Shooter Drove Police Car To School

Authorities in Minnesota are providing a clearer picture of just what happened in Monday's shooting rampage where a teenager allegedly killed nine people, including his grandfather, before taking his own life.

FBI agent Michael Tabman said the 16-year-old suspect, Jeff Wiese, killed his grandfather and his female companion, took the grandfather's bulletproof vest and gun belt, and drove to Red Lake High School in the slain man's police cruiser.

When it was over, 10 people, including five students and Weise himself, were dead.

It was the worst U.S. school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado, in April 1999 that ended with the deaths of 12 students, a teacher and the two teen gunmen.

At a news conference Tuesday, Tabman said he couldn't confirm whether Weise was the same person who made posts to a neo-Nazi site, including one in which the writer billed himself as the "Angel of Death."

Aside from the teen's grandfather, Daryl Lusier, and Lusier's companion, Michelle Sigana, Weise's targets appeared random, Weise said. An unarmed security guard and a teacher also were killed.

Initial reports had as many as 15 people injured in the shooting, but authorities Tuesday lowered that to seven. Five remained in the hospital, including two students with critical injuries from gunshot wounds to the head or face.

Some of the victims were shot at close range, medical officials said. Witnesses said the gunman smiled and waved as he fired, asking one of his victims whether he believed in God.

Red Lake student Reggie Graves said he was watching a movie about Shakespeare in class Monday when he heard the gunman blast his way past the metal detector at the school's entrance, where an unarmed guard was killed.

Then, in a nearby classroom, he heard the gunman say something to his friend Ryan. "He asked Ryan if he believed in God," Graves said. "And then he shot him."

During the rampage, teachers herded students from one room to another, trying to move away from the sound of the shooting, said Graves, 14. He said some students crouched under desks.

Some pleaded with the gunman to stop. "You could hear a girl saying, 'No, Jeff, quit, quit. Leave me alone. What are you doing?'" Sondra Hegstrom told The Pioneer of Bemidji.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said it appeared the school had "very rigorous security."

"It looks like you had a very disturbed individual who was able to overcome a lot of precautions to do a lot of damage," Pawlenty said.

Weise had been placed in Red Lake's Homebound program for some violation of policy, said school board member Kathryn Beaulieu. Students in that program stay at home and are tutored by a traveling teacher. Beaulieu said she didn't know what Weise's violation was, and wouldn't be allowed to reveal it if she did.

While there was no immediate indication of Weise's motive, several students said he held anti-social beliefs, and he may have posted messages on a neo-Nazi Web site expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler.

A writer who identified himself as Jeff Weise of the Red Lake Reservation posted the messages under the nickname "Todesengel" — German for "angel of death." An April 2004 posting by him referred to being accused of "a threat on the school I attend," though the writer later said he was cleared.

Relatives told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that Weise was a loner who usually wore black and was teased by other kids. Relatives told the newspaper his father committed suicide four years ago, and that his mother was living in a Minneapolis nursing home because she suffered brain injuries in a car accident.

The shooting rampage at the small Red Lake school not only stunned the nation, it devastated this tribal town, reports CBS News Correspondent Bob McNamara.

"Without a doubt this is the darkest day in the history of our tribe," said Floyd Jourdain Jr., chairman of the Red Lake Chippewa Tribe.

Even those who escaped injury were traumatized.

"She said that all she can hear is people screaming in her mind. She's really shaken up about that," said Leahna Barrett, the sister of a Red Lake student.

It was the second fatal school shooting in Minnesota in 18 months. Two students were killed at Rocori High School in Cold Spring in September 2003. Student John Jason McLaughlin, who was 15 at the time, awaits trial in the case.

Red Lake High School has about 300 students, according to its Web site. School was canceled Tuesday, but plans hadn't been made for the rest of the week.

The reservation is about 240 miles north of the Twin Cities. It is home to the Red Lake Chippewa Tribe, one of the poorest in the state. According to the 2000 census, 5,162 people lived on the reservation, and all but 91 were Indians.