school student for possession of
a .380 semiautomatic gun at school. The student became involved in a
struggle with a teacher, who asked to see what the student had wrapped in
T-shirt, which the student went to retrieve after returning to the school
from a fishing trip with the teacher and other students. The student
fled and the teacher retained the gun. School officials searched the
student's locker and found a magazine clip for the gun containing six
bullets. The student was later arrested by police. He had
reportedly been arrested three times in the prior year and a half on drug
and burglary charges.
September 6, 2001:
Gaffney, SC
Three students and two teachers were injured in an alleged gang-related
fight over a girl that lasted between five and ten minutes outside of a
high school classroom. Two students, ages 17 and 18, reported waited
outside a classroom for another student, age 15. The 15-year-old
received several cuts to the head, while two teachers and two other
students also received minor injuries.
September 10, 2001:
Minneapolis, MN
A 14-year-old male student football player and a 45-year-old male coach
were stabbed at a south Minneapolis high school when a fight broke out
after football practice. The student was reportedly stabbed in the
chest and the coach was stabbed in the back as he tried to break up the
fight, according to reports. The freshman football player was in
serious condition at a county hospital and the coach was in stable
condition that evening. Police said investigators believe that
conflict stemmed from differences between African-American and Somali
students. The school's assistant principal reported that security guards
had been on duty in previous years, but due to budget cuts, coaches and
teachers had taken over security duties.
September 14, 2001:
Arabi, Louisiana
A 17-year-old alternative school student was arrested after a scuffle with
a school resource officer. According to reports, the student refused
to sit down, made a threatening move, and began wrestling with resource
officer who was forced to use pepper spray to subdue the male. The
student was reportedly booked for assault, resisting arrest, and
disturbing the peace.
September 17, 2001:
Portland, OR
A 16-year-old male high school student was arrested by school police for
possession of a .380 caliber semiautomatic gun after a teacher overheard
the student tell another student in Spanish that he was going to fight
someone, after which he pulled a gun from his waistband and put it in his
locker. The teacher informed a campus monitor and they escorted the
student to the vice principal, who called school police. School
police found the gun, which was loaded with five rounds of ammunition, in
the locker.
September 25, 2001:
Memphis, TN
A 14-year-old girl allegedly stabbed a 12-year-old male middle school
student in the chest with a pencil following a fight between the
12-year-old male and another student, who is the girl's cousin. The
stabbing victim underwent surgery and was in serious condition in
intensive care according to reports.
September 25, 2001:
Albuquerque, NM
A 10-year old fifth-grade male student was found with a loaded .380
caliber semi-automatic gun after fellow students reported to a teacher
that the boy had a gun in school. The student was suspended and
placed in the county detention center. The gun reportedly had a full
clip and a round in the chamber according to school police.
September 26, 2001:
Indianapolis, IN
A 15-year-old eighth-grade male middle school student was arrested for
possessing a loaded .25 caliber gun to school concealed in his sock.
Earlier in September, two elementary school brothers were also arrested in
an unrelated incident after bringing a loaded .25 caliber gun to school in
a book bag of an older sibling.
September 26, 2001:
Boston, MA
A Boston school police officer was cut on the hand as he and another
office struggled to take away a knife from an 18-year-old at a high
school. The suspect was found hiding around a corner with a bandanna
across his face and a knife concealed in the sleeve of his jacket,
according to reports. A 14-year-old female student was also
reportedly arrested for letting the suspect into the school.
September 26, 2001:
Chattanooga, TN
A 47-year-old male walked into a middle school classroom where his
41-year-old wife was teaching and repeatedly struck her in the head and
hands with a claw hammer as students went to get help, according to
police. The school went into a lockdown and crisis counseling was
later provided. The school's resource officer was in court at the
time of the incident. The incident reportedly stemmed from a
domestic dispute between the teacher, who sought a court protection order
two days earlier, and her husband.
September 26, 2001:
Tampa, FL
A 16-year-old high school student was arrested by the school resource
officer after he was found with a 6-inch knife.
September 27, 2001:
Dixon, CA
A 50-year-old male from England was arrested after being found in the
girls' restroom of a high school. The male reportedly had been
following female students around campus earlier offering to take their
pictures.
September 28, 2001:
Lexington, KY
A 15-year-old male student was stabbed in the chest by another 15-year-old
male student at a high school just outside the school doors. The
victim was in serious but stable condition later that day.
October 2, 2001:
Buffalo, NY
Twelve female students were taken to the hospital after a substance
believed to be pepper spray was allegedly sprayed by a 15-year-old female
sophomore following an altercation involving girls ranging in age from 13
to 15, according to reports.
October 2, 2001:
Richardson, TX
Four junior high school students reported swallowed eight to 12 capsules,
overdosing on over-the-counter cough/cold/congestion medicine, nicknamed
triple C, according to reports. The school's resource officer and
staff observed the students as lethargic, unresponsive, and having very
dilated pupils.
October 4, 2001:
Kansas City, MO
Eight Southwest Charter School students were arrested after four of them
allegedly assaulted an off-duty police officer working at the school and
others created a disturbance.
October 10, 2001:
Chesapeake, VA
A 16-year-old male junior was arrested in connection with an incident in
which six people were quarantined following a suspicious envelope
containing white powder being found in a high school hallway. The
incident, determined to be a hoax, followed national incidents of anthrax
scares across the nation. The principal, a school nurse, a student,
the school resource officer, and two police evidence technicians were
quarantined during the time that the substance was being tested.
October 11, 2001:
Detroit, MI
A mercury spill at a high school forced school officials to close the
school and test more than 1,400 students and staff for contamination.
Although it was unclear whether the spill was deliberate, according to
reports, there allegedly was no mercury in the building prior to the
incident, so it must have been brought into the school. 37 people
had mercury on their shoes and clothing after the spill was discovered in
the science wing of the school.
October 11, 2001: St.
Augustine, FL
Approximately 18 employees and two students at the Florida School for the
Deaf and Blind were decontaminated after a suspicious envelope containing
a white powder substance was delivered to the student bank. The
building was sealed pending completion of lab tests.
October 12, 2001: New
Orleans, LA
A man who was shot several blocks from an elementary school ran into the
school seeking refuge, according to reports. Police surrounded the
school and ambulance personnel assisted the injured male. No students
reportedly saw the male.
October 12, 2001:
Goshen, IN
Two males, both age 18, were charged for severely beating a female high
school teacher in the school parking lot. The teacher was struck by
one male whose fist was closed around the head of a hammer, leaving the
teacher with two skull fractures, a crushed eye cavity and a crushed sinus
cavity. The males were reportedly planning to steal her car.
October 15, 2001:
Lexington, KY
A middle school was evacuated and 12 people, including the school's
principal, were quarantined, decontaminated, and sent to the hospital for
tests after an envelope containing a white powdery substance was opened in
an office. The envelope did not have a return address or postmark
according to reports.
October 15, 2001:
Indianapolis, IN
Approximately 175 people were quarantined inside a non-public school after
a powder residue was found beneath gym bleachers. No student had
touched it or inhaled it, according to reports, and it was being tested.
In another Indiana county, police were called to an elementary school
where a suspicious substance, later thought to be flour, was found among
packages being delivered to the school. And, in yet another Indiana
county, workers at two preschools reported finding a white powdery
substance while opening deliveries of canned goods from the same company
involved in the other incident noted above.
October 15, 2001:
Seattle, WA
A high school went into lockdown after a student was robbed at gunpoint on
the third floor of the school by an unidentified suspect. The
suspect was not immediately located and no shots were fired, according to
reports.
October 16, 2001:
Palm Coast, FL
A 17-year-old male student was arrested and charged with planting a hoax
of a destructive device after allegedly admitting that he spread white
powder on a teacher's desk to force an evacuation of the school due to an
anthrax scare.
October 15-17, 2001:
Plano, TX
HAZMAT officials responded to one middle school and two elementary
schools after campus officials reported unknown substances on school
grounds. On October 15th, the substance in an elementary school workroom
was discovered to be waste from a tissue box. On October 16th, the
substance in a middle school bathroom was determined to be scouring
powder. On October 17th, debris from a ceiling tile was found in a
fourth-grade elementary classroom.
October 17, 2001:
Deltona, FL
An eighth-grade middle school student was arrested after allegedly
scattering a powdered drink mix around his school in a suspected anthrax
hoax. A hazardous materials team responded to the school after
students reported seeing a white powder on the floor of a boys' bathroom
and on a water fountain, causing an evacuation of students.
October 17, 2001:
South Berwick, ME
A 15-year-old male was charged with elevated aggravated assault for
allegedly firing a .22 caliber handgun, which was confiscated along with
approximately 100 bullets from the male outside of a high school, in
connection with the gun allegedly being fired toward four juveniles off
school grounds the day before the arrest. Police credited the school
students and the school resource officer for their excellent relationship
that contributed to the suspect being quickly identified and apprehended.
October 18, 2001:
Vineland, NJ
A 6-year-old male student was charged with aggravated assault after
allegedly injuring a 7-year-old classmate with a kitchen knife that the
6-year-old threw at the victim following a verbal dispute.
October 19, 2001:
American Canyon, CA
A 13-year-old seventh-grade middle school male student was arrested after
allegedly attempting to pass an envelope to a school secretary and asking
her to deliver it to his teacher. The secretary was suspicious of
the envelope, opened it, and found white power inside. The student,
who had reportedly written a threatening comment to the teacher on a class
assignment several weeks prior, later told a deputy that the powder was
sugar.
October 19, 2001:
Mobile, AL
An 11-year-old female middle school student was arrested for terrorist
threats after officers discovered a container filled with white power
following her telling other students she had a container of anthrax.
October 19, 2001:
Oxon Hill, MD
A 16-year-old high school student was in critical condition after being
stabbed in the chest several times during a fight at 10:30am inside the
school.
October 23, 2001:
Petersburg, VA
A 15-year-old eighth-grade male student, who refused to take off his
headphones and turn off the CD player in his jacket, stabbed his
first-year female high school teacher several times with a pocketknife.
The male was arrested.
October 23, 2001:
Inverness, FL
A 15-year-old male student was arrested after allegedly typing, "Anthrax
is here and in this school, bye now," during a computer class and printed
out the message. Another student reported it to the teacher, who in
turn notified the principal. The principal contacted a school
resource officer and the student was arrested after the student initially
claimed he was referring to a musical group named Anthrax.
October 23, 2001:
Richmond, CA
A high school went into lockdown for nearly two hours after an attendance
office worker opened an envelope that spilled white powder. The
powder tested negative for anthrax.
October 24, 2001:
Albuquerque, NM
Police responded to a riot at a high school after the school's resource
officer asked for additional help during the lunch hours and crowds
gathered, gave dirty looks and threw gang signs. Officers stayed for
special attention at dismissal due to concerns of fights. No fights
occurred.
October 24, 2001:
East Baton Rouge, LA
A 17-year-old male was arrested after allegedly pouring Liquid Paper on
his desk and telling his teacher that it was the "white powder stuff"
being sent through the mail.
October 24, 2001:
Charleston, W.Va.
