Shooting Spree At Cleveland High School

Suspended Student Injures 5 Before Killing Himself

(CBS/AP)  A 14-year-old suspended student, dressed in black, opened fire in his downtown high school Wednesday, wounding four people as terrified schoolmates hid in closets and bathrooms and huddled under laboratory desks. He then killed himself.

The 14-year old freshmen at SuccessTech Academy alternative school had been suspended for fighting, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds.

“When he got suspended, he said ‘I got something for you all,’ and I thought he was just playing 'cause he says it all the time,” said a fellow student. “But I see that he was for real.”

“He's crazy. He threatened to blow up our school. He threatened to stab everybody,” Doneisha LeVert said. “We didn't think nothing of it.”

Asa H. Coon was armed with two .38 caliber revolvers, and police found a duffel bag stocked with ammunition and three knives in a bathroom, officials said. Parents were angry that firearms got into a school equipped with metal detectors that students said were intermittently used.

Officials said two teachers and two students were shot, and that a 14-year-old girl fell and hurt her knee while running out of the school.

Witnesses said the shooter moved through the converted five-story downtown office building, working his way up through the first two floors of administrative offices to the third floor of classrooms. Officials said he was wearing a black Marilyn Manson concert shirt, black jeans and black-painted finger nails.

“He just came back and started shooting at people,” a student tells CBS News. “He would just shoot at anybody who was in the hallway, so everybody just ran down the hallway.”

The first person shot, student Michael Peek, had punched Coon in the face right before the shootings began, said student Rasheem Smith, 15.

Coon “came out of the bathroom and bumped Mike and he (Mike) punched him in his face. Mike started walking. He shot Mike in the side.” Peek, 14, didn't know Coon had a gun, Smith said.

Antonio Deberry, 17, said he and his classmates hid under laboratory tables and watched the shooter move down the hallway. “I saw him walking past. He didn't see us, we saw him.” The shooter swore and shot several times, Deberry said.

LeVert said she hid in a closet with two other students after she heard a “Code Blue” alert over the loudspeaker. She said she heard about 10 shots.

Darnell Rodgers, 18, was walking up to another floor when the stairway suddenly became flooded with students.

“It took me a couple of minutes to realize that I was actually shot, when I felt my arm burning in the area, that's when I realized that I had got shot,” Rodgers said.

“They were screaming, and they were saying, 'Oh my God, oh my God.' I knew something was wrong, but thought that it was probably just a fight, so I just kept going,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers was released from a hospital after treatment for a graze wound to his right elbow.

Coon had been suspended since Monday for fighting near the school that day, said Charles Blackwell, president of SuccessTech's student-parent organization. He did not know how Coon got into the building Wednesday.

Blackwell said that there was a security guard on the first floor, but that the position of another guard on the third floor had been eliminated.

Students and parents described the gunman as troubled, Reynolds reports.

“It could have been avoided, because there were warning signs,” said one parent.

Student Frances Henderson, 14, said she often got into arguments with Coon, who once told her, “I got something for you all.” He was a “gothic” who usually wore a trench coat, black boots and a dog collar, she said.

[oeangus]

Bring the troops home! We need them in our schools!

[oeangus]

Yeesh, maybe the Bible WAS right about that Armageddon thing...

[peacefulang1]

Where did he get the gun?

[rasabaka]

So, did he shoot himself, or did someone shoot him?

[eksintrik1]

No Child Left Behind and No teacher left standing

[gunownerdan]

You can be sure the school is a "GUN FREE ZONE".
Of course, the shooter couldn''t care less.
Responsible teachers and other adults should be able to carry guns if they choose to do so and they know how to use them safely and properly.

[usayesterday]

Another kid using a gun to release his anger.

How novel.

Any solutions for this rampant trend?

(Bring back corporal punishment in the home perhaps).

[usayesterday]

When I did bad things, my momma made damnn sure that I never did it again, and the hand print on the left and/or right side of my face reminded me of that.

After the small beating (of no more than three or four smacks upside the head), THEN I was sent to my room.

Oh yeah, and back in the early to mid 80''s, my room did not include a home theater system with an Xbox, Playstation, and hundreds of games! My room was actually a punishment because I was not able to go outside and play with my friends!

