SCHOOL-RELATED
DEATHS, SCHOOL SHOOTINGS, & SCHOOL VIOLENCE INCIDENTS
2003-2004
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 have been identified through print and
electronic news sources, professional contacts, and other
nationwide sources, 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 and new information received during
the course of the school year.
For purposes of
this listing, the 2003-2004 school year
is considered to be from August 1, 2003, through July
31, 2004. In addition to school-related violent
deaths, this page provides a sample of school shootings that
did not result in death 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: 2003-2004 School Year
Total Deaths: 49
Breakdown by Type:
Shooting: 23
Suicides: 5
Murder-Suicide: 6
Fight-Related:
4
Stabbing: 10
Other: 1
August 14, 2003: Columbus, GA
A 14-year-old female high school student, visiting her former
teachers at a middle school, is shot and killed by a
13-year-old male in a wooded area behind the middle school
School. Several youths went into the woods to see a fight
between two boys, according to police, when one pulled out a
gun and the observers fled and the female was shot.
August 19, 2003: Meraux, LA
A 39-year-old male was arrested
after a man holding his 2-year-old son was shot to death and
the child seriously wounded near a crowded school bus stop.
The suspect reportedly grabbed a shotgun out of his car and
started firing, according to police. Another man, who had
taken his son to get on a bus, was wounded in the leg.
August 28, 2003: Coralville, IA
A 24-year-old man was shot and killed by police following a
police chase onto an elementary school property. Students were
still on playground at the time of the incident and three
schools were subsequently called into a lockdown.
August 29, 2003: Georgetown, SC
A 22-year-old male was shot to death after an argument
following a football game at Georgetown High School. Police
say the fight started at the game, but that the victim was
killed in a nearby shopping center parking lot.
September 4, 2003: Brighton, CO
A 15-year-old male was killed and his 16-year-old brother was
injured in a shooting during school hours near Adams City High
School, triggering the lockdown of schools in the area.
September 5, 2003: San Diego, CA
A 14-year-old boy jogging with his
high school cross-country team is shot and killed in an ambush
by his father, who then killed himself after a standoff with
police.
September 5, 2003: Tucson, AZ
A 16-year-old boy died after a fistfight at Pueblo High Magnet
School. The boy had a heart
condition that contributed to his death, according to police.
September
10, 2003: Vicksburg, MS
A 20-year-old male high school junior was charged with murder
for allegedly shooting a 20-year-old non-student once in the
chest while on access road near the school's football field
around 2:30pm while school was still in session.
September 10, 2003: Chicago, IL
A 16-year-old male was charged with killing a 16-year-old male
Proviso East High School student. The victim was shot in the
chest after leaving the school, which had been dismissed early
for a staff development day.
September 10, 2003: Fort Worth,
TX
A 16-year-old boy allegedly fatally shot a classmate, then
dumped his body in a nearby construction site.
September 11, 2003: Tucson, AZ
A 17-year-old student at Tucson
High Magnet School was shot and killed off campus near an
underpass after school. A 15-year-old was also shot and
treated. Police said the shooting may be gang-related.
September 12, 2003: Green Cove
Springs, FL
A 15-year-old male high school student was hit by a single
sucker-punch to the head shortly after the final school bell
rang and subsequently died on September 19, 2003. A
17-year-old male student was charged as an adult for
manslaughter.
September 16, 2003: Hopkinsville,
KY
A 16-year-old girl fatally shot another teen and then killed
herself as the two sat in a car parked at a shopping center
across from their school.
September 24, 2003: Cold Spring,
MN
A 15-year-old allegedly shot two students at Rocori High
School. One student died the day of the shooting and the
second shot student died in the hospital on October 10, 2003.
September 30, 2003: Sacramento,
CA
A 15-year-old boy was shot to death after an argument near C.K.
McClatchy High School as dozens of students watched the
attack. Witnesses said the victim was standing near a sandwich
shop a block from the school when he began arguing with
another teenage boy who was exchanging insults with the
girlfriend of the victim's best friend. A school resource
officer ran to the victim and initiated CPR, but he was
pronounced dead at UC Davis Medical Center.
October 1, 2003: Ft. Worth, TX
A 17-year-old former high school student was fatally stabbed
and five others were injured after seven teens fought in a
vacant lot near Bowie High School, police say.
October 16, 2003: Roanoke, VA
A 55-year-old male middle school teacher accused of assaulting
a student leapt to his death from a bridge, one day after he
was exonerated but had never been informed that charges were
cleared. The incident had been reported by school officials
to child services officials, but not to police, until a school
resource officer overheard discussion of the incident and
pursued the matter. (Note: This incident is counted as a
school-associated death as it has a clear nexus to a school
incident as per criteria #4 above.)
October 23, 2003: Landover, MD
A man's body was found in the parking lot of an elementary
school by a school maintenance worker at 6:00am. The victim
had been shot multiple times. The elementary school was
closed for the day and students were bused to a nearby high
school to attend classes while police officials processed the
crime scene.
October 30, 2003: Washington, DC
A 16-year-old, 11th-grade male student was shot and killed
outside of the high school. The victim was shot by stray
bullet from a 15-year-old male who reportedly was attempting
to shoot at a vehicle containing members of a rival gang. A
15-year-old female was also shot in the wrist by a stray
bullet.
November 4, 2003: Bexar County, TX
A 17-year-old male high school student was charged with murder
for allegedly fatally shooting another 17-year-old male high
school student during a street brawl that stemmed from a
dispute that had started at Judson High School, according to
reports. Police said that around 3:45pm, a group of 8 to 12
males rode their bikes after school to the home of the suspect
and then ganged up on him near his home. As the group fought,
a resident came out of his home and fired two rounds in the
air from a rifle in order to frighten the fighters. The
resident put down the gun and the group went to beat up the
resident, during which time the suspect reportedly picked up
the rifle and fired a shot, hitting the victim in the stomach.
November 6, 2003: San Francisco,
CA
A 15-year-old male high school student on the way to an
after-school job was shot and killed two blocks from the
school on a city bus by a 16-year-old male. The victim was
reportedly an innocent bystander. The suspect allegedly fired
at someone else during a fight between students from two
separate high schools on the bus but the bullet struck the
victim in the face. School officials from both schools
subsequently canceled weekend football games in fear of
retaliation.
November 8, 2003: Sugar Land, TX
A 17-year-old female high school student, an innocent
bystander, was shot and killed as a fight broke out at the
side of a stadium at a high school football game. A
21-year-old male was subsequently arrested and charged.
November 10, 2003: Buffalo, NY
A teenage male was shot and killed in the back parking lot of
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School around 4:00pm. All
students were gone but a teacher still working inside heard at
least three shots, looked outside, and observed the victim
laying in the lot next to his car.
December 2, 2003: Chicago, IL
A Chicago police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old male
after the suspect refused to put down his revolver after being
stopped on the playground of Fermi elementary school at
9:40pm. Police reportedly found five bags of crack cocaine,
one bag of suspected marijuana, and $260 in the suspect's
pocket. Police were said to be on alert in the area because
of several recent shooting incidents.
December 8, 2003: Porter, OK
A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death on a school bus by a
fellow student, who was arrested after jumping out the rear
door of the bus and running away, according to police.
December 9, 2003: Bellevue, WA
An 18-year-old high
school senior, reportedly distraught over a breakup with his
girlfriend, drove his vehicle at high speed into a highway
median after threatening suicide. The male had reportedly
dropped his sister off at school and instead of gong to class,
left campus, communicated from home with his parents by phone,
and then left the house where he was later found in the
vehicle. The male had reportedly called his (ex)-girlfriend on
the cell phone and asked her if she would get back together
with him. When she reportedly said no, he said if she wouldn't
change her mind, he was going to drive on the freeway and kill
himself. She immediately told her teacher. The teacher told
the school counselor, who then told his father. The father was
reportedly at school making a report to the school resource
officer at the time the suicide was discovered by state patrol
officers.
January 13, 2004: Dallas, TX
A 14-year-old 7th grader was stabbed three times outside of a
Dallas middle school and later died at a hospital. The
suspect is reportedly older and not believed to be a student.
January 15, 2004: Elizabeth, NJ
A 15-year-old male high school student was stabbed to death by
two males while walking home from school. Initial reports
indicate that the incident occurred after a snowball fight.
Family members subsequently said they suspected a gang
initiation may have been involved.
January 20, 2004: El Paso, TX
A 17-year-old male high school student was arrested for
stabbing to death a 19-year-old male who had graduated from
the school in 2002. The incident, which occurred after school
about a half-block north of the Irvin High School campus, was
believed to be a continuation of a weekend altercation,
possibly over a girl. The suspect reportedly used a knife
which he had carried in his backpack during the school day.
January 21, 2004: Henderson, NV
Police shot and killed a 40-year-old male gunman outside an
elementary school after he allegedly shot a hostage in a car
and walked through the campus searching for his ex-girlfriend.
School administrators said 27 children were in an after-school
program for kindergarten through 5th graders when the gunman
at the time of the incident around 4:50pm. Police said the
gunman went through the campus but did not find his
ex-girlfriend, who reportedly had been at the school picking
up a child.
January 27, 2004: San Jose, CA
A 15-year-old male high school student was stabbed and killed
on the way to his high school. A 20-year-old male was
subsequently arrested for the murder. Police said the
incident was gang-related.
February 2, 2004: Elmira, NY
A custodian discovered an 18-year-old male high school
student's dead body in the school's rear parking lot near the
building housing the school's pool. Authorities ruled the
death a suicide as a result of asphyxiation by hanging. School
officials mobilized counselors for students the next day.
February 2, 2004: Washington, DC
A 17-year-old male high school student died after being shot
several times in the chest around 10:30am near the school's
cafeteria. An 18-year-old student was also grazed in the leg
by a bullet. All individuals involved were believed to be
students according to initial reports.
February 3, 2004: Palmetto Bay, FL
A 14-year-old male Miami-Dade middle school student was found
dead in a second-floor restroom around 8:30am. He was cut with
a sharp object and bled to death, according to reports. Police
found the weapon and have a 14-year-old fellow student suspect
was charged.
February 6, 2004: Kansas City, MO
A 19-year-old male was fatally stabbed during a fight in a
high school parking lot around 9:30pm.
February 11, 2004:
Philadelphia, PA
A 10-year-old male elementary school student was shot in the
face and died after five days in the hospital as one group of
men in a car and another group on foot exchanged gunfire
outside a Philadelphia elementary school around 8:30am. A
56-year-old female school crossing guard was also shot in the
foot. Police said the guard acted heroically to scurry
children across the street as bullets were flying and children
were on the playground.
February 20,
2004: St. Martinville, LA
A 41-year-old part-time city police officer, who was also a
school custodian at a city junior high school, allegedly
called his 19-year-old girlfriend outside of her father's
church and school where she worked, and then shot her to death
around 11:15am. The victim was reportedly shot several times,
just feet from the school full of children, who stood in a
doorway crying and holding on to each other.
March 10, 2004:
Atlantic City, NJ
A 52-year-old police sergeant died of a heart attack shortly
after intervening in a riot following a rival high school
basketball game. The officer, a 27-year-veteran of the police
department, had helped arrest one person after several fights
broke out following a boy's basketball semifinal championship
game. The officer left the scene after assisting with the
arrest a fell victim to the heart attack, with his car hitting
a pole, as he was driving back to police headquarters to file
reports on the incident.
March 17, 2004:
Joyce, WA
A 13-year-old male student shot and killed himself in a school
classroom where about 20 other students were present. The
male reportedly brought a .22-caliber rifle hidden in a guitar
case and pulled it out without notice or threat to others,
shooting himself in the chest at around 10:00am. The student
had been in the back corner of the classroom for about two
hours before the incident, according to the superintendent.
March 29, 2004:
Pharr, TX
A 15-year-old female high school student was stabbed to death
outside the Fine Arts building at PSJA High School around
7:30pm. Doctors reportedly told the family she had been
stabbed 12 times. Police took a 16-year-old male into custody.
Family members indicated that a school custodian allegedly
witnessed the attack.
Police indicated that the students
were returning from a University Interscholastic League
competition that both of them had been participating in when
they arrived at the school by bus and unloaded in the parking
lot to wait for parents and family to pick them up.
April 23, 2004: Tampa, FL
A 54-year-old female custodian was found dead at her new job
at a middle school. She was found in a classroom by another
custodian around 7:35pm that evening. She was alive but
efforts to revive her were unsuccessful and she was pronounced
dead at the scene. Police said the victim suffered upper body
injuries and that she was not shot, but they were still
attempting to identify the weapon/method used in the attack. A
36-year-old male registered sex offender was later arrested
and charged.
April 27, 2004: Philadelphia,
PA
An 18-year-old male student reportedly hanged himself in a
high school auditorium. His body was found on a stage by a
group of 9th-grade students.
April 30, 2004: Boston, MA
A 19-year-old male non-student stabbed a 17-year-old female
high school student in the back outside of her high school
around 7:30am. The male then stabbed himself while the police
were pursuing him. He died the following day (May 1st) from
the stabbing injuries. The incident forced the school to
postpone its junior prom the evening of April 30th.
May 24, 2004: Salt Lake City,
UT
A 39-year-old female high school cafeteria worker was shot in
the chest and head as she walked out of the faculty parking
lot at the school around 6:00am. The suspect, her
52-year-old estranged husband, reportedly then shot and killed
himself with one shot to the head. The suspect
reportedly had walked up to the victim after she got out of
her vehicle in the faculty parking lot and a struggle ensued
after the male pulled out the gun. Both bodies were found on a
grassy area in front of the school's faculty parking lot.
Police cordoned off the area as students arrived and held up
sheets to block their view before the bodies were removed by
the medical examiner's office. Police later said the couple
was in the process of a divorce. Counselors were made
available at the school, which is located near downtown Salt
Lake City.
June 25, 2004: Omaha, NE
A 16-year-old female high school student, who had left the
school building to go to lunch during summer school, died
after reportedly being jumped and beaten by a group of
females in the parking lot after leaving a Burger King.
Reports indicate that the victim was a sophomore special-needs
student who was also a severe asthmatic. The victim's
16-year-old friend, who was with her at the time, reportedly
received a broken nose and several bruises. The deceased
victim had reportedly been the victim of bullying and
harassment during the school year, and reports indicate that
the school had taken action upon the report of such activity.
News accounts indicate that students were not authorized to
leave the summer school campus for lunch, but it would be easy
to do so due to the number of students coming and going during
that time.
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Sample of
Reported
School-Related Shootings Not Resulting in Deaths
A sample of school-related
shootings occurring nationwide in the 2003-2004 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.
Total non-death shooting
incidents listed to date: 68
August 29, 2003: San Bernardino,
CA
An early-morning shooting near San Bernardino High startled
students playing on the football field. According to police,
one person in the neighborhood was shot.
September 4, 2003: Chicago, IL
A 15-year-old boy was shot and wounded by a stray bullet near
George Washington High School. Police said the boy was an
innocent bystander in an apparently gang-related shooting.
September 9, 2003: Los Angeles,
CA
Three teenage students were critically wounded outside Taft
High School in Woodland Hills when men in a car shouted a gang
challenge and fire into a crowd of students headed home from
school. According to police, the victims were the unintended
targets of an apparent gang attack.
September 9, 2002: Pittsburgh, PA
Gunfire erupted in the parking lot of a mini-mart across the
street from Peabody High School at dismissal time. One teen
was shot in the leg following a reported argument over a gold
chain necklace.
September 11, 2003: Jackson, MS
An argument between two elementary school girls ended after
one child’s mother shot the other near a school bus stop. The
35-yearold victim suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.
September 15, 2003: Honolulu, HI
A 27-year-old burglary suspect wanted on a warrant was shot by
police after pulling a fake handgun out of a fanny pack as
police approached following a minor accident where the suspect
pulled into a loading area outside of St. Patrick School.
School officials immediately went into a lockdown and no
students were injured.
September 15, 2003: Cypress
Hills, NY
Three students, two age 17 and the other age 16, were shot a
half-block from their Brooklyn/Queens high school after
dismissal in a possible gang-related attack.
September 16, 2003: Los Angeles,
CA
A teenage male student was wounded
while waiting for a bus outside Duke Ellington Continuation
High School. A gunman had stepped into the intersection and
fired multiple shots at a passing SUV.
September 17, 2003: New Orleans,
LA
A 15-year-old high school student was shot in the leg and
approximately 60 of his friends sought refuge with him in a
nearby bar following an altercation between students from two
high schools. Police were seeking a suspect believed to be a
student at one of the schools.
September 17, 2002: Boston, MA
A 15-year-old was shot in the leg and a school police officer
was injured from a flying bullet fragment after a man opened
fire at dismissal outside of Charlestown High School. Police
were investigating the incident as possible gang-related,
although the victims were innocent bystanders.
September 17, 2003: Eldersburg,
MD
A 13-year-old 8th-grade male student middle school student
fired a single shot from a .44 caliber gun belonging to his
father in an empty school bathroom in an apparent suicide
attempt between classes.
September 22, 2003: Spokane, WA
A 17-year-old male student with a gun barricaded himself in a
third-floor classroom at Lewis and Clark High School. Police
SWAT team members eventually had to shoot him to bring an end
to the situation. No students were injured.
September 25, 2003: Lawndale, NC
A male student allegedly fired two
shots inside Burns Middle School as students arrived for
class. No one was injured.
September 30, 2003: Cincinnati,
OH
Police questioned
three people in connection with a shooting that reportedly
took place right across the street from a local elementary
school moments before students were let out for the day.
October
1, 2003: Sacramento, CA
A 19-year-old male high school student, despondent over
a breakup with is girlfriend and armed with a shotgun, was
shot by police after a vice principal wrestled with him for
the gun and the suspect pointed a 12-gauge shotgun at police.
The administrator, a former police officer, was credited by
police for averting a deadly incident.
October 6, 2003: Detroit, MI
A 17-year-old male student was reportedly shot in the leg
while riding on a school bus to his regional vocational
training center school. The shooting appeared to be
accidental. The victim was treated and released at the
hospital.
October 7, 2003: Akron, OH
An 18-year-old man was shot
across the street from Kenmore High School just before 3pm.
A 17-year-old male was arrested and charged with attempted
murder, felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon,
possessing a firearm in a school safety zone and tampering
with evidence.
October 12, 2003: Syracuse, NY
A 17-year-old male was shot in the buttocks and a
16-year-old male was stabbed in the leg after a fight broke
out between two groups during a high school football game at
a Syracuse high school football field.
November 10, 2003: Dallas, TX
A 15-year-old male student was expelled and faces criminal
charges for allegedly firing a sawed-off shotgun near the
school's tennis courts. A parent who witnessed the incident
reported it to school officials and the principal locked
down the building. The weapon was found in a trash can in a
boys' restroom and two unfired shells were found in the
trash.
November 13, 2003: Charlotte,
NC
A 15-year-old high school student was arrested after a
.25-caliber handgun accidentally discharged while the
student carried it in his pocket. The bullet grazed the
clothing of two students, one in the calf and one in the
heel. Both students returned to class after being checked
by emergency medical workers.
November 18, 2003: York, VA
A 13-year-old high school student was arrested for allegedly
firing a shotgun through the principal's office window at a
middle school on November 11th. One gunshot round reportedly
went through the window. No students were in the school at
the time, but cleaning staff were in the building.
November 20, 2003: Jersey City,
NJ
Gunfire broke out in a Jersey City park, an apparent
continuation of a gang violence that erupted inside and
outside of Lincoln High School earlier in the day, according
to police. Two groups fled as police arrived. Police said
that around 8:30am that morning, eight boys began beating up
one boy in a high school hallway, and a dozen police
officers responded to break up the fight. One male was
arrested for assaulting a teacher who tried to break up the
fight, and a girl was arrested for assaulting a police
officer.
November 20, 2003: Tempe, AZ
A man driving a blue van through a neighborhood near Marcos
de Niza High School reportedly attempted to lure a female
student into the car as she was walking to the school around
8:15am. The female refused and joined a group of other
students walking to school and shots were subsequently fired
from the van. Police found six 9mm shell casings in the
area.
November 24, 2003: San
Francisco, CA
A high school dropout fired several rounds at a city bus
filled with students from nearby International Studies
Academy. No one was hurt. The school district's
superintendent subsequently began preparing a proposal for
weapons checks as students entering schools as this was the
second shooting in less than three weeks.
November 25, 2003: Bristol, PA
An elementary school was locked
down around 2:30pm after the principal heard multiple shots
fired outside of the school and shouting from the street
that someone had a gun.
November 26, 2003: St. Paul, MN
Two males approached the truck of a parent waiting to pick
up a student outside of Humboldt High School and one fired a
shot at the truck. The shot pierced the passenger-side
window of the truck but nobody was injured. Police
reportedly believe that the incident may have been
gang-related.
December 3, 2003: Aurora, CO
A group of four or five males entered Smoky Hill High School
and assaulted a high school senior student around 7:20pm
during a girls' basketball game. School administrators
broke up the fight. Several shots were fired into the air
as the suspects drove away. Police subsequently arrested a
17-year-old male in connection with the incident.
December 4, 2003: Oklahoma City,
OK
An 18-year-old female student was injured by a gunshot fired
outside a high school gym around 2:10pm, just after the
final school bell. A male and female reportedly walked onto
the grounds and began fighting with some students, during
which time the male suspect shoot a gun once into the air.
The suspect was still at large at the time of the report,
but police had a description and license plate on the auto
used by the suspects.
December 5, 2003: San Antonio,
TX
Three shots were fired in a drive-by shooting outside of St.
Francis Academy charter school at dismissal in a suspected
gang-related shooting, but the quick action of teachers and
police were credited with preventing anyone of being
injured. A 16-year-old student just missed being hit as a
bullet sliced the front of his jacket, missing his stomach
by inches. Police took five males and two females, all in
their late teens, into custody just after the shooting after
two teachers chased the shooters long enough to get their
car's license number. The suspects, allegedly known gang
members, and two handguns were quickly recovered.
December 5, 2003: Carbondale, IL
A 17-year-old male non-student was arrested for allegedly
shooting and wounding an assistant football coach outside
Carbondale Community High School. The victim was shot in
the thigh. The shooting occurred during a high school
basketball game.
December 8, 2003: Charlotte, NC
A 13-year-old male middle school student was suspended after
a gun fired from his pocket in a middle school classroom.
The weapon was not discovered until lunchtime, however, as
the students and teacher in the room apparently did not
realize what it was that had gone off in the classroom. One
bullet was fired and hit the floor, ricocheted and hit a
wall. Nobody was injured.
December 9, 2003: Fort Worth, TX
A 16-year-old student told
police he was walking from the school about 3:30pm as
students left campus for the day when a car knocked him to
the ground. He reportedly got into another vehicle, at
which time the driver of the first car reportedly fired
several shots at him. Police beefed up patrols due to this
apparent gang-related incident.
December 17, 2003:
Millersville, MD
Old Mill High School (Anne Arundel County Public Schools)
was locked down for approximately two hours after a gunshot
went off in a hallway around 11:30am, according to reports.
A 38-caliber revolver was found hidden in a men's bathroom
and police had no suspects as of the evening of the
shooting.
December 17, 2003: Columbus, OH
Two school buses were found to have bullet marks near the
taillights during maintenance inspections. South-Western
City Schools closed the following two days. The incidents
were being investigated in connection with the Columbus-area
highway shootings which had resulted in one woman being
killed.
December 22, 2003: Odebolt, IA
A 63-year-old male was arrested
for allegedly shooting into the home of a school bus driver
who had turned him in for passing a stopped school bus
earlier in the day.
December 22, 2003: Woodbridge,
NJ
Three males, ages 23, 22, and 17, were arrested in
connection with the shooting of an 18-year-old male in a
high school parking lot around 10:00pm following a
basketball game held earlier at the school. The victim was
struck three times by shots reportedly from a Tech 9
handgun.
January 8, 2004: Huntingtown,
MD
A 16-year-old male was arrested for allegedly shooting at a
school bus filled with 25 children around 2:45pm in the
afternoon. The male also allegedly shot an adult male
driving his vehicle in an unrelated incident earlier in the
day.
January 9, 2004: Memphis, TN
Police say a 14 year old male
middle school student fired two shots at several students
with a .38 caliber handgun. When the principal learned of
the incident the following week, the student was reportedly
suspended, but police were not notified until a pupil
services coordinator contacted them more than two weeks
later.
January 12, 2004: Durham, NC
A 15-year-old boy stepped off a
city bus after a dispute with another 15-year-old boy,
pulled a gun and fired inside the crowded bus. The incident
nearly became a shootout as the other boy, also 15, pulled
out a gun and stood from his seat to fire back, but his
weapon jammed. Both students had been suspended and sent
from the school for fighting.
January 13, 2004: Detroit, MI
An 18-year-old male was shot six times in the leg inside a
Detroit High School around 3:15pm as students were leaving
the building. The victim and the shooter, both non-students,
were in the school prior to a rival basketball game when an
argument broke out. According to reporters, the shooter
left and then came back, shooting the victim.
January 15, 2004: Pomona, CA
A female high school student was shot in the back when a gun
accidentally discharged in class. Two male students were
expected to be charged by authorities.
January 16, 2004: Forestville,
MD
Four Suitland High School students were shot at a Metro bus
stop when an assailant fired into the crowd around 1:15pm.
A man with a handgun reportedly approached the
students and demanded that two of them give him their coats
according to police. The students complied, but a third
student argued with the suspect and the suspect
fired at least two shots into the crowd, and everyone ran.
January 26, 2004: Bloomington,
IL
A 10-year-old male elementary student reportedly took a gun
from a relative's home and the gun fired when a fellow
11-year-old male student handled it on the school bus.
February 3, 2004: Houston, TX
A 12-year-old male fifth-grade
elementary student accidentally shot himself in the groin
with a .380 semiautomatic handgun tucked in his pants which
had been brought from home. The student reportedly showed
the gun to another student and then put it back in his
pants, at which time it discharged. The bullet went through
is groin and exited his body.
February 4, 2004: Spring Hill,
FL
A 37-year-old female was shot at
several times allegedly by her 36-year-old estranged
boyfriend as she attempted to pick up their daughter at an
elementary school. The incident began at the school's bus
loop according to reports. The suspect was charged with
murder, kidnapping, and trespassing on school property with
a firearm. Approximately 50 to 100 children were at or near
the school, in the media center, or at several after-school
programs when the confrontation began around 4:50pm.
February 6, 2004: Shreveport, LA
A 16-year-old male high school
student went to his high school, after having not attended
classes during the day, and got into a fight with other
students. As the School Resource Officer approached him in
the parking lot, the male drove what turned out to be a
stolen vehicle toward the officer. The officer fired and
struck the car as the officer believed his life was in
danger. The student was apprehended.
February 9, 2004: Rochester, NY
A 13-year-old male was stabbed
in the chest and cuts on the arms in a high school parking
lot around 6:50pm. The male then went to a recreation center
where someone called police. The victim had been walking
with a friend when a group approached them and someone in
the group asked if they wanted to buy marijuana, then
stabbed the 13-year-old.
February 9, 2004: East
Greenbush, NY
A 16-year-old student shot and wounded a special-education
teacher in the leg after firing three shotgun blasts in a
high school hallway around 10:30 a.m. The suspect allegedly
fired three rounds from a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun, and
one round hit the teacher in the leg. An assistant principal
stopped the suspect and held him for police.
February 13,
2004: Dayton, OH
A 17-year-old male high school student was shot in the leg
while sitting in a friend's car in the school parking lot.
Police reported that another individual attempted to carjack
the vehicle and the victim pulled out a fake gun, leading to
the carjack suspect pulling out a real gun and shooting the
victim.
February 13,
2004:
Pequannock, NJ
A 53-year-old male was arrested after showing up at a Roman
Catholic High School in a diaper and pink stretch pants
seeking a job application. When his request was denied, he
defecated in the diaper and fled on foot. He was
apprehended shortly thereafter at a nearby supermarket.
February 18,
2004: San Francisco, CA
A gun packed in the backpack of
a 17-year-old male Downtown High School student accidentally
discharged during a Wednesday night class at the nearby
Mission High School.
February 18,
2004: Little Rock, AR
An 18-year-old male former high school student was shot in
the leg by a 15-year-old male suspended high school student
while walking on the school parking lot near the football
field. Campus security
officials reported seeing the 15-year-old male fire
approximately four shots on the opposite side of the track,
according to police. The school's 1,000 students were
dismissed about around 3:45 p.m., approximately 10 minutes
before the shooting. A number of students were leaving
campus through the parking lot at the time of the incident.
The school's track team was also practicing at the time of
the shooting, and a group of girls were playing softball on
the east side of the field.
February 23, 2004: Randolph, MA
A 17-year-old male turned himself in to police for
reportedly shooting a 14-year-old male in the face with a BB
gun at a school bus stop in the morning around 7:20am. The
victim, a middle school student, was shot just below his
eye.
February 23, 2004:
Philadelphia, PA
A 20-year-old male allegedly pointed and fired a gun at
three school police officers and a high principal outside
the school at approximately 3:20pm. The suspect reportedly
fired two to four shots, but no one was hit. He then
dropped the revolver and a bag of crack, and ran, according
to reports. School officials recognized him from a previous
incident and a warrant was put out for his arrest.
February 25,
2004: Decatur, GA
Two 9th grade high school students were arrested after a
.25-caliber gun discharged in a bathroom at the school. One
student reportedly brought the gun to school and was handing
it to the other when it discharged in a modular building
with multiple classrooms outside of the main building. No
injuries were reported.
March 2, 2004:
Centre, AL
A county school bus was hit by at least six bullets fired at
the bus while the bus was taking students home. No suspects
were in custody at the time of the report.
March 2, 2004:
Indianapolis, IN
Two male teens, ages 14 and 17, were arrested after firing
eight shots outside of a middle school just after 11am. No
one was injured. The 14-year-old was a suspended student
from the middle school and the 17-year-old attended a high
school in another area district. A .22-caliber handgun was
confiscated.
March 5, 2004:
Los Angeles, CA
Two charter
school students were wounded in a drive-by shooting outside
of their school at 7:40am. A 16-year-old male was struck in
the back and a 17-year-old female was struck in the leg.
Police said the male was the intended target and that the
incident may have been gang-related.
March 9, 2004:
Fortuna, CA
A 16-year-old male high school student was shot twice in the
legs around 3:20pm in an alley adjacent to his high school.
The superintendent described the incident as a long-standing
dispute over money.
March 9, 2004:
Lewiston, NY
A 17-year-old
male high school student was arrested after he allegedly
shot himself in his right wrist while showing a shotgun to
another student in the school parking lot around 3:38pm.
The student had stashed the gun, which had reportedly been
given to him by a friend, in the trunk of his car.
According to reports, investigators also found a handgun in
his bedroom at home. The handgun reportedly belonged to his
father, who was unaware it was missing from a collection.
March 19, 2004:
Charlotte, NC
A man started shooting as a school bus pulled up to its stop
in a south Charlotte neighborhood to drop off students.
An
SUV carrying four people was struck and one woman inside was
injured when glass from one of the windows shattered,
hitting her. No one was reported as being struck by a
bullet.
March 23,
2004: Shreveport, LA
A Caddo
Parish school bus taking high school students home from
school was struck by a bullet as a man fired multiple shots
at the bus, one striking a tail light of the bus. Nineteen
students were aboard but none were injured.
March 24, 2004: Tucson, AZ
A 16-year-old male
magnet high school student inadvertently fired a handgun in
the hallway around 4:45pm, but school officials did not
report it to police for more than 12 hours because the
assistant principal did not know it was a gunshot. The
suspect reportedly took the gun to the school earlier in the
day and hid it in the bottom of a trash can. He then
reportedly retrieved it late in the afternoon, and it
discharged as he pulled it from his pocket to show other
students.
April 2, 2004: Houston, TX
A vehicle with three males inside cruised slowly past a
Houston charter school and a passenger in the back seat
fired a single shot from a silver-colored handgun through
the building's glass front door. Nobody was injured
according to reports. Police had no suspects or motives at
the time of the report.
April 23, 2004: Chicago, IL
A 9mm semi-automatic handgun in the backpack of a 7-year-old
elementary male elementary school student discharged
accidentally while the student was in class around 2:15pm.
A teacher heard a gunshot and upon investigation found a
7-year-old boy cowering in the corner. A hole was observed
in his backpack and another in a classroom floor.
Police said there were nine more
bullets in the gun.
May 4, 2004: Ft. Wayne, IN
A 21-year-old male was shot and an 18-year-old male was
stabbed in a high school parking lot following a track
competition. The two had reportedly become involved in an
altercation in the stands and were asked to leave the event,
after which the confrontation continued in the parking lot.
The 18-year-old allegedly shot the 21-year-old during the
altercation. The game was postponed and the area reportedly
locked down temporarily, and then spectators were advised to
leave the scene.
May 7, 2004: Randallstown, MD
Four high school students were
shot outside of the school around 4:30pm following an annual
charity basketball game. Four males got out of a car and
began fighting with students, according to police, and one
allegedly returned to the car to get a semi-auto gun from
the trunk. Another suspect reportedly took the gun and began
firing. Police say the incident involved a feud over a girl.
None of the four victims reportedly were the intended
targets.
May 12, 2004: Merced, CA
A 19-year-old male was in stable
condition after being shot during an altercation at a high
school around 5:25pm. A 17-year-old female was also
reportedly injured, but less seriously. Police believed the
incident was gang-related. A 20-year-old male suspect was
arrested and charged with attempted murder. Two other
20-year-old males, believed to possibly be friends of the
victim, were reportedly arrested moments after the shooting
with a stolen sawed-off shotgun as they attempted to gain
access to where the shooting occurred but were stopped by
police.
June 9, 2004: Oakland, CA
Two 15-year-old male innocent
bystanders were shot, one in the cheek and the other in the
neck, outside of a high school as school was being
dismissed. Reports indicate that a car with suspects drove
by the school at dismissal and flashed gang signs, and a
bottle was thrown at the car. Shots were then reportedly
fired from the car. Police say the victims were innocent
bystanders caught in the middle of a conflict between two
rival Latino gangs.
----------------------------------------------------------
Sample of
Other Reported Higher-Profile
School Crime, Violence, and Crisis Incidents in 2003-2004
Total incident
listing to date: 210
August 5, 2003: Otay Mesa, CA
A 13-year-old 8th grade middle school student was stabbed in
science class by a fellow student after they engaged in
horseplay. The victim suffered a stab wound in one leg that
punctured the femoral artery, according to police.
August 15, 2003: Dacula, GA
A 16-year-old male high school student stabbed a 15-year-old
in the abdomen after a fight.
August 20, 2003: Oakdale, CA
Three juvenile high school students were stabbed during a
fight in a high school parking lot.
August 27, 2003: New Orleans,
LA
Two men carrying assault rifles robbed a credit union, stopped
their getaway briefly to exchange gunfire with police, and
then surrendered after crashing into Frederick Douglass Senior
High School, according to police.
August 28, 2003: Houston, TX
About a dozen police were on campus following fights
reportedly due to tensions between Hispanic and black
students.
September 1, 2002: Woonsocket,
RI
Two teenage males, ages 15 and 15, were charged with making
threats to commit a "Columbine-style" killing spree at
Woonsocket High School. Police said they told a friend during
an Internet chat that they were going to get guns and shoot
everybody at school.
September 3, 2003: Glen Burnie,
MD
A former Glen Burnie High student was arrested after allegedly
stabbing a 13-year-old student on high school grounds,
according to police. The Anne Arundel County School District
victim was stabbed once in the lower abdomen.
September 3, 2003: Chicago, IL
A teenage who
dropped a loaded handgun while being chased by police briefly
sought refuge inside a West Side elementary school. No
students were injured.
September 9, 2003: Durham, NC
Police charge 24 people in a
gang-related brawl outside a high school. The 24 suspects were
described by police as a mixture of the high school's students
and outsiders that came onto the campus.
September 10-11, 2003:
Manchester, CT
Seven high school students were
arrested during two related fighting incidents on consecutive
days. On Sept. 10, four students were arrested after a fight
in the cafeteria in which a staff member's nose is broken. On
Sept. 11, three students were arrested after a disturbance in
the school parking lot, during which a teenage girl kicked a
police officer.
September 15, 2003: Omaha, NE
An elementary school teacher was robbed and carjacked at
gunpoint in her school's parking lot while taking supplies
from the trunk of her car around 8:00am.
September 15, 2003:
Pascagoula, MS
Police arrested a 35-year-old mother in front of an elementary
school for allegedly attacking another mother, age 24, with a
meat cleaver. The two mothers were believed to have been
fighting over something to do with their children.
September 15-29, 2003: New
York, NY
On September 29th, a 15-year-old male student was stabbed in
the back with a knife at 9:45am by an intruder while outside
of the cafeteria at Murrow school. The victim required three
stitches. Just 15 minutes after this incident, at another
school, Bowne in Flushing, a 17 year old allegedly stabbed
another student in the neck and on the left ear during a fight
over a girl. On Sept. 17, two boys were slashed outside
Brandeis High School on the upper West Side. The same day, a
student was hurt in a cafeteria box-cutter attack at Forest
Hills High School in Queens. On Sept. 15, a man opened fire on
a group of brawling boys near Franklin K. Lane High School in
Queens, wounding three teens.
September 16, 2003: Erie, PA
An 11-year-old 6th grade male was suspended after showing a
fake grenade and threatening to blow up his school bus.
September 18, 2003: Helena, MT
A 17-year-old male high school student was charged for
bringing a loaded .25 caliber handgun to school with the
intent to "harm or kill" another student.
September 23, 2003: Davis, CA
An elementary school and a middle school were evacuated after
two male students, ages 11 and 13, allegedly brought pipe
bombs to the schools.
September 25, 2003: Boston, MA
A 12-year-old 6th grader was arrested and charged for stabbing
a 12-year-old 7th grade male in the chest during a fight while
on a bus full of students arriving at their middle school
around 7:20am.
September
30, 2003: Mount Vernon, NY
A 16-year-old male student was threatened by another
teen with a handgun. In an unrelated incident, an 18-year-old
student was threatened by another teen with a gun in the
school parking lot.
September 30, 2003: Westfield,
IN
A 15-year-old high school student was suspended pending an
expulsion hearing for possessing a hit list with the names of
60 individuals, including the principal.
September 30, 2003: Wickenburg,
AZ
A 16-year-old male was taken into custody and subsequently
charged for plotting a massacre at a high school, narrowly
avoiding a tragedy according to officials. The student was
arrested after police got a tip from a resident who logged
onto an Internet chat room the boy frequented. The boy
reportedly did not attend the school where the plot was to
occur. Authorities said the arrest was based upon information
from notebooks, numerous weapons, and other evidence seized
from the youth.
October 1, 2003: Lovejoy, GA
A
14-year-old male high school student was charged for plotting
a Columbine-like killing. The male allegedly had detailed
plans to block the fire exits and then pull the alarm and
shoot people as they tried to leave. Students told authorities
that the boy was trying to recruit them and had diagrams and
notes. No weapons were found at the school, but police
reported that the student had access to his father's handgun.
Police seized the boy's notebook, which contained his plans
for the killings, including a photocopy of the school's fire
evacuation plan.
October 1, 2003: Farmington
Hills, MI
Three teenage males, two age 18 and one age 19, climbed onto
the roof of an elementary school armed with a high-powered
rifle and drunk, according to police. The suspects reportedly
planned to target cars going by in the area, police said.
October 3, 2003: Charlotte, NC
Four high school students were arrested and two police
officers were injured during a fight that broke out during a
homecoming pep rally, according to police. The fight started
on a school field and moved across campus to the bus parking
lot.
October 3, 2003: Idaho Fallls,
ID
Students
at two high schools reportedly were involved in numerous
fights. A student required stitches after one fight and in
another that was not on school grounds, someone fired a rifle
into the air, according to police.
October
3, 2003: Tampa, FL
A 14-year-old being pursued by police on felony warrants ran
through an elementary school, causing school officials to go
into "lockdown" for 45 minutes.
October
8, 2003: Des Moines, IA
Police report that parents of nine high schools were advised
of a suspected suicide pact involving their children a week
after a 15-year-old classmate hanged himself. Five girls and
four boys, many freshmen and sophomores, were reportedly
involved. The 15-year-old hanged himself the week prior
following a car crash that killed three of his friends on
September 23rd.
October 10, 2003: New Orleans,
LA
One adult and eight juvenile
high school students were arrested
for allegedly beating five other students in the parking lot
at John F. Kennedy High School in connection with neighborhood
rivalry altercations. The fight reportedly started inside the
school and end in the parking lot where school security
officials intervened and call police shortly before 3:00p.m.
A 15-year-old male was knocked unconscious, an 18-year-old had
a knot on his head and swollen mouth, and three others
complained of minor pain, according to police.
October 10, 2003: Los Angeles,
CA
A San Fernando Middle School sixth-grade teacher was beaten
and robbed at gunpoint in her classroom around 4:30p.m. when a
male stranger approached her and struck her on the head and
face with a gun. The male then stole her purse and fled.
October 14, 2003: Cocoa, FL
Nearly a dozen Cocoa High School students
were injured, four arrested and two subdued by stun guns after
a brawl broke out during the school's fifth bomb threat in
eight days.
October 14, 2003:
Arlington, TX
A 16-year-old male high school student was arrested for
allegedly stabbing a 14-year-old male student in the school's
gym locker room. The attack reportedly stemmed from a
conflict about the theft of the victim's cell phone a week
earlier.
October 15, 2003: New Orleans,
LA
A 15-year-old female high school student was arrested for
allegedly slashing a fellow female student on the buttocks
with a box cutter while on her way to homeroom around 8:30am.
October 16, 2003: New
Carrolton, MD
A 14-year-old
Charles Carroll Middle School student suffered a punctured
lung after being stabbed during what police believe was a
gang-related fight. A 13-year-old suspect was arrested.
October 17, 2003: Richmond, VA
A 15-year-old male high school student was arrested for
allegedly assaulting a 32-year-veteran female physics and
biology teacher. The teacher was hospitalized after she
reportedly was knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked and
hit in her face and body. The teacher took a classroom
telephone away from the student after he allegedly ignored
three directives to end a telephone conversation.
October 22, 2003: Hopkinton,
MA
A freshman female high school student reportedly confessed to
school officials that she scrawled a hit list in a high
school's girls' restroom. The hit list reportedly threatened
10 students and a teacher and included racial slurs.
October 22, 2003: Howard, MD
Five male high school students were arrested for reportedly
being involved in a plot to buy a handgun after the unloaded
weapon was found inside a locker on campus.
October 22, 2003: Nehawka, NE
A middle school was locked down after a woman ran into the
school claiming that her husband was chasing her and that he
was armed with a gun. Sheriff's deputies arrested an adult
male with a loaded firearm in his vehicle for carrying a
concealed weapon and making terroristic threats. The male was
found sitting in a truck parked outside the school by the
school principal who went outside to investigate and got the
male to move away from the school, talking to the male for 10
to 15 minutes before deputies arrived, according to reports.
October 22, 2003: New York, NY
Two male alleged gang members, ages 16 and 18, were arrested
for allegedly slashing a 15-year-old student in the face
outside of a high school in an incident reportedly triggered
by the victim having grabbed a female's buttocks.
October 22, 2003: Concord, NC
A 15-year-old male high school student was arrested for an
alleged plot to detonate explosive at his school and on school
buses. Police reportedly found detailed plans, maps,
instructions on building explosives and homemade napalm in his
possession at his home. The male also allegedly had a "corpse
list" with more than 20 nicknames and descriptions of people
who would be killed, including himself.
October 23, 2003: Yreka, CA
A 12-year-old male student was stabbed by a 12-year-old male
following an argument on an elementary school playground. The
victim suffered injuries to his rib cage.
October 26, 2003: Baltimore, MD
The FBI is investigating a Saudi college student and his
American wife who recently videotaped a Jewish school in
Baltimore and said they sent the footage to Saudi Arabia,
according to law enforcement officials. The Saudi man and his
wife were seen videotaping an Orthodox school for girls, Beit
Yakov, on Oct. 26 and fled after witnesses wrote down their
automobile's license plate number. Law enforcement officials
were contacted and later interviewed the couple, who said the
video was intended for the man's parents in Saudi Arabia. The
couple has not been charged, and law enforcement officials
have declined to identify them. Federal and local law
enforcement officials emphasized that they have not uncovered
any reason to believe the couple was casing the school. The
inquiry has been broadened to Saudi Arabia, where the FBI is
trying to recover the tape, and to the woman's home state,
Utah, the officials said.
October 29, 2003: Newark, NJ
Three teenage high school students, ages 17, 15, and 14, were
hospitalized after being attacked inside a high school around
9am by 15 other students and possibly non-students. The
incident was believed to have stemmed from a dispute the prior
day, although it was not reported to be gang-related. Two
juveniles suspects were later arrested.
October 29, 2003: Marion, LA
A 14-year-old male student brought a semiautomatic pistol to
school, robbed his teacher of his car keys, and took a
12-year-old male student hostage before leading deputies on a
high-speed chase. The chase, which reached up to 90mph, ended
without injury after about 20 minutes.
October 30, 2003:
Guntersville, AL
A 17-year-old female student at a technical school allegedly
gave birth to a child and abandoned the baby covered with
toilet paper in a school restroom.
November 6, 2003: Omaha, NE
A 41-year-old male was arrested for allegedly throwing a pipe
bomb into a year, causing evacuation of a nearby school. The
device was reportedly thrown into a backyard of a home because
the relative of the person living there allegedly owned the
suspect money. School officials reportedly locked down the
school and then left the building once police told them it was
safe.
November 10, 2003: St. John
the Baptist Parish, LA
Sheriff's officials were investigating the theft of
approximately $10,000 in cash from a West John High School
safe. A school employee reported the theft around 7:23am
after finding the safe open and its contents scattered. The
safe reportedly contained revenue primarily from the school's
Friday night homecoming game.
November 10, 2003: Washington,
DC
A 16-year-old student assaulted a 17-year-old student, and
then 15 to 20 other students joined the brawl in a
gang-related dispute inside a high school cafeteria around
12:15pm. Two 16-year-old students were reportedly taken to
the hospital for a checkup and a police officer with an
accelerated heartbeat was taken as well.
November 10, 2003: Vidor, TX
Five high school students were barred from school and two of
the five were in custody, according to the school's
superintendent, for allegedly plotting to shoot more than 20
students and four school administrators.
November 10, 2003: Charlotte,
NC
A shooting near an elementary school left a man with two
gunshot wounds and prompted a lockdown of the elementary
school.
November 11, 2003: Detroit, MI
The mother of an 11-year-old student allegedly walked into a
classroom full of students and began choking and pushing her
daughter's teacher. Police were still looking for the parent
at the time of the report.
November 13, 2003: Hayward, CA
Hayward High School was ordered locked down for about two
hours after police received a report of a possibly armed
non-student youth on campus. Police did not locate the
suspect.
November 17, 2003: Hyde Park,
NY
A 35-year-old male assistant high school principal was charged
with falsely reporting a November 3rd incident where he
alleged he was stabbed in a school restroom. Police alleged
that the administrator inflicted stab wounds on himself.
November 17, 2003: Charlotte,
NC
A 44-year-old high school principal was taken to the hospital
for treatment of knife wounds, bruises, and possible broken
bones after being found by staff on an athletic field around
8:20am. The administrator stated that he was making a routine
walk around the campus, saw three people spray painting
bricks, and confronted them. He stated that one of the
individuals pulled a knife and tried to stab him, and during
the struggle another pulled out a chrome handgun, pointed the
gun at him, and another hit him in the head with a blunt
object. He stated that they then dragged him 500 yards to a
softball field dugout where they kicked, stabbed, and punched
him. Police investigations were ongoing as there reportedly
were difficulties in verifying the above reported nature of
the alleged attack.
November 18, 2003: Miami, FL
A 20-year-old male was arrested after hijacking a school bus
with 38 students on board and ordering the driver to take him
to a stadium to save the kids from terrorists. A high school
assistant principal coincidentally driving near the bus
observed unusual conduct, cut in front of the bus, and got
onboard the bus after it stopped, talking to the hijacker
until police arrived.
November 20-21, 2003:
Stillwater, MN
Multiple fights involving exchanges of racial epithets and
physical altercations occurred over a two day period at a high
school, resulting in 16 students being suspended. Police and
school officials were investigating the incidents.
November 22, 2003: Redmond, WA
Five high school students were arrested on suspicion of using
or selling drugs after a two-month undercover police
investigation using a 22-year-old rookie police officer.
November 24, 2003: New York,
NY
Two 15-year old male high school students were stabbed near
their Manhattan high school when a fight broke out outside a
subway entrance. One student was stabbed twice, the other had
a puncture wound, according to officials.
December 1, 2003: Vandalia, OH
A 16-year-old male student was stabbed twice in his leg
allegedly by someone wearing a black ski mask as the student
entered his high school restroom around 7:40am. The suspect
fled but police recovered a knife on scene.
December 2, 2003: Jersey City,
NJ
A 13-year-old male charter school student was allegedly
stabbed six times in the chest, back, shoulder, and side
during a street fight while walking home from school. Three
teens, ages 13, 15, & 17, were subsequently arrested.
December 2, 2003: Detroit, MI
A 17-year-old male was reportedly beaten by a group of three
suspects, at least one believed to be another student, outside
of a high school. Two students witnessed the attack and came
to the victim's aid. The attackers reportedly kicked the
victim in the head while one beat him with a pipe. The father
of the suspect reportedly said that the attack may be related
to an alleged sexual assault involving a female.
December 4, 2003: Augusta, GA
A high school student was stabbed multiple times by another
student on his school bus, according to police. The students,
both juveniles, reportedly confronted each other on the bus
and one student pulled a knife, stabbing the other student
several times.
December 5, 2003: Newburgh, NY
A fight involving at least 150 teenagers, some armed with golf
clubs, metal rods, and tree limbs, broke out in front of
Newburgh Free Academy. One 18-year-old who was arrested in
the rumble told police that he was forced to defend himself
from friends of another 18-year-old who was stabbed the day
before in the city.
December 8, 2003: Tucson, AZ
Approximately 1,500 magnet school students were held inside
their school in a lockdown while people searched for two
suspects in the robbery of a nearby credit union. The school
normally dismisses at 3:50pm, but students were held until
around 4:40pm because of the incident. One of the suspects
was found a short distance from the school, according to
police.
December 8, 2003: Nassau
County, NY
An argument during a lunch break between two alternative
school students, both age 16, escalated into a shoving match
and ended with police arresting 14 people for disorderly
conduct and trespassing. The two students originally in the
fight had been sent home separately but returned with others,
many of them not students. Some who were arrested have
previously been identified by police as gang members,
according to police.
December 9, 2003: Palm Beach
Gardens, FL
An 18-year-old high school student was stabbed three times
during a lunchtime fight with another 18-year-old student.
The suspect would be charged with attempted murder, according
to police. The suspect reportedly pulled out a jackknife with
a four-inch blade during an argument in a courtyard.
December 9, 2003: Sacramento,
CA
A 14-year-old female student pulled out a steak knife and
stabbed a 15-year-old female student in the side of the chest
during a lunchtime altercation in their high school cafeteria,
according to school security officials. Both students were
taken in ambulances to a hospital where the female with the
stab wound underwent exploratory surgery. The other female
reportedly was treated for a broken nose. Reports indicate
that the altercation was over a boy.
December 9, 2003: Cleburne, TX
Three middle school students were reportedly stabbed and
received what school officials described as "puncture wounds"
by another student. Doctors reportedly believed that the
wounds were caused by a small blade, possibly a utility knife
type weapon. The suspect was suspended and police will file
charges.
December 11, 2003: Annandale,
VA
A 15-year-old male high school student was stabbed in the neck
after school. The student was first attacked near the school
but got away, but the attackers caught up with him at a
shopping center parking lot and stabbed him in the neck.
Police reportedly believe that the student may have been a
victim of gang-related violence.
December 11, 2003: New York,
NY
A 15-year-old ninth-grade high school student was stabbed in
the bicep by a 16-year-old classmate. In unrelated incidents
in NYC Schools this same week, an eighth-grade male punched a
teacher in the jaw, chest, and groin in a detention room at a
junior high school. Three students were also arrested at a
high school for fighting with two school security officers.
December 12, 2003: New York,
NY
Seven students were arrested at a Queens high school during a
9:50am disturbance which reportedly began as a fight among
four high school females. Police arrested the girls but a
group of boys began running back and forth on the second floor
of the schools, causing police to spray the hallway with
pepper spray. The boys continued and were eventually arrested
for disorderly conduct, according to reports.
December 16, 2003: Detroit, MI
Sic weapons, including knives and razor blades, were
confiscated as police and school officials conducted an
unannounced weapons sweep at Henry Ford High School.
December 16, 2003: Las Cruces,
NM
A high school student and a school security officer were
hospitalized after a fight involving 80 to 100 students broke
out near the school gym. The student was treated for head
injuries and the teacher was treated for leg and head
injuries. Four suspects were detained.
December 17, 2003: New Orleans,
LA
A 17-year-old suspended student reportedly attacked a school
security officer, sending the security officer to the hospital
after he was repeatedly punched and kicked.
December 17, 2003: Conyers, GA
A 51-year-old male, the estranged husband of a high school
Spanish teacher, was arrested for allegedly bursting into her
classroom during a final exam and attempting to stab the
teacher in the chest. Students grabbed the male and disarmed
him. The teacher said she is in the final stages of divorce
after seven years and had a restraining order against her
husband.
December 18, 2003: Ukiah, CA
A 15-year-old female alleged gang member was stabbed in the
back three times by a 16-year-old alleged female rival gang
member during a fight on school grounds. One of the victim's
lungs reportedly collapsed and both lungs filled with blood,
according to reports.
January 6, 2004: New York, NY
Eight NY City School students were arrested in one day,
including
at three of 12 schools targeted by Mayor
Bloomberg using additional police officers to fight school
violence. A total of five students were arrested at Far
Rockaway High School in Queens, including two brothers who
allegedly injured a pair of school security agents during a
fight; two for disorderly conduct; and one for carrying a box
cutter. At South Shore High School in Brooklyn, a 15-year-old
boy was arrested after he assaulted two school safety
agents in a dean's office. Two students were also arrested for
disorderly conduct at Franklin K. Lane High School in Queens.
January 9, 2004: Dayton, OH
A 16-year-old male student brought a .38 caliber gun to school
and held it to the head of another student who had allegedly been
harassing him, according to news reports. The gun was confiscated and nobody was
injured. The student was taken into custody and charged by
authorities.
January 10, 2004: Rochester, NY
Two teenagers confronted the principal of Sacred Heart
Cathedral School around 6:30 p.m. as she was cleaning snow off
her car. They asked her if she wanted to buy a Rolex and when
she said she didn't understand, they demanded money. When she
said she didn't have any, one hit her in the head several
times with a gun.
January 13, 2004: New York, NY
At least 14 students were arrested at New York City schools on
this single day, including 11 arrested during a cafeteria
brawl at a Brooklyn high school, according to police. The
cafeteria fight broke out at about 12:45 p.m. and eleven
students, all males between the ages of 14 and 17, were
arrested; 10 were charged with disorderly conduct and one with
harassment, police said. A 17-year-old non-student was
arrested for criminal trespassing. In unrelated incidents, two
females were arrested for third-degree assault after they
allegedly jumped a 40-year-old teacher at a Manhattan high
school and a 15-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly
assaulting three school safety agents at a high school in the
Bronx.
January 13, 2004: Dutchtown,
LA
Two high school students, ages 17 and 19, were arrested for
arrested and accused of plotting a massacre on the fifth
anniversary of the Columbine killings in April of 2004.
Drawings of a teacher's brains being blown out and dead bodies
around the school were among items reportedly found by police
after a tip lead them to investigate.
January 15, 2004: Knoxville,
TN
A 16-year-old female high school student in Knox County is
charged with trying to kill a 35-year-old mother of another
student by running her over with a vehicle in front of the
school. The victim was reportedly at the school to deal with
a conflict between her daughter and the 16-year-old suspect
over a boy.
January 17, 2004: Columbus, OH
A large fight involving over 100 teenagers broke out at a
Columbus high school during an emotional overtime basketball
game.
January 17, 2004: Casper, WY
Schools were locked down for an hour and a half after a man
escaped while being transferred from the Wyoming Behavioral
Institute into Wyoming State Hospital custody.
January 18, 2004: Richmond, VA
Richmond school system officials reported having 85 weapons
offenses in the first four months of this school year,
compared with 94 offenses in all of 2002-03. A week prior to
this report, a student threatened to beat up a security guard
and another slashed a classmate's head with a box cutter as
the girl stepped off the bus. Several others were caught
bringing knives to school, police said.
January 21, 2004: New York, NY
Ten students were arrested following a brawl involving up to
50 students at a Bronx high school. Reports indicate that a
group of suspended students returned to the school and became
involved in an altercation with another group of students.
January 22, 2004: Holt, AL
A 15-year-old male high school student threatened a classmate
with an unloaded 9 mm gun for allegedly stealing his milk and
harassing him. Students fled the school cafeteria when the
gun was shown. A sheriff's deputy who was at the school at the
time immediately took the boy with the gun into custody. No
shots were fired, and no one was injured.
January 23, 2004: New York, NY
A 17-year-old female student was stabbed with a kitchen knife
by another 17-year-old female student at a Manhattan subway
station while on the way to school. Reports indicate that the
victim stumbled into the school and screamed she was stabbed.
She was taken to the hospital for treatment.
January 26, 2004: Philadelphia,
PA
A 19-year-old female was arrested for allegedly stabbing her
daughter and leaving her in a snow-covered elementary
schoolyard.
January 28, 2004: Houston, TX
Two high school students, ages 15 and 17, were stabbed in a
fight in by a 16-year-old student.
January 30, 2004: El Paso, TX
El
Paso school police responded to a reported gang-related
stabbing just after 11:30 in the morning. A student allegedly
flashed another student a gang signal. He was then called to
the principal's office and then fled the office, ran outside,
and had another altercation with a different student across
the street from the school. A knife was pulled, and the
student allegedly stabbed the other student in the forearm.
January 30, 2004: Walnut
Creek, CA
A 16-year-old female high school student was stabbed five
times during a fight as she was leaving a school basketball
game. The victim, a known peace advocate, was hospitalized
with a punctured lung. Reports indicate the victim had fought
with the assailants before, although the reason for this fight
was not known at the time of the report. One of the assailants
was also reportedly treated at the hospital for cuts.
January 30, 2004: Rio Rancho,
NM
A 15-year-old male high school student was arrested for
bringing a .357 handgun to school and pointing it at a student
in gym class at 11:45am. A 17-year-old male was also arrested
as an accomplice for holding ammunition for the gun.
February 2, 2004: Jackson
County, MO
A 12-year-old male
middle school student who left a threatening note at home
indicating he was tired of being bullied and that he was
taking some weapons was apprehended by police with weapons.
When a deputy spotted the boy walking along a highway, he
dropped a backpack and ran. After a short foot chase, he was
taken into custody. Deputies said that they found a fully
loaded and cocked revolver in the boy's pants, along with
another gun, several rounds of ammunition, a large knife, and
other items.
February 3, 2004: St. Johns
County, FL
A 14-year-old male student was arrested for assaulting a
12-year-old male student at a bus stop, resulting in the
victim requiring 13 stitches to the eye.
February 4, 2004: Lauderhill,
FL
Two fourth-grade male elementary students, ages 11 and 12,
were arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a
10-year-old girl in an elementary school bathroom. Both
suspects admitted to the assault.
February 4,
2004: Frederick, MD
A 15-year-old male student was stabbed in the leg with a
pocket knife on a school bus during an argument with another
teen.
February 4,
2004: Richland Township, MI
A 15-year-old female high
school student is charged with intent to commit murder and
having a concealed weapon after stabbing a 12-year-old girl
while on the bus on the way home. The suspect, according to
police, stabbed a middle school student five times in the back
and twice in the arm with no apparent provocation.
February 4,
2004: Pittsburgh, PA
An irate motorist shouted
at a city school bus driver while displaying a handgun on the
seat beside him, but did not point the gun at the bus or
driver. The exchange occurred as the driver was stopped to
drop off students at an intersection where the bus had
partially blocked intersection traffic from coming through
until the students cleared the area. The driver saw the gun on
the seat of the vehicle as the driver was pulling away from
the area. School police were notified.
February 5, 2004: Baytown, TX
A 17-year-old high school student was allegedly stabbed a male
attempting to enroll in his high school. The suspect
reportedly had taken the victim's wallet while they were in a
restroom and when the victim attempted to get the wallet back,
the suspect allegedly scraped the victim with a knife.
February
5, 2004: Farmington, NM
A male alternative high school student was stabbed three times
in the back while in the school parking lot. School
administrators reported that the victim may have broken
windows in a nearby car which contained the suspect. The
conflict allegedly stemmed from an off-campus dispute.
February 6,
2004: Pittsburgh, PA
A 47-year-old male parent body-slammed a 57-year-old high
school referee after he ordered the man's wife out of the gym
for allegedly yelling obscenities during a basketball game.
The referee was treated at a hospital for a concussion and
released. The male suspect was charged with assault and his
wife was cited for disorderly conduct.
February 7-8,
2004: Detroit, MI
Three teenagers, two age 16 and one age 15, were arrested for
a vandalism spree on January 31st and February 7-8 resulting
in over $250,000 in damage to musical instruments at one high
school and over $20,000 in damage to property at another
school.
February 9,
2004: Woodbridge, VA
A 14-year-old boy who wrote that he wanted to blow up his
school had a cache of weapons and bomb-making materials in his
bedroom, according to police. Police reportedly found
shotguns, rifles, scopes, handguns, knives, ammunition clips
and gunpowder containers. The guns were legally owned by his
father, police said.
February 9,
2004: Hartford, CT
Three students were stabbed during a 7:30am fight stemming
from a conflict at a weekend party. Two of the victims were
stabbed in the stomach and the third was stabbed in the leg.
Four individuals were taken into custody following the fight.
February 10,
2004: Schenectady, NY
At least 12 individuals were taken into custody around 9:30pm
for what police described as at least five pockets of fights
at a rival high school basketball game. No one was injured
and no weapons were confiscated. Metal detectors had been
used to screen attendees as a security precaution.
February 10, 2004: Kearns, UT
Four male junior high school students were arrested for
plotting to set pff a bomb inside their school. Several
students spotted the one male in possession of an item later
found to be a homemade bomb and told school administrators.
School officials found the device, which was about the size of
fist, in the boy's pocket. Police indicated the boy wished to
harm another student who had bumped into him several weeks
prior to this incident. Police also found other materials to
make bombs during a search of the home. The boys reportedly
had learned how to make the bomb after finding a recipe on a
web site found on a public library computer.
February 11, 2004: Glen Allen,
VA
Two middle school students were arrested after a lunchroom
brawl that ended with a 54-year-old teacher being assaulted.
February 11,
2004: Elk Grove, CA
Two 15-year-old male high school students were arrested on
February 8th and 10th for what police say was a plan to open
fire on a group of students during their lunch on February
11th. The males reportedly planned to steal guns from a local
sporting goods store and set off explosives in the high
school's cafeteria, according to police. Police also found a
hand-drawn map of the school cafeteria and hate drawings
including swastikas.
February 12,
2004: Palm Beach County, FL
According to the Florida
School Indicators Report, Palm Beach County middle schools
reported a 62 percent increase in cases of students having
dangerous items in school, compared with a 12 percent increase
statewide. High schools reported a 26 percent increase,
compared with 2 percent statewide. The district averages were
higher than the state's at middle and high schools in weapons
possession.
February 12,
2004: Jacksonville, FL
Nine high school students and one former student were arrested
for a 12:15pm brawl that started in the school cafeteria and
spilled into the hallway.
February 12,
2004: Philadelphia, PA
Four female high school students were arrested following a
fight in the school cafeteria which left a school police
officer with a broken nose. In an unrelated incident, a
teacher was assaulted by two male students, who are brothers,
on the school's third floor.
February 12,
2004: Stafford, TX
A 16-year-old male high school student was arrested for
stealing a loaded .45-caliber handgun out of a teacher's
briefcase when the teacher stepped out of the room. The
student was suspended and the teacher was placed on
administrative leave during the investigation.
February 12,
2004: Cicero, IL
Two male high school students, ages 14 and 15, were stabbed in
a gang-related fight on the second floor hallway of their high
school around 2:45pm. The initial fight involved two groups
of around five students each. Both students were taken to the
hospital, the 14-year-old being released and the 15-year-old
held in the hospital.
February 13,
2004: Miami, FL
Police arrested 11 high school students following an
after-school brawl involving dozens of students, according to
police. At one point, the crowd charged at the school police
officers who were trying to control the crowd, according to
police. One officer was shoved to the ground but no injuries
were reported.
February 13,
2004: Indian Head, MD
A 16-year-old female high school student stabbed a 16-year-old
male fellow student with scissors after the male had snapped a
rubber band at her in the hallway. The victim was flown by
helicopter to the hospital for minor injuries.
February 17,
2004: San Francisco, CA
A 16-year-old alternative school student was chased several
blocks from his school around 2:45pm and stabbed multiple
times in what police suspected was a gang-related incident.
February 17,
2004: Nashau, NH
Three teens, two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old, were
detained and two were later arrested for breaking into a
vehicle in a high school parking lot and assaulting a school
security officer who approached them while the crime was in
progress.
February 19,
2004: Bellevue, NE
A custodian found a bomb
device at the edge of a field next to a middle school. The
bomb squad was called, the students were moved to a safe
section of the school. The device was blown up without
incident and there were no injuries. Police said the device
had no fuse and likely could not have been detonated.
February 19, 2004:
Philadelphia, PA
A 13-year-old male was slashed in the face by a 15-year-old
male at an elementary school just before students were about
to be dismissed at 3:30pm.
February 23, 2004: Houston, TX
A 17-year-old charter school student was stabbed in the neck
and shoulders during a group attack on a school bus. The
victim received 40 stitches according to his mother. Houston
police are investigating.
February 23, 2004: Dade City,
FL
A Pasco County school resource officer arrested a 13-year-old
male student for possessing a weapon, a multi-purpose tool
with two knives, on school property. His parents arrived and
the boy's father reported took the tool and stated his son was
not going to jail. The father reportedly ignored repeated
requests to drop the tool and became involved in an
altercation with the deputy, allegedly grabbing a razor blade
knife from his rear pocket. The SRO reportedly also saw a
leather knife sheath on the father's side and called for
assistance. A lockdown was called. Additional deputies
responded and the father was taken into custody.
February 24, 2004: Miramar, FL
Two male high school students, ages 17 and 16, were fighting
over a girl when the 17-year-old allegedly stabbed the
16-year-old in the left bicep with a pair of scissors. The
fight and stabbing reportedly occurred around 7:50am during a
gym class behind the high school.
February 25, 2004: Burbank, CA
Streets were closed off and an elementary school was locked
down during an hour-long standoff with a 23-year-old gunman
who had fired a rifle inside his nearby home, according to
police.
February 25, 2004: East St.
Louis, IL
Two middle school students were taken into custody and a high
school student was wanted by police in unrelated incidents
involving semiautomatic guns in schools. A 15-year-old
freshman was reported by fellow high school students to have
had a semi-automatic gun at around 8:15am. The school was
locked down for over two hours but police were unable to
locate the suspect. In an unrelated incident, an 11-year-old
middle school student was arrested after a teacher found with
a .25-caliber handgun. His younger brother, age 12, was
subsequently found with the bullets.
February 25, 2004: Anchorage,
AK
A male high school student was stabbed and suffered a shallow
wound to his chest after an altercation over a cell phone with
a 16-year-old student in a crowded school hallway around
10:45am. The suspect fled but was apprehended later in the
day.
February 26, 2004: Louisville,
KY
A 42-year-old father was arrested for waving a gun around
after he pulled up at a high school and found two students in
an altercation with his son, one of them holding a stick about
to hit his son. School security officials and staff intervened
and the male put down the gun before police were called.
February 26, 2004: Boise, ID
Two teenagers on a junior high school basketball court after
school became involved in a fight and one stabbed the other in
the shoulder. The victim was taken to the school nurse's
office, but fled the area. Police said the suspect was in
custody.
February 26, 2004: Lawrence,
MA
A 14-year-old male student was arrested after setting a
substitute teacher's sweater on fire and subsequently yelling
and swearing after having to be restrained on the way to the
office. The incident occurred as calls are being made for
school resource officers (SROs) to be placed in the schools
due to violence and safety concerns.
February 27, 2004: Mobile, AL
Two high school sophomores engaged in a fight around 11:30am
in their high school and one stabbed the other in the stomach
and neck. The suspect was arrested and charged with assault,
according to reports.
February 27, 2004: Lima, OH
Four male high school students were arrested for allegedly
plotting destruction at their high school. Searches were
subsequently made of their homes over the weekend for
evidence, according to report. One media report indicated the
plot involved bombing the school.
February 27, 2004: Metropolis,
IL
Forty police officers responded to an on-court brawl which
erupted after a rival evening basketball game. An adult and
four juveniles were treated and released at a local hospital.
March 1, 2004: New York, NY
A 14-year-old female student was arrested after going into a
rage and tossing a metal pole out of her classroom window,
striking an innocent 9-year-old. The victim, also a student at
the school, suffered cuts after he was hit in the head and
neck by the pole. In an unrelated incident at another school,
a 16-year-old student was arrested for assaulting a school
safety officer who spotted the student breaking a glass window
inside the school. The student was charged with
second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon
after police found a box-cutter and a screwdriver in his
pockets.
March 1, 2004: Naples, FL
Sheriff's deputies arrested two 15-year-olds and one
14-year-old, all high school students, in connection with a
plot to bomb their high school. Witness and suspect
statements, along with items confiscated from the bedrooms of
two suspects, reportedly confirmed the plot.
March 2, 2004: Bay Minette, FL
An 18-year-old male was arrested after an 8-year-old
elementary student reported that the male threatened him in a
school restroom and showed him a gun. The suspect was
apprehended by police down the street from the school. He was
reportedly found in possession of a fake gun.
March 2, 2004: Holt, MI
A 21-year-old male was arrested for allegedly stabbing a
17-year-old male high school student in the alternative
school's parking lot during lunch hour.
March 4, 2004: New York, NY
A 15-year-old male high school student was stabbed in the back
during his lunch hour close to a parking garage nearby his
school. He was able to return to the school where 911 was
called. The victim was treated and released at the hospital.
March 5, 2004: Lake Worth, FL
An 18-year-old brother of a second grader and his 41-year-old
mother were arrested after visiting an elementary school
around 7:40am. They began making threats and calling staff
names, at which time the school's police officer advised them
to leave and come back at the end of the day to resolve their
matter when fewer people were in the school. The two walked
out, but returned and started banging on the front door
glass. The 18-year-old male reportedly broke the glass as the
school police officer called for back-up. After a struggle
with the 18-year-old male, during which time he was
pepper-sprayed, he broke loose and started to reach in the
passenger side of his van as a deputy and school police
officer attempted to subdue him. The male and his mother were
eventually arrested. During the episode, he reportedly injured
himself, a school guidance counselor, and the school police
officer. The school was put into a lockdown during the
altercation.
March 5, 2004: Brick, NJ
A 14-year-old male vocational school student was arrested
after police found his backpack filled with homemade
explosives left unattended in a school hallway. The backpack
was found by a group of students who were discussing its
contents when a teacher overheard them and reported it to the
school's administration, who in turn called police around
8:23am.
March 5, 2004: San Diego, CA
Two 14-year-old male middle school students were arrested for
allegedly plotting to kill a teacher who had flunked one of
them. The plan was interrupted after another student told his
parents about their plans after overhearing them talking about
it. The boys were arrested at school about a half-hour before
the killing was to occur, which was after school when the
teacher was known for staying to help students. A .25-caliber
semiautomatic pistol belonging to the father of one of the
suspects was found hidden in the bushes outside the school and
a ski mask was found in the backpack of one of the suspects.
One suspect was allegedly planning to put on a ski mask, walk
into the female teacher's classroom, and shoot her. The
suspects were booked for investigation of attempted murder,
conspiracy to commit murder, carrying a concealed weapon and
possession of a weapon on school grounds.
March 9, 2004:
Billerica, MA
An
18-year-old male high school student was stabbed three times
in the upper rib area and another 18-year-old male student
from the same school was struck in the face with a club during
a fight in a parking lot after a division finals hockey
tournament.
March 10,
2004: Phoenix, AZ
A private high school was put into lockdown after 20 students
were rushed inside as police captured a suspect wanted in a
murder who had fled from them but was caught in front of the
school after a chase.
March 10,
2004: Brodheadsville, PA
A 15-year-old male
student was found with several stab wounds at a school bus
stop. Three suspects were later arrested.
March 15, 2004: Daleville, AL
A 17-year-old female high school student was arrested for
stabbing an 18-year-old
female behind the ear, in the arm and twice in the back while
in the school lunchroom.
March 16, 2004: Double Oak, TX
Police plan to arrest a 13-year-old male middle school student
upon his return from vacation with his family after having
found bomb- making instructions and maps of a school's
ventilation system in his backpack, which had been found near
a pond.
March 16, 2004: Los Angeles, CA
A 16-year-old high
school male was arrested after he reportedly overheard
threatening to shoot two fellow students, according to police.
A search of his home by police reportedly turned up more than
50 rounds of live ammunition and two BB guns. Although no
firearms were found, police reportedly learned that the boy
was trying to get a gun and expected to have it in several
days.
March 16, 2004: Ferndale, MI
A
48-year-old female physical education teacher at a school for
emotionally disturbed students was attacked from behind as she
left the gym to walk to her office. The victim was reportedly
found unconscious by a fellow staff member with cuts, bruises,
and a bloody nose. No suspects were known at the time of the
report.
March 17, 2004: Forsyth, MT
Two 8-year-old boys and a 11-year-old male fellow student were
arrested after they buried a loaded handgun in a playground
sandbox and plotted to shoot and stab a third-grade girl
during recess, according to police and school officials. The
plot included a .22-caliber revolver, a knife and a box of
bullets that were all hidden on the playground.
March 17, 2004: Malcolm, NE
A 17-year-old male high school student was arrested after
police found bomb materials and a rifle in the trunk of his
car in the parking lot of a high school-middle school
building.
Investigators reportedly found
around 20 homemade explosive devices, a bolt-action rifle,
several rounds of ammunition,
small bottles of propane and rigged containers of a
petroleum-based propellant
inside the car. The suspect, who reportedly suffers from
bipolar disorder, had allegedly planned to spare only three
people whose name he had on a list with him. Officials were
reportedly acting upon a tip from a student.
March 17,
2004: Racine, WI
A 13-year-old male middle school student was arrested for
allegedly stabbing a 14-year-old student after a snowball
fight escalated into a physical confrontation after school.
Police report that the victim suffered a half-inch wound from
the stabbing.
March 18,
2004: McComb, MS
A 12-year-old male junior high school student was stabbed in
the abdomen with a steak knife during a fight at the school.
Police were reportedly questioning a 14-year-old female
student.
March 19,
2004: Washington, DC
Police were sent to 262 public and private DC schools after an
Internet bomb threat was discovered that said explosive
devices had been planted at five schools. The message was
delivered to city police in an e-mail just before 6 a.m.
warning of explosions at five schools, but no specific
schools were specified. Nothing suspicious was found.
March 22, 2004:
Hartford, CT
A high school teacher received 26 stitches (13 to the shoulder
and 13 for a gash in the back) after being attacked by a
student while breaking up a fight in the school lobby. The
student, one of the alleged fighters, turned on the teacher
and threw him into a glass case containing a fire
extinguisher.
March 23,
2004: Boston, MA
A 14-year-old female middle school student was allegedly
stabbed in the abdomen by a 15-year-old male student during an
altercation while awaiting a public bus on the way to school.
The victim lost a part of her liver which had to be cut out
during emergency surgery following the altercation.
March 24, 2004:
Largo, FL
Police reportedly preempted
a plot by several middle school students who planned to ambush
the campus police officer and go on a shooting spree. Police
say the plot was supposed to start a week and a half prior at
the back side of the 1,400-student school. Two eighth-grade
students were going to lure the school resource officer there
and overpower him, according to reports.
March 24, 2004:
Syracuse, NY
A 14-year-old male student
was stabbed after a fight broke out around 9:30 am this
morning in a hallway of the school. Police believe the dispute
involved revival gangs. The victim suffered stab wounds to the
upper right arm and both forearms. Two 14-year-olds and a
13-year-old were charged with gang assault and a 16-year-old
student has been charged with menacing after calling for
others to come to the school and shoving a teacher who
intervened.
March 24, 2004: Pennsauken, NJ
A 19-year-old male non-student was arrested in connection with
an altercation in a high school parking lot around 2pm in
which two
male students were slashed, one in the buttocks and the other
in the abdomen, during a six-person brawl. A 20-year-old and
two juveniles were also arrested right after the incident.
March 24,
2004: Bellevue, WA
A 16-year-old male high school student brought a loaded 9mm
handgun to school and pointed it to his own head while crying
near the school's library around 11:25am. A teacher was able
to pull the gun away.
March 27, 2004: Tamaqua, PA
A 20-year-old male was arrested for allegedly biting off a
piece of a police officers' earlobe after being evicted from a
high school play for drinking and yelling.
March 30, 2004: Allentown, PA
A 15-year-old male high school student was charged with
attempted homicide after stabbing two teenage boys around
3:00pm after school near Allen High School. One victim was
stabbed five times and the other was stabbed at least twice,
according to reports of court documents.
March 30, 2004: Sarasota, FL
An 18-year-old male senior at a Catholic high school was
charged with threatening to shoot classmates and to detonate a
bomb at the school graduation. Sheriff's deputies searched the
grounds of the private school, but found no weapons. However,
they did find "papers talking about violence" in the student's
backpack, according to reports.
March 31, 2004: London, OH
A 17-year-old male high school student was reportedly caught
on a school bus video tape beating a 14-year-old male student,
punching him at least 27 times before the bus driver stopped
the attack. The victim suffered a concussion and fractured eye
socket, according to his mother.