A 15-year-old female and a 14-year-old male were arrested for disturbance
of their junior high school after about 500 students were evacuated when a
guidance counselor opened a letter containing a white powdery substance,
possibly believed to be baby powder.
October 24, 2001: Easton,
PA
Police and safety officials were called to two school district buildings
to respond to suspected hazardous materials that turned out to be false
alarms. In one case, officials responded to an elementary school
when a custodian discovered a "granular substance" inside a vent in an
empty classroom. In the other incident, two workers at the
district's earned income tax office came in with rashes which turned out
to the shingles and an allergic reaction to a cleaning chemical.
October 25, 2001:
Boston, MA
A high school was evacuated and two secretaries, a school police officer,
and two HAZMAT technicians were decontaminated after being exposed to a
letter falsely claiming to contain the Ebola virus. Tests on the
items were negative. The letter's envelope reportedly contained no
return address and was postmarked from Lithuania.
October 26, 2001:
Louisville, KY
Two fifth-grade female elementary students, ages 10 and 12, were arrested
for terroristic threats after allegedly leaving an envelope with white
powder and a threat at the front office counter of the school.
October 26, 2001:
Alexandria, MN
An elementary school closed after a parent attending a meeting in the
school's library the night before noticed a thin layer of white powder
near a newly displayed book. Officials believed that the powder was
talcum residue used by the publishing company in shipping.
October 30, 2001:
Travelers Rest, SC
Two ninth-grade males, students from two different high schools, were
arrested in connection with a white powder substance scattered across the
courtyard a one of their high schools, a scare that kept the school closed
for two days while authorities investigated the incident. Two
individuals wearing heavy winter clothing, hoods and gloves were caught on
the school's security cameras spreading white powder and vandalizing
school property for about 15 minutes according to reports.
October 30, 2001:
Ridgeland, MS
A 16-year-old male from Irving, Texas, was arrested after being found in a
middle school's library looking for a female student he had been
communicating with via the Internet for several months, according to
reports. The male allegedly first claimed that he wanted to enroll
in the school, but further questioning by school officials lead them to
call police.
October 31, 2001:
Salt Lake City, UT
A 13-year-old female intermediate school student was stabbed and possibly
raped after being picked up while on the way to school.
November 1, 2001:
Sacramento, CA
Eleven students were reportedly involved in assaults and fights on their
high school campus during the first two months of school. Additional
security officers were hired, police presence was beefed up, and staff and
parent visibility was encouraged.
November 1, 2001:
Omaha, NE
A 12-year-old male middle school student was arrested on suspicion of
felony terroristic threats for allegedly bringing a bag of baby powder
marked "Antrax" to school and leaving it on the stairs, according to
police.
November 2, 2001:
Plant City, FL
Two high school male students, ages 15 and 16, were charged with
disruption of a school function after giving four other students envelopes
containing white powder.
November 2, 2001: Tarpon
Springs, FL
An 11-year-old sixth-grade male middle school student pulled a pocketknife
on another 11-year-old student in a locker room as a fight began over a
baseball game on the school's physical education field. A teacher
broke up the fight and took the knife, turning it over to the school
resource officer.
November 2, 2001:
Battle Ground, WA
A 16-year-old male high school student was arrested after a white powder,
later determined to be a "sugar-like substance," was found in a hallway of
the high school. The item was found by a member of the school's
security staff outside of a restroom in a main hallway.
November 5, 2001:
Macon, GA
An elementary school teacher was struck in her face, had her head slammed
to the ground, and was raped by a male in her trailer classroom behind the
school as classes were being dismissed.
November 6, 2001:
Shiprock, NM
Seven high school students, several who had been suspended, attacked the
school's interim principal, assistant principal, and several staff,
threatening to kill them and throwing rocks at them. One of the
suspects pulled a knife on an educational assistant, who escaped being
stabbed, but the knife did touch his arm. Police were called and charges
were filed.
November 6, 2001:
Mill Valley, CA
A high school was evacuated after a white powder spilled from an envelope
containing a threatening note that was placed in teacher's mailbox next to
the principal's office. The letter reportedly mentioned anthrax. The
teacher, unaware of the potential danger, reportedly took the envelope
home and then returned it to the school the next day, where the powder
spilled out.
November 7, 2001:
Belle Fourche, SD
Two 18-year-old male high school students were arrested and charged in
connection with alleged death threats against students at their school.
One of the males reportedly had been seen with a 9mm Glock gun and
practicing shooting the gun, and making a list of people at the school he
wanted to kill. The second male allegedly had been chasing around
the other male in connection with alleged threats made against him, his
girlfriend, and their baby. The school's superintendent said that
there was never a gun actually at the school.
November 7, 2001:
Boston, MA
Six female students and one male were arrested after at least a dozen
students reportedly engaged in what police were investigating as a
possible hate crime at their high school. The argument allegedly
started in a fifth-floor hallway of the school over an earring.
November 7, 2001:
Roswell, GA
A 14-year-old male eighth-grade middle school student was arrested and
placed in the county detention center for beating his 48-year-old female
school bus driver. The 14-year veteran bus driver required 17
stitches in her forehead and her right eye was swollen shut after the male
reportedly bit and attacked her after she threatened to write him up for
continued misbehavior on the bus. The student reportedly put her in
a choke hold as she pulled over her bus and tried to call for police, and
proceeded to attack her after throwing her cell phone out into traffic.
November 8, 2001:
Springfield, LA
A 38-year-old female and a 37-year-old security guard armed with a firearm
were arrested as the female, the mother, and the male attempted to kidnap
the student from the student's middle school. The school's principal
stopped them from taking the child and the two were surrounded by students
and teachers until police arrived and arrested the pair. The child's
parents were reportedly involved in a custody battle.
November 8, 2001:
Bradenton, FL
A 9-year-old fourth-grade male elementary school student was taken to the
Juvenile Assessment Center on a felony charge for possessing a loaded
.22-caliber handgun in school. A classmate saw the gun in the
student's desk and took the gun to the class teacher, according to
reports. The boy told investigators a 14-year-old family friend had
hidden the gun in his family's laundry room.
November 8, 2001:
Ocala, FL
Area schools were locked down for about 20 minutes as a student pilot
flying a single-engine plane was forced to land at an Ocala airport by two
F-16 fighter jets.
November 8, 2001:
Allentown, PA
A 19-year-old male former high school student was detained by the school
resource officer and the suspect was arrested after he assaulted a teacher
who had tried to intercede in his attack on a student. The male was
also charged for possession of a controlled substance when Ecstasy was
found on his possession.
November 9, 2001:
Baltimore, MD
Two 15-year-old male high school students were charged with attempted
murder and assault, and police were seeking 11 others, for the alleged
gang-related beating of a 15-year-old ninth-grade male about 100 yards
from their high school at 9am. The victim was listed in critical
condition by the hospital.
November 9, 2001:
Livermore, CA
A high school was put into a lockdown as SWAT team members searched the
campus in the morning following a report of a student carrying a handgun
and showing it to fellow students. Two students were detained and
questioned, with one of them subsequently released and the other booked
into juvenile hall.
November 12, 2001:
Detroit, MI
A 13-year-old eighth-grade middle school student was reportedly found by a
school security officer to be in possession of a handgun. The
student said she brought the gun to her school because she was concerned
about some girls threatening her, according to police.
November 13, 2001:
Port Richey, FL
An elementary school and a middle school were locked down as sheriff's
deputies searched for a bank robber. The robber was not located.
November 13, 2001:
Sterling, VA
A 14-year-old male high school student was arrested after the school's
resource officer found a loaded gun in his backpack following tips from
other students.
November 13, 2001:
Philadelphia, PA
A 17-year-old male high school senior honors student was assaulted by
seven students in a school hallway while on the way to his lunch period
after picking up some work from a class. The victim received a
fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain that required brain surgery.
Seven suspects were charged in the attack. The State House of
Representatives held a subsequent hearing in December of 2001 after it
became known that neither school nor police officials at the school
reported the incident to the police, but instead the incident was reported
about five hours later by hospital staff.
November 13, 2001:
Dayton, OH
A 35-year-old female was accused of dragging a deputy sheriff, a high
school resource officer, with her car after she fled when he attempted to
talk with her about an warrant that had been issued for her arrest.
The female is the mother of one youngster who did not attend the school,
but was in a group of non-students outside the school that the deputy was
talking to prior to the incident. The deputy became caught in her
car door and was dragged as she drove away while fleeing the scene.
November 19, 2001: Lincoln,
NE
A 13-year-old female middle school student was stabbed by scissors by
another 13-year-old female student during a dispute in class. The
victim received a small cut on the head, according to police.
November 19, 2001:
Richmond, VA
A 22-year-old, first-year female teacher was assaulted and robbed by a
male who claimed to have a gun as she prepared her day's lessons while in
her second-grade classroom around 7:15am. The incident occurred
about 45 minutes before school started. The male robbed the teacher
of her jewelry and hit her in the head. She screamed and he ran out of the
building.
November 20, 2001:
Belton, MO
Two men, ages 18 and 26, were arraigned on felony charges of distributing
drugs near a school after police began investigating reports of drug
sales, and the presence of business cards used by the drug dealers, in the
city high school and middle school. The investigation followed the
arrest of a 7th-grader caught with marijuana said he used the business
card to buy drugs. To track down the drug dealers, undercover police
simply called the number on the business card.
November 20, 2001:
Spokane, MO
A 63-year-old retired school superintendent was charged with unlawful use
of a weapon after leaving a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, an AK-47
with a bayonet and black metal club with a knife in the handle in the
storage room near his former office. The superintendent, who retired
October 31st, reportedly acknowledged the mistake, saying that he put them
there three or four years ago because guns had been stolen in a rash of
burglaries near his home. School officials clearing the stockroom
found the weapons and alerted authorities.
November 24, 2001:
New Bedford, MA
Police arrested three high school male students, one age 17 and the other
two juveniles, and planned on arresting at least two other juveniles, in
connection with an alleged massacre plot at their high school.
Police seized bomb-making instructions, knives, shotgun shells and
pictures of the suspects holding what appeared to be handguns from their
homes. Police said a custodian found a letter at the high school
allegedly outlining the suspects' plans to detonate explosives, shoot
fleeing students, and kill themselves when police arrived. School
and police
credited school resource officers, students, and the custodian after students came forward to the
officers with information they knew about the plot.
November 26, 2001:
Hephzibah, GA
A 12-year-old female middle school student was found to have a
.380-caliber gun in her book bag after she threatened a classmate in a
feud over boy, according to police. Other students saw the gun and told
the school's public safety officer who found the gun, which was reportedly
loaded with a magazine and one round inside.
November 26, 2001:
Washington, DC
Approximately 700 high school students were evacuated following an
anonymous call to police that reported that anthrax spores had been placed
in the school's ventilation system. Students, who had been taken to
a nearby middle school, were allowed to return after HAZMAT officials
determined the call was a hoax.
November 27, 2001:
Jacksonville, FL
A 57-year-old middle school teacher was slashed with a razor blade or
knife taped to one end of a stick carried by a male believed to be a
transient person, according to police. The teacher heard a knock at
a door about 7:30am, opened the door, and was struck on the side of his
face and jaw, after which he was slashed on the arm as he raised it to
defend himself. Classes at the school do not start until 9:15am.