Yes, the late 70''s to early 80''s were a great time for kids. The last period of time, apparently, where kids were raised properly!

When the in-home corporal punishment was taken away, so was civility among the youth population.

[usayesterday]

To reiterate what "usmcvn" said:

One-parent families, statistically proven, do not work as well as a two-parent family (mother and father).

[emsaund1]

USAYESTERDAY -- Indeed, those time are long gone. And, that''s too bad for us parents. But, I''ve maintained and my 3 kids are doing pretty good.

[firesecy]

"Good idea!! They''''ll rape ''''em first and then kill ''''em and set them on fire.
Posted by usmcvn at 03:17 PM : Oct 10, 2007" ---

and your point is what????? you sound like the kind who whines "protect me...but don''t hurt them.." --

[whatithink-2009]

How does our nation solve it''s problems? We go to war. Shock and Awe. Smoke ''em out. That''s what the kids are hearing and that''s how we are teaching them to solve their problems.

[oeangus]

Gosh, it''s been a couple of months since the last one. Too bad more people don''t carry guns... then there wouldn''t be so few of these shooting sprees.

[whatithink-2009]

Our economy is doing well. It''s just the nation that is sick.

[whatithink-2009]

oeangus,

Give me a break. There would be even more. Wild Wild West. No thank you.

[oscarez]

"Too many broken familys in todays america. One parent
familys don''''t work."

Posted by usmcvn at 03:19 PM : Oct 10, 2007

"One parent familys sic(families) don''''t work", where did you get this information from, or is this your opinion?

usayesterday has got it right. and socrates392 is a dumb ***

[whatithink-2009]

Oscarez,

I have no idea how this topic got started. Nobody has even announced who the killer is or whether he or she is from a single home. Nontheless, I believe the Columbine shooters came from two-family homes as well as the VT killer. The guy who killed the children in the Amish school was married. So, I''m not sure how school shootings and single parenting are correlated.

[emsaund1]

WHATITHINK: Its natural for people to migrate the topic and pinpoint some kind of blame. Not necessarily blaming the parents here, but, since we are on the topic, a few beatings would most likely can a lot of the voilence out there.

We can also put the blame on the yuppy liberals who have taken the right to punish our children out of our hands. They are a big part of the problem as well.

[xzavierbrown]

where do these kids get this ideas????

oh hell they were doing so good when they are watching mtv or just innocently playing grand theft auto..

[lochlan-2009]

I think it was yesterday we were hearing from all those people who didn''t think a teacher should have a concealed gun while at school.`

in home corpal punishment is the answer for some kids i know it worked for me.

[sevenveils]

Does anyone remember that article printed in the last two days where a female teacher was going to court to fight for her right to carry a gun in school?

[notblue]

In several states that have adopted new conceal carry laws, the left screamed the wild west will come to our streets! In EVERY case that did not happen, in fact crime rates dropped. We are now sowing the seeda the liberals have planted over the last thirty years. The new generation does not know the meaning of discipline, respect, and self responsibility. As this article states, code blue did not work, lockdowns do not work, preventing firepower with firepower does work. It''s time to wake up to this reality of our modern progressive society and allow qualified individuals to protect our children with more than words and emrgency plans.

[oscarez]

Bush swaggers up to the mike and says "Bring ''em on.". He could hardly restrain himself from "slapping leather", pulling his old Colt 45 and waving it in the air. The NRA just loved it. Is there any wonder at what is happing in the U.S.A.

[whatithink-2009]

It is so easy for some of you to blame this on "the liberals." Like a typical conservative, you focus on the cure instead of prevention. It couldn''t be that some of you war-mongers are also part of the problem. If kids grow up thinking it is okay to drop bombs on people when you don''t like them, what do you think they are going to do? I don''t say that some of the issues do stand with some liberals, but the hands of the conservatives ARE NOT clean either.

[whatithink-2009]

Shock and Awe
Smoke ''em out
Takin'' it to them, so we don''t have to deal with it
500lb bombs dropped on people

...but that doesn''t have any impact.

