AG: MASS SHOOTINGS HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED
Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday the average number of mass shooting incidents has more than doubled in recent years. Between 2000 and 2008, the U.S. experienced an average of five mass shootings a year. So far in 2013, there have been at least 12, Holder said.
According to Justice Department figures on mass shootings, 404 people were shot and 207 people were killed from 2009 to 2012. From 2000 to 2008, 324 people were shot and 145 were killed.
In remarks to the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the attorney general said that in the past decade, the Justice Department has helped train 50,000 front-line officers, more than 7,000 on-scene commanders and more than 3,000 local, state and federal agency heads on how to respond to active shooