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(Photo: WCCO)
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The gunman was Jeff Weise, a 16-year-old student at Red Lake High School. Authorities said Weise began his shooting spree by killing his grandfather and the grandfather's companion. He then donned the man's police-issue gunbelt and bulletproof vest before heading to the school, where he first shot a security guard then targeted students and teachers at random. FBI spokesman Paul McCabe said the gunman exchanged gunfire with Red Lake police in a hallway, then retreated to a classroom, where he was believed to have shot himself.
Weise, who routinely wore a long black trench coat, eyeliner and combat boots, has been described by several classmates as a quiet teenager. Some of them knew about his troubled childhood - relatives said his father had committed suicide in 1997 and his mother suffered head injuries in an auto accident.
Students said Weise had recently not been attending school. A school board member said Weise had been placed in a program in which he received instruction from a traveling teacher. She said it was because of a policy violation, but that she didn't know what it was, and wouldn't be allowed to reveal it if she did.
Authorities were investigating whether Weise may have posted messages on a neo-Nazi Web site expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Using the handle "Todesengel" - German for "Angel of Death" - the writer identified himself as Jeff Weise of the Red Lake Reservation on the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party's site. In April 2004, the writer said he was accused of "a threat on the school I attend," but was later cleared.
In one posting, the writer criticized interracial mixing on the reservation and slammed fellow Indian teens for listening to rap music. "We have kids my age killing each other over things as simple as a fight, and it's because of the rap influence," he wrote.
Weise, posting under the handle "Blades11," also appeared to be a regular contributor to numerous fan fiction sites related to zombies. On one, Weise identifies himself as being from Red Lake and lists himself as an amateur writer.
He goes on to write, "I'm a fan of zombie films, have been for years, as well as fan of horror movies in general. I like to write horror stories, read about Nazi Germany and history, and someday plan on moving out of the US."
In a posting from Feb. 6, he agreed to continue contributing to a story line but added that things are "kind of rocky right now so I might disappear unexpectedly."
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