The teacher was treated at the hospital and released. Police believe
he was randomly selected and there was no conversation or apparent motive
known.
December 3, 2001:
Bowling Green, VA
A 13-year-old male middle school student was arrested for allegedly taking
a gun to school and talking of killing three other middle school students.
The boy was arrested at home later that evening and a .38 caliber handgun
was reportedly found in his bedroom.
December 4, 2001:
Boulder, CO
Two 14-year-old male middle schools had been removed from school and were
under investigation for allegedly threatening violence and making a verbal
list of students they were going to kill. A total of 16 students and
one teacher were reportedly on the list.
December 4, 2001:
Terre Haute, IN
A 17-year-old female and a 15-year-old male, both high school students,
were charged with causing an anthrax scare at a city high school after a
letter written with cut-out letters and threatening anthrax contamination
was left in the school's main office. A teacher put the envelope in
a plastic bag and the office was evacuated as police were called to the
school.
December 4, 2001:
Milwaukee, WI
A total of 59 students were suspended for a participating in an estimated
six to 15 fights that occurred throughout the school and school grounds
over a period of a couple hours according to reports. It was
believed to be the largest number of students suspended in a single
incident in the district's history.
December 4, 2002:
Napa, CA
A 13-year-old female middle school student was arrested and charged with a
felony for writing a letter in which she threatened to kill her science
teacher with a 20-guage shotgun and then stab her with a knife.
December 5, 2001: Stuart,
FL
A high school assistant principal was assaulted and his head was hit
against a wall as he was restraining a 15-year-old female student involved
in a fight. Another administrator was knocked over a bench during
the fight. The two females involved in the fight were arrested and
charged.
December 6, 2001:
Goshen, IN
An elementary school went into lockdown and a high school was used for
gathering families following a shooting at a Goshen factory that resulted
in one person killed, six people wounded, and the suicide of the shooter.
December 6, 2001:
Chattanooga, TN
A 16-year-old female student was arrested for allegedly injuring two
female students and a female teacher with a knife during a fight that
started in a hallway and spilled over into a classroom. The victims
received minor cuts, scratches, and bruises according to reports.
December 7, 2001:
Huntley, IL
A 39-year-old substitute school nurse was arrested and charged with
stealing Ritalin and Adderall, prescription drugs for students, in
connection with the alleged theft of 300 pills from four schools over a
period of time. The drugs are stimulants used to treat attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder in children. The schools allegedly included a
high school, middle school, and two elementary schools.
December 10, 2001:
San Bernardino, CA
A 17-year-old high school male was stabbed five to six times with a
hunting knife having an approximately 5-inch-long blade during an
altercation in the school cafeteria. The suspect, another student, was
arrested. Police said the incident may have been gang-related.
December 11, 2001:
Austin, TX
FBI agents reportedly alerted schools throughout Texas that a vague
threat had been received indicating that two people might retaliate
against unidentified Texas schools for the U.S. bombings in Afghanistan.
The threat, received from a foreign government, was vague, lacked details, and was being investigated for its
credibility, according to reports. Sources also were quoted as saying that
Nevada schools were also threatened, although federal officials later
denied that any state other than Texas had threats against its schools.
December 11, 2001:
Hampton, VA
A 14-year-old male attempted to hijack his school bus by putting a steak
knife to the driver's throat. Two other students charged him and
wrestled the male off the bus. The student ran away and another
student pursued him. A school resource officer, who responded to the
scene, was able to go after the student, who was charged with carjacking,
attempted malicious wounding and abduction.
December 12, 2001: Austin,
TX
Two coaches, ages 37 and 46, were found fighting in a coach's bathroom and
office, and then into a school hallway, where a student called another
teacher to separate the two men, according to reports. The
37-year-old male, an assistant varsity football coach, alleged that the
46-year-old male, an assistant junior varsity football coach, struck him
in the head with a heavy stick and the two proceeded to struggle
afterwards. The brawl reportedly culminated from an ongoing dispute
between the two males, who had been employed at the school for four and
twenty one years, respectively. The 37-year-old male was treated for six
deep cuts on his head. The 46-year-old male was charged with
aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
December 13, 2001:
Beacon Falls, CT
An elementary school was closed after white powder, suspected of possibly
being anthrax, was found by the principal on the building's front steps
with a trail to the boiler room. The school serves 468 students
according to reports. Preliminary tests showed the powder to be a mixture
of flour and baking soda.
December 13, 2001:
Taunton, MA
A 10-year-old male middle school student allegedly attacked his principal,
punching the principal and breaking the principal's glasses. The
principal was also kicked in the head. In an unrelated incident at
another middle school, a 12-year-old male student was arrested for
allegedly threatening to kill his principal and then charging at him with
a pencil, disrupting an assembly. And in another unrelated incident,
a 15-year-old female high school student was arrested for bringing a knife
to her high school.
December 13, 2001: Newark,
NJ
Sixteen high school students were suspended and charged by police
with disorderly conduct in connection with a large fight that took place
after students re-entered the high school following an hour-long
evacuation due to a bomb threat. The fight, which took place on the
second floor of the school, was believed to have stemmed from a prior
incident involving members of the football team, who were
African-American, and other students, who are Haitian-American.
December 14, 2001:
Knoxville, TN
A 14-year-old male student was arrested by his high school's resource
officer after bringing two handguns loaded with 21 rounds of ammunition
and another 76 rounds of ammunition in his backpack to school. The
student told police he was considering shooting his teacher and then
himself.
