U.S.

Fear Turns To Outrage At Tucson School

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 10, 2000 / 3:16 PM EDT / CBS

The fear that spread through a Tucson middle school Monday at word that a sixth grade teacher had been shot has now turned to outrage. That teacher, 35-year-old Kathy Morris, now stands accused of shooting herself in the shoulder and could be committed to a mental health facility and forced to reimburse authorities for police costs.

In an interview with the CBS News Early Show, Pima County prosecutor Barbara LaWall said the decision is still being made on whether to file criminal charges against Morris, who is in fair condition at University Medical Center.

"One of the reasons that we would file criminal charges, not only to hold her accountable, but to get court-ordered restitution," explains LaWall. "There were enormous amounts of resources that were spent on this: the SWAT team, the helicopters, FBI, AFT, prosecutors. If she were convicted of criminal charges, the court would order restitution."

The issues at stake, says LaWall, go beyond this particular incident, which has inflamed the community because of Morris' initial claim that she was shot by a Hispanic gunman. "She needs to be held accountable. The message to the community is if you are a perpetrator of this kind of a hoax on the community, there will be a cost."

Students and teachers returned to La Cima Middle School Tuesday but the mood is a long way from back to normal. One elementary school teacher says she is upset that Morris "used racism to further her own agenda." Superintendent Robert J. Smith has issued an apology to the Hispanic community, calling Morris' allegation "destructive, damaging and insulting to our students and members of the district's minority communityI am sickened that this has occurred."

Student Priscella Klein voices her own outrage at Morris, who police say used a false bottom in her purse to smuggle the gun into the school building. "She didn't only hurt herself, she hurt everyone around her. We all felt really bad, but today we are all really mad, and I don't ever want to step foot inside her classroom again."

Interviewed Wednesday by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Jane Clayson, school principal Phil Woodall said Morris taught at the school since 1991 and "there was no strange behavior that we were aware of." Authorities now quote Morris as saying she shot herself to highlight the lack of security at the school. Woodall finds that claim peculiar. "Local law enforcement has indicated that our system is really a model system in terms of school safety, particularly in light of the events of the last year."

Security at La Cima Middle School was beefed up after last year's Columbine High School shooting. Woodall now maintains radio contact with all teachers and the building's locked doors cannot be entered without a valid magnetic-strip ID card.

Next step for Pima County is filing the petition to have Morris committed. "Once the papers re filed, then she will have to have a hearing and she will be detained," explains prosecutor LaWall, who says Morris would be kept at the hospital until the hearing.

Charges which could be filed against Morris include filing a false report, interfering with an educational institution, and possession of a deadly weapon on school grounds. LaWall notes that none of those charges are felonies. "That she had a gun, that is a misdemeanor under Arizona law...Our gun laws are different...you would think it would be a felonious conduct, but not in Arizona."

The shooting isn't the only incident under investigation. Police also say Morris had been sending herself threatening notes, using cutout letters, one of which read "pass she lives, fail she dies."