[justcurious3]

Non-traditional means school for ignorant hood rats. This is a gang related shooting in an all black school for kids with learning disabilities (IMHO) that do not have the social or academic skills to make it in traditional schools. Generally this should be looked at as an indicator that they can not make it in society, but isnt that the norm for that "community darkm eat4

I am a 17 year old white girl with a 3.4 gpa who was homeless for 3 weeks this summer. I live with my husband who takes care of me since my parents kicked me out...I was in a gang from 12-15 and I have to drop out of high school where i am right now, so that i can work and juggle my and my husbands jobs.
I will be going to a ACADEMY and I don''t think i will want to go and shoot somebody and i DEFINETLY believe that i belong in public and the community. You are probably a white republican who doesn''t care about anyone but yourself

[whatithink-2009]

xzavierbrown,

Our children are so desensitized to violence from an early age. Our society has an issue with showing breasts on tv but we have no problem with Arnold killing a load of people with a machine gun.

[justcurious3]

It is so easy for some of you to blame this on "the liberals." Like a typical conservative, you focus on the cure instead of prevention. It couldn''''t be that some of you war-mongers are also part of the problem. If kids grow up thinking it is okay to drop bombs on people when you don''''t like them, what do you think they are going to do? I don''''t say that some of the issues do stand with some liberals, but the hands of the conservatives ARE NOT clean either.

I like you whatithink

[n0el-2009]

I''ve read through a bunch of the comments posted, and you all keep saying let teachers carry guns.. So what happens when that teacher isn''t paying attention and the student grabs the gun and kills off the teacher and 12-14 kids and them self?

And the biggest thing you say it''s these one parent homes not showing enough affection or love.. But if you look back at most of these kids that have brought a gun to school and shot up the school, they''ve been with BOTH of the parents at home. So why are we assuming that it''s ONE parent homes that these kids are coming from.
I come from a split family and I got enough attention and so did my brother and sisters, there was a lot of kids at school in full parent houses that had the kids coming to school passing threats and such..

[oscarez]

justcurious3 ... Well said. Some people are always trying to paint everyone with the same brush. Pay no heed and good luck.

[whatithink-2009]

justcurious3,

Good for you. I think this guy is a troll, so I didn''t bother to respond (don''t want to waste my time). But, I will to you. The school is a special school in the sense that the students have to apply to attend it. It has a small number of students and a low teacher-to-student ratio. It''s a new school outside of the traditional public schools that is funded by the Gates Foundation. The children there have very high test scores on average.

[emsaund1]

WHATITHINK -- Well, your wrong. It absolutely is a HUGE Liberal problem. It''s a combination of, yuppy touchy-feely parent groups, idiotic psychologists that brainwash people into taking prozak, and stupid politicians that wont stand up against parental lobbyist groups that like to stick their noses into other parents problems because they dont like they way they are disciplining kids.

It just makes me want to vomit sometimes. But hey, all you people out there, keep letting your children run over you. After awhile, he grows up to be a mindless thug that thinks he can do anything without suffering any recourse.

Thanks Liberal society, we appreciate what your doing for our children.

[whatithink-2009]

justcurious3,

I like you too, justcurious3. Keep up the good work.

[whatithink-2009]

n0eL,

Well said. Not to mention, who says that the teachers are stable? We just had a police officer kill a bunch of people at a party.

[whatithink-2009]

emsaund1,
So, you think the conservatives are perfect? It must be easy to be a conservative and take personal responsibilities because you guys don''t seem to be responsible for anything.

[n0el-2009]

Exactly, do you know how stressed out and mad some of them teachers get at the students? Yet some of you want to send them to school with guns? Where is that right? I''ve had a teacher grab one of my class mates by the neck and strangle him till someone could pull him off, now just think if that teacher had a gun what would have happened.

[usayesterday]

The history of "The Blame Game":

Before violence in video games... there was violence on TV.

Before violence on TV... there was violence in the movies.

Before violence in the movies... there was violence in the plays/theater

Before the video games let kids shoot at things/people, we had kids playing "Cops-and-Robbers" and "Cowboys-and-Indians".

Take away all the violent video games, TV, movies, theater, (including the toy guns and such), and what are we left with?....


CHILDREN... WITH PARENTS... WHO STILL DON''T TEACH THEIR CHILDREN ABOUT BEING RESPONSIBLE!!!

[usayesterday]

Our society can try to match up the political ideology with the movement...

for example...

Is it the Liberals or the Conservatives who are trying to ban violent video games/movies/TV etc.?

Is it the Liberals or the Conservatives who have made in-home corporal punishment ''taboo'' in today''s society?

The biggest question should be...

WHO TOOK AWAY THE TEACHING OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR CHILDREN AS WELL AS THE ACT OF ENSURING OUR CHILDREN RETAIN THAT TEACHING?!

[n0el-2009]

People need someone to blame to feel better about what is going on. To put and understanding and a blame on something else, a video game ;; movie ;; television ;; friends ;; etc.. It''s easier to put the blame on those things in the kids lives rather then to put the blame back on them selfs.. Rather then explaining to the kids what is real and what is fiction/fantasy..

[suestwins]

It is enough of a tragedy that this is happening again, why do you need to point out that the students are poor according to the poverty guidlines? Are you trying to say that this is something to expect because they are not rich? Well look at Columbine, they were not of poor standards. This can happen any where, any time, financial status has nothing to do with it. I think that is a cheep shot to their families financial status.

[miles1102]

we live in a very violent world. we will not have to worry aboult global warming if we kill each other off. we have enough nukes to wipe out the population a zillon times.this violence must stop please !!!!!!!!!

[oscarez]

Don''t worry justcurious3. darkmeat4 is a troll.

[krenz4]

darkmeat: now I see black children committing a crime in a school that has been, until now the crime of choice of white males in their schools. Since yo think that this a case of THEM playing the victim, what would you call columbine? who''s fault was it for pushing that "poor white" boy over the edge? Was he a victim of the lack of morals and decency that you''ve attributed to this shooter?

[n0el-2009]

suestwins,
I agree with you fully. People have it in there heads that this kind of stuff can''t happen in there environment. That there kids are better then this and could never do any of this kind of stuff.

You people are blaming one another, when you should be putting it on your self in some ways. Do you know where your children are? Do you know what they''re doing when they''re not in your house? Do you honestly have as much control over them when they walk out the door as you think you do?
A lot of kids hid things from there parents from drugs to alcohol, especially depression and things that are going on at school. No one wants to tell someone there being picked on or bulled for the way they look or dress or there weight etc..
It''s easy to put a smile on every day and pretend everything is going alright, when really these kids could feel like there whole world is coming in on them..

[notblue]

Growing up in the 50''s and 60''s the U.S. was "dropping bombs" but there were No school, workplace, or any other "rage" shootings. What was lost over the last thirty years? Discipline, respect and responsibility. We have become the blame someone or something else society. Not unlike the ingrates here at leftwing central who blame one man or one demographic for ALL the worlds problems as in Bush or the neocons. Or in the case of this article blame the gun not the failure of our modern progressive society. These problems were not present when teachers were able to discipline students and these students were responsible for there failures not the system!

[n0el-2009]

Some of you act like hitting these kids is going to help? I''m not saying some of them don''t deserve a good whooping, but for real.
I''m 21 when I was 18 I got full custody of my then 14 year old sister. She went to school one day and managed to get a gun away from one of her class mates. He decided to come to school and shoot the girl that broke up with him, a teacher for putting him in detention and a couple other class mates for teasing him. He also had a list of people other then these that he had planned on killing, one being his father who beat him at home for everything he had done.
If it hadn''t been for my little sister and her friend talking this boy out of killing these people there would have been a lot of people dead that day, and for all Iknow one of them could have been my sister.
How is it that people are suppose to send there children into a school who say it''s a gun free zone and expect them to come home every night safe?
My sister didn''t have our father or mother around at this time, but she new right from wrong, and I always new what she was doing where she was going and if she was having problems my room mate and I were right there to help her.

[oscarez]

notblue ...When I was a kid I watched John Wayne movies. When "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" was released, my mom and dad took me to see the movie and it gave me nightmares. My mom explained that it was just make believe, not real. Some kids don''t have parents at all or parents that care enough to tell them that it is just "make believe, not real". There is more than just one cause for gun violence.

[emsaund1]

WHATITHINK -- Well, I can tell you this. I''ve taken responsibility for my own 3 kids and so far, they''ve turned out just fine. I believe they have turned out fine because they know they will be "Smashed" if they come at me with all this teeneage stupidity.

I''m at the point now where I dont have to lay my hands on them at all. I say jump, they say how high. You know why that is? It''s because I caught them earlier and instilled discipline from the get-go.