December 14, 2001:
San Francisco, CA
A 16-year-old male high school student was arrested and charged with
five counts of attempted murder after allegedly intentionally leaving the
valve to a flammable gas tank open after welding class. One tank was
reportedly close to a 220-volt arch welder, according to police. The
school's assistant principal was quoted as saying that the student was
aware of the threat to life and knew that more was being delivered, having
allegedly told other students of his plan the night before the incident.
December 17, 2001:
Deltona, FL
A 14-year-old male middle school student was arrested after being found
with approximately 20 ounces of gasoline in a plastic bottle and a
lighter. The student reportedly told several students that he was
going to burn down his school. He had been showing off the gasoline on his
school bus when he made the threats.
December 17, 2001:
Newark, DE
A 19-year-old male high school student was arrested for carrying a .22
caliber handgun in his backpack. A fellow student spotted the gun
and told the school nurse, who notified the trooper assigned to the school
and school administrators. The trooper confiscated the gun and the
student was arrested.
December 17, 2001:
Federal Way, WA
A female second-year special education teacher was allegedly assaulted by
a 15-year-old male student who reportedly hit her with his fists and
banged her head into a desk during class. The student was not
enrolled in special education classes and had no known prior history of
physical outbursts, according to reports. The teacher was admitted
to the hospital at least three times following the incident for injuries.
The student reportedly was kicked out of 15 schools before coming to the
State of Washington according to media reports.
December 18, 2001:
Glasgow, KY
A group of middle school students were removed from their classes after
school officials were informed by resource officers that the students were
allegedly planning to wear black trench coats and bring guns to school in
January, according to reports. Police were further investigating the
matter.
December 18, 2001:
Hilton Head Island, SC
Two boys age 15, and another boy age 14, were arrested after approaching a
high school campus with a BB gun. Faculty locked down the high
school, middle school, and elementary school after a lawyer saw the boys
outside his office with a pistol and notified police upon believing it to
be a real gun. The males reportedly told police they were skipping
school at the high school and were shooting the guns at birds and cans.
December 19, 2001:
Boston, MA
Three teens were charged for the beating of a high school male sophomore
and the theft of his wallet at knifepoint at the edge of the campus.
Police were reportedly considering hate crime charges against the
offenders because they allegedly yelled a racial slur at the victim, a
white male, during the beating. The suspects were ages 13, 15, and
16, and were not students at the school where the victim attended and was
attacked.
December 19, 2001:
Portland, OR
A 12-year-old male middle school student was arrested for threatening to
use a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot two 11-year-old boys at the school.
The boy had detailed plans of how and when he could gain access to a gun,
according to police.
December 20, 2001:
Los Gatos, CA
Police arrested 13 high school students and five others in an undercover
investigation of the sale and possession of a variety of small amounts of
street drugs including marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, and ectasy.
December 20, 2001:
Arlington, TX
A 17-year-old received a broken jaw and was left unconscious on the steps
of a portable classroom at a high school. Three students were
arrested.
January 3, 2002:
Boston, MA
A 15-year-old male high school student was arrested and charged with
threats to do bodily harm after an assistant principal saw the male with a
gun in his waistband. The male fled the school when the
administrator brought him to her office to search him, lifted his shirt,
and saw the gun. Police responded and apprehended the male at a
subway station, but the gun was not located.
January 3, 2002:
Gaithersburg, MD
A 10-year-old male special education elementary school student was taken
to a medical facility for a psychological examination after an outburst
that included allegedly assaulting his 42-year-old teacher, cutting
computer wires and threatening authorities with scissors. The
teacher was treated at the hospital for a head laceration.
January 8, 2002: Leon
County, FL
Two male high school students, ages 15 and 17, were charged after the
older male allegedly brought a .25 caliber semi-automatic gun to school
and gave it to the younger male. The school resource officer was
told by a female student that there was a gun on campus and the officer
tracked it down to the two males.
January 8, 2002:
Millard, NE
High school officials were on high alert after a notebook containing
threats was found in the locker of a 15-year-old student who took his own
life the day before, according to officials. The threats reportedly
indicated that the male and another 15-year-old would harm students and
faculty.
January 9, 2002:
Philadelphia, PA
A 13-year-old female middle school student allegedly passed out the
prescription sedative Xanax to 28 classmates, ages 12-15, who took
the drug. Twelve of the students received hospital treatment.
January 10, 2002:
Henrico, VA
Two students, one known to be age 16, were reportedly the target of police
and school investigations in connection with allegations of hacking into
the computers of teachers and other students using their county-issued
laptop computers.
January 10, 2002:
Raymond, MS
A 17-year-old male suspended student returned to school and held the
principal and assistant principal hostage at gunpoint for about three
hours. The suspect released the hostages unharmed after talking with
police negotiators, according to the sheriff's department. Students
were evacuated from the school. The suspect reportedly had been
suspended after a classroom incident and escorted from the building by a
police officer earlier in the day.
January 10, 2002:
Springfield, IL
A 16-year-old male high school student was charged with unlawful use of a
weapon after the principal and school resource officer found a 45-caliber
handgun and ammunition clip was found stashed in an abandoned air
conditioner in a wooded area behind the school. Another student
turned in a note allegedly written by the male in which he suggested that
he wanted to shoot three other students and then himself.
January 11, 2002:
Turlock, CA
One student stabbed another in the chest with a pencil at an alternative
education school. The pencil reportedly was stuck in the victim's
chest. No additional details were provided.
January 14, 2002:
Plainfield, NJ
A 16-year-old female high school student was slashed in the face after she
attempted to break up a fight. The suspect was reportedly a
17-year-old female student.
January 15, 2002:
Rapid City, SD
A male, described in his mid-teens to mid-20s, was being sought by
authorities for molesting a young student inside an elementary school
restroom.