March 31,
2004: Seattle, WA
A female high school student was slashed in the face during an
altercation with another student in the school lunchroom. The
suspect fled the building but was subsequently apprehended.
The victim was taken to the hospital. School officials
believed the weapon was a letter opener, according to reports.
April 1, 2004:
Woodlawn, MD
Two people were arrested
and 11 students were suspended after a shoving match escalated
into a brawl during an anger management assembly at a suburban
high school. A confrontation between a student's mother and a
group of girls who had been bothering her daughter turned into
a shouting match, moved to pushing and hitting, and the crowd
of 750 students erupted into "chaos," according to the
principal. The altercation began as students on stage acted
out peaceful ways to resolve conflict.
April 6, 2004: Indianapolis, IN
An 8th-grade middle school male student was arrested for
possession of a gun in a Pike Township school. The arrest led
police to find 11 more firearms dumped in a water company
canal. Police say the weapons were taken from a home
burglary. A total of three students and a 21-year-old male
were arrested in connection with the guns and the burglary.
April 7, 2004: San Antonio, TX
An eighth-grade male middle school student was stabbed in the
neck with a pen during an altercation outside of school. The
victim was hospital and in fair condition at the time of the
report.
April 19, 2004: Sioux City, IA
A 15-year-old male high school student was arrested for
plotting a Columbine-style attack at his school. The male
reportedly admitted to the plot and was allegedly infatuated
with the Columbine killers. No weapons were found in the
school lockers.
April 19, 2004: Madison, WI
A 16-year-old reportedly stabbed a 17-year-old in the arm and
abdomen around noon in a parking lot nearby the high school.
The 17-year-old required 90 stitches, according to reports.
April 21, 2004: Charleston WV
Two 14-year-old males got into a fight, reportedly over a
girl, behind a middle school around 1:30pm. The suspect, not a
student at the school, reportedly stabbed the victim (a
student) in the back with a knife. The victim ran in the
school and collapsed in the nurse's office, regaining
consciousness upon the arrival of paramedics. The suspect's
parents later turned the suspect in to police.
April 22, 2004: Eden Prairie,
MN
A high school was locked down and thousands of students sent
home following a report of a person seen with a gun at the
school around 8:00am. Police arrested a 21-year old male
non-student on suspicion of making threats to use a gun, and
three other students were also detained by school staff
members.
April 28, 2004: Boston, MA
A 14-year-old, 7th-grade male middle school student was
stabbed three times as he stood at a transit station with a
group of fellow students after school. A 15-year-old male
suspect was arrested.
April 29, 2004: New York, NY
A 16-year-old male high school was stabbed after school in a
Manhattan subway station and fled his attackers, running
across four tracks to the opposite platform. A 20-year-old
male believed to have been trying to brake up the fight was
also stabbed. Police said the argument was sparked when the
male made a comment to a girl who was traveling with 10 other
males.
April 30, 2004: Mount Vernon,
WA
A 14-year-old female middle school student was reportedly
beaten unconscious by several other girls at a chaperoned
dance for middle school honors students, according to police.
Two female suspects, ages 12 and 14, were reported to be in
police custody. The victim was said to have suffered cuts and
bruises, and was treated at a hospital.
May 3, 2004: Sunrise, FL
A fight broke out between four to five students outside a high
school related to a weekend fight at a party over girl. As
security personnel arrived, two students reportedly left and
entered the campus. Inside, a second fight reportedly erupted
where a 17-year-old student allegedly stabbed another
17-year-old student.
May 4, 2004: Rockaway Beach,
NY
A group of teenagers beat and stabbed a 17-year-old male who
was on his way home from an area high school.
May 11, 2004: Clinton, NC
Congressman Bob Etheridge, while speaking at an elementary
school, helped subdue an adult female who interrupted his
presentation, threatened him, and came toward him with her
hand in her purse while saying she had a gun. Police found no
gun in the bag, but did find one in her car.
May 12, 2004: Garland, TX
A grand jury indicted 34 people, aged 14 to 21, for riot
participation/aggravated assault/serious bodily injury, for a
March 3rd gang fight which was arranged on the Internet and
videotaped. The incident allegedly involved 27 high school
students.
May 12, 2004:
Chicago, IL
A 56-year-old female, senior kindergarten teacher was stabbed
in the torso by a robber on the school's front steps around
6:00am. She was found by other teachers. She was
hospitalized and in good condition according to a report.
May 12, 2004:
Detroit, MI
A 43-year-old male school security officer was punched several
times and knocked to the ground while trying to break up a
fight around 11:00am at his high school.
May 12, 2004:
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Police arrested 11 high school students after a brawl in a
school courtyard between classes.
May 14, 2004:
Winder, GA
Two 14-year-old male middle school students were arrested for
plotting a "Columbine-style" killing spree plot.
May 17, 2004:
Brevard County, FL
A 17-year-old high school student followed a school bus to the
home of a 14-year-old male who had allegedly struck the
17-year-old's car with a pen cap. The 17-year-old reportedly
demanded an apology, the 14-year-old refused, and the two
became involved in a fight. During the fight, the 17-year-old
allegedly pulled out a knife but was somehow stabbed with it.
May 19, 2004:
Harrison Township MI
One student was stabbed in the leg by another students during
an altercation around 12:30pm in a science lab classroom.
Police arrested the suspect.
May 24, 2004:
Longview, TX
Two 13-year-old female students became involved in an
altercation shortly after 3:00pm by the school's office and
one was stabbed in the back of the head several times with
scissors, according to police.
May 24, 2004:
Philadelphia, PA
A 14-year-old female middle school student was reportedly
slashed in the face, head, and neck with a box cutter after
several girls allegedly surrounded and attacked her outside of
the school. Police found her in a pool of blood several
blocks away.
May 24, 2004:
Kamas, UT
Two
high school sophomores were arrested for reportedly planning a
violent rampage at their school which included a drafted
"rudimentary tactical plan," according to the sheriff's
office. Deputies reportedly found a diagram, which included
the entrances and exits for South Summit High School, amid
hundreds of pages of violent images allegedly showing the two
15-year-olds shooting and raping teachers and classmates. Two
classmates allegedly indicated that at least one of the teens
attempted to buy or borrow a handgun the classmate's parents
owned.
May 26,
2004: Mercer Island, WA
A Mercer Island middle school closed as police investigated a
report that students planned to bring weapons to school.
School officials closed through the end of the week. A
14-year-old eighth grader had been arrested on May 24, 2004. A
school resource officer found an unloaded .38-caliber revolver
and two bullets in the boy's backpack.
May 27, 2004:
Bountiful, UT
A 57-year-old female suburban junior high math teacher was
arrested for allegedly threatening to go on a shooting rampage
if she did not get the assignments she wanted, according to
police. The teacher was was taken into custody while on her
lunch break at a fast food restaurant, and charged with making
a terroristic threat.
May 27, 2004:
Victorville, CA
A high school student was stabbed in the upper left chest near
the shoulder around 2:30pm.
May 28, 2004:
Brooklyn, NY
A
13-year-old boy was stabbed in the back in a Brooklyn
schoolyard by two suspects, ages 14 and 17, while he was on
the schoolyard at 12:45pm. Police later arrested the two
suspects.
June 2, 2004: Richmond, VA
Two males
reportedly got into a fight and one of the two pulled out a
small blade knife and slashed at the other student. The victim
was reportedly cut above the eye and along his chest and
torso.
June 6, 2004:
Tallahassee, FL
Two teenage female middle
school students, ages 14 and 15, allegedly used the sign-in
book at their school to steal the identities of a dozen
teachers and buy $5,000 worth of phones, clothes, and food
with the help of two adults, who were also arrested.
June 9, 2004: Waterbury, CT
Seven
seventh-graders were arrested after a food fight in their
middle school cafeteria. Two teachers and a detective were
injured during the altercation, according to reports.
June 9,
2004: Pittsfield, MA
A bomb filled with .22-caliber
nail-gun charges was placed in a trash can near the building's
rear entrance. It detonated just as students were arriving
for classes. No suspects were known at the time of the
report.
June 10, 2004: Victorville, CA
A 17-year-old male, who attended a different school, showed up
on his 14-year-old girlfriend's campus and stabbed the female
and then himself after they both walked into a bathroom
together around 7:30am. The male reportedly stabbed the female
in the chest once and then stabbed himself in the chest three
times. The male had allegedly told classmates that if the girl
broke up with him, there might be some violence.
June 11, 2004: Marysville, CA
A 17-year-old male received a deep knife slash in his side
during an altercation outside of an intermediate school
graduation ceremony around 8:55pm. The victim reportedly was
one of four individuals involved in a fight with 10 to 16
other youths in the parking lot of the high school football
stadium.
June 18, 2004: Gainesville, VA
A 12-year-old male middle school student was charged with
bringing a loaded .30-06 rifle, another rifle, and a shotgun
to the school. An assistant principal found him changed into
camouflage clothes and loading one of the guns in a restroom
stall. He called police while the school quickly implemented a
lockdown. The suspect's mother, a cafeteria worker in the
school, was charged with possession of a firearm on school
property as she reportedly knew the weapons were in her car
but did not report them. The suspect allegedly took the keys
and got the weapons out of the car after they had arrived
together that morning. The suspect reportedly threatened
school office staff but was subdued by police before harming
anyone.
June 26, 2004:
Rochester, NY
Two individuals were reportedly stabbed at a high school
graduation ceremony. A
school district spokeswoman reportedly identified one victim
as a female student and the other as the brother of one of the
graduates.
June 28, 2004:
Pittsburgh, PA
A 15-year-old male charter high school student was arrested
after other students reported that he was plotting to blow up
the school. Several ninth-grade students told a school
administrator that the suspect had a detailed floor plan and
had been looking at web sites that showed how to make
explosives. School administrators met with the student
and his father, and obtained the notebook. Police were
notified and arrested the student that evening at his home.
June 29, 2004: Garden Grove,
CA
Police reportedly indicated that a continuation school student
was stabbed in the neck around noon during an argument. The
wound was considered superficial. Police indicated that
two groups of students were arguing when the victim ran and
the assailant chased him. The victim turned and was stabbed on
the side of the throat.
July 7, 2004: Norcross, GA
Four suspects came onto a middle
school campus and attacked a 14-year-old male summer school
student in the school's courtyard. Three of the four suspects
reportedly punched the victim while the fourth stood nearby
and displayed a handgun to intimidate bystanders, according to
police reports. One 16-year-old suspect was subsequently
arrested. Police state that the attackers identified
themselves as members of the La Raza street gang.
July 13, 2004: Richmond, RI
State troopers and local police received a 911 call to a local
middle school reporting that three youths were walking on
school grounds wearing black clothing, black gloves and dark
sunglasses. They were also carrying firearms. Police
confronted the teens in a parking lot and ordered them to the
ground at gunpoint. Police found two air rifles, a paint gun
and two single-shot cap guns wrapped in black electrical
paint. No ammunition was found with the guns. Detectives later
learned the teens had not threatened anyone and were
attempting to make a movie, apparently a spinoff of the action
film, "The Matrix." Two 15-year-old males and a 16-year-old
male were charged with possession of a firearm by a minor and
possession of a firearm on school grounds.
July 29, 2004: Union City,
CA
A 15-year-old male middle school student was stabbed in his
right arm with a knife having a 4-inch blade after being
approached by several teens outside his middle school. The
attackers reportedly fled in a van.