January 15, 2002:
Arlington, TX
Three high school students were being investigated after receiving an
anonymous tip that they brought two unloaded handguns onto a school bus.
Police reported that the students had fired the guns earlier that morning
at a nearby park.
January 16, 2002:
Fort Pierce, FL
An 18-year-old male student was charged with three felonies after
allegedly assaulting a school resource officer and swatting away his radio
in a school restroom. The suspect refused to drop a glove that the
officer feared contained a weapon and when the officer called for
assistance on his radio, the male knocked it out of his hand and assaulted
the officer after cursing at him. Another student joined in after the
officer. The original male was apprehended and both were charged.
January 17, 2002:
Santee, CA
A male high school student was arrested in connection with bringing two BB
guns and a knife to campus after a female student with a backpack similar
to the male's backpack unintentionally opened it and saw the weapons.
The student then notified the school resource officer.
January 18, 2002:
Bradenton, FL
A 14-year-old male eighth-grader was arrested for possession of a loaded
.380-caliber Baretta after he and three other males were observed acting
suspiciously in a restroom and searched by school resource officers, who
also recovered 1.8 grams of marijuana in each of a half-dozen baggies
found on the students.
January 18, 2002:
Memphis, TN
An armed robber sexually assaulted an elementary school cook and escaped
with less than $15. Armed with a gun, the man reportedly grabbed the
cook as she was taking out trash just after 6am and forced her back inside
the building. He locked three cooks in a pantry and then removed
one, sexually assaulting her.
January 18, 2002:
Greenwood Village and Aurora, CO
A middle school student and a high school student were sexually assaulted
after school in separate attacks at their respective schools. A
34-year-old suspect was arrested in connection with the attacks.
January 18, 2002: Las
Vegas, NV
Police were called to three schools after unexpected packages were
received at the schools from the Saudi Arabian embassy.
Investigation revealed that the packages contained materials to educate
students about Islam. Officials reported 5,000 such packages
randomly mailed to schools nationwide.
January 18, 2002:
Boston, MA
A 40-year-old female high school teacher was arrested for assaulting her
estranged husband while he taught in his classroom at the same school.
January 18, 2002: St.
Louis, MO
A 7th-grade female middle school student was stabbed four to five times in
the left thigh by a 13-year-old suspect, resulting in 20 stitches being
administered at a local hospital.
January 22, 2002:
Boulder, CO
A "hit list" was found in the notebook of an undisclosed middle school
student. Police were called to investigate.
January 23, 2002:
Birdsboro, PA
A school bus driver with a loaded rifle took 13 students from a Christian
school over 100-miles away from their school before turning himself in to
an off-duty police officer in Maryland. No students were harmed.
January 25, 2002:
Windsor, CO
Nearly a third of a high school's 800 students stayed home after a threat
was found on a restroom wall the prior week telling students not to come
to school on January 25th.
January 29, 2002:
Fitchburg, MA
Two sixth-grade male middle school students were arrested after the
principal found a loaded .25-caliber handgun in a binder of one of the
males. One 13-year-old allegedly had brought the gun to school and
later asked a 12-year-old to hide it for him.
January 30, 2002: Los
Angeles, CA
A 65-year-old female picking up her grandchildren at a Christian day
school accidentally plowed her car into 15 children and three adults,
trapping some under her vehicle.
January 30, 2002:
Eugene, OR
A 15-year-old male high school student was arrested for carrying a loaded
.22-caliber gun with 50 extra rounds in his pants pocket. A student
had told the school resource officer that the male was patting his pocket
as if he had a weapon and the officer apprehended the male.
February 1, 2002:
Dallas, TX
Three high school students, 15, 16, and 17, were charged with robbery
after a teacher was reportedly held at gunpoint and robbed of $1,305
collected from the school's store, a cellphone and a set of school keys
around 7:45am in the morning. The students were detained by the
principal after one of them went to the principal to collect a reward for
turning in an accomplice.
February 2, 2002:
Sharon, PA
As many as 100 people were involved in a brawl between rival high schools
at a Saturday basketball game, according to police. Three police
officers were slightly injured and one person was arrested on aggravated
assault and riot charges with more arrests anticipated.
February 5, 2002:
Speedway, IN
A 13-year-old male student was arrested after threatening to shoot and
kill 10 students, the school's principal and a teacher.
February 6, 2002:
Philadelphia, PA
A 10-year-old male student was grazed in his right cheek by a bullet when
an off-duty police officer was conducting a school demonstration and
dropped her gun. The officer's child was reportedly one of 23
students in the classroom at the charter school where the incident
occurred.
February 7, 2002:
Columbia, SC
The owner of a private security firm was arrested and charged with the
embezzlement of $35,000 from ticket sale deposits for home high school
football games that he was hired by the school to collect and deposit.
February 7, 2002:
Pembroke Pines, FL
Two male high school students, ages 15 and 16, were suspects in making
$1,030 in counterfeit money. A female student showed the bills to a
school resource officer who notified the Secret Service, who in turn
interviewed the teens and turned over the case to the local police.
February 9, 2002:
Ventura County, CA
A 41-year-old female high school bookkeeper was taken into custody by
sheriff's officers in connection with the alleged theft of over $150,000
from the school's student store, sporting events and other campus
money-making activities.
February 11, 2002:
New York, New York
A 17-year-old male high school basketball player was stabbed five times
outside of his Bronx school by a gang of five male teens in a situation
police described as a case of mistaken identity. The student was
stabbed twice in the back and once in each side, buttocks, and left hand.
February 11, 2002: East St.
Louis, IL
A gang of approximately 20 males assaulted a 15-year-old male high school
student, beginning in the cafeteria and then stomping him as he was on the
ground inside a school hallway. Two attacks also occurred after a
dance held on the previous Saturday night at the school during which time
about 25 individuals attacked a 14-year-old boy on the property and four
girls attacked a 13-year-old female shortly thereafter.
February 12, 2002:
Spring Valley, CA
Students at a middle school were locked down in their classrooms for an
hour as sheriff's deputies searched for three high school-aged youths, one
who was allegedly armed, that had been observed by a part-time school
employee as she left the school around 2pm. The youth were not
located.
February 12, 2002:
Hephzibah, GA
An 18-year-old male high school student was arrested after the father of a
16-year-old male student called the sheriff's office to report that his
son received a 2-inch wound in his lower back from allegedly being stabbed
with a scribe in the school's metalworks class.
February 12, 2002:
Marietta, IN
A 31-year-old female parent of an elementary school student was arrested
by school resource officers after they smelled what they believed to be
marijuana and subsequently found a marijuana cigarette in the car (and a
marijuana seed in the purse) of the parent who was visiting the school.
February 20, 2002:
Pittsburg, PA
School police officers arrested three suspects and were seeking warrants
for the arrest of five or six others following attacks on adults and
elementary and middle school students around dismissal. School
police officials said that about seven intoxicated youths ages 16-18 began
punching students and adults, including children as young as first
graders, requiring paramedics to treat several people, including a female
school security officer whose finger was injured.
February 21, 2002:
Lilburn, GA
A 29-year-old male was arrested blocks away from an elementary school
after allegedly walking into the school and striking an 8-year-old female
student in the head with a hammer in an apparent random attack.
February 21, 2002:
Cashmere, WA
A 14-year-old male high school student was arrested for allegedly stabbing
a 16-year-old male student who had allegedly made racial slurs toward him.
The victim was reportedly stabbed at least eight times in his back, side
and chest.
February 21, 2002:
Arlington, TX
Six juvenile and two adult students were detained and two police officers
were injured after a fight in a high school cafeteria. One officer
received a cut on his hand and the other received a cut on the head while
breaking up the altercation.
February 22, 2002:
Jefferson County, CO
Four students were arrested as nearly 400 students yelled in protest after
one of those arrested threw a pie in the Columbine High
School cafeteria.
February 23, 2002:
Albuquerque, NM
A 17-year-old female high school senior reported to police that she was
kidnapped at knifepoint in the school parking lot during a weekend
basketball game and then raped nearby.
February 25, 2002:
Anaheim, CA
A 32-year-old male was arrested after running from police who reportedly
watched him try to break into an elementary school. A 38-year-old
male was arrested on February 13th in possession of numerous stolen items.
Police continue investigating the theft of electronic equipment and other
items from more than 50 Orange County elementary, secondary and private
school classrooms over a three month period of time.
February 26, 2002:
St. Paul, MN
A 16-year-old male high school student was arrested and charged with
terroristic threats in connection with email messages threatening to blow
up another high school's arena and making threats on another person.
February 26, 2002:
Southlake, TX
A high school was locked down and additional police added after an
anonymous caller reportedly told a school administrator that some students
were in danger of a retaliatory attack. The caller was not making
threats, but instead was reporting an apparent legitimate concern
according to reports.
February 26, 2002:
Boston, MA
A first-grade teacher was reportedly threatened, smacked and shoved in her
classroom with students present by an irate parent complaining about the
teacher disciplining her child. The teacher had replaced a
31-year-veteran teacher who had been attacked by a parent in an unrelated
incident on January 19, 2001.
February 27, 2002:
Loudoun County, VA
A 50-year-old payroll accountant was charged with money laundering and
embezzlement in connection with more than $200,000 missing from a school
system substitute teacher account she supervised, according to reports.
School officials said she resigned on January 23rd. Media reports
indicate she had been previously convicted of embezzlement in 1991 in West
Virginia.
February 28, 2002:
Westminter, CO
A man who was possibly carrying a handgun reportedly attempted to enter a
high school according to student reports. The school went into a
lockdown. The male was not located.
February 28, 2002:
Espanola, NM
Twenty-eight high school students received 10-day suspensions for fights
during lunch time that went out of control. Approximately 15 to 20
law enforcement officers responded from four agencies, with city police
dispensing pepper spray to disperse hundreds of students gathered around
small groups of fighters. School was canceled the following day for
a "cooling-off period" according to reports.
March 5, 2002:
Fairfax, VA
An 18-year-old high school student received minor injuries after being
stabbed during a fight that occurred during intermission at a night school
musical and fashion show event. The suspects, non-students, fled the
building as teachers and other staff broke up the fight.
March 6, 2002:
Lakewood, CO
A 46-year-old male with a gun barricaded himself in his apartment for more
than five hours, forcing a nearby elementary school to go into lockdown.
The suspect was eventually arrested.
March 20, 2002:
Carmichael, CA
A 13-year-old 8th grade male student, armed with a .22 caliber gun and
50 extra bullets, was subdued by a school resource officer deputy after
the first target on his hit list, a science teacher, escaped before he
could pull the trigger. The student was in possession of a will and
had planned to die himself.
April 28, 2002: Pahrump, NV
A 15-year-old armed with a Samurai sword hijacked a school bus as a
part of plan to blow up his high school. The boy was caught in
California after leading police on a high-speed chase through Nevada.
May 13, 2002:
Arlington, WA
An
expelled student was arrested Monday after threatening a Lakewood High
School class for more than an hour with two long kitchen knives. The teen
also threatened the school's principal with the 10-inch and 12-inch knives
when she entered the classroom and tried to defuse the situation.
The male surrendered to the school resource officer deputy who entered the
room with his gun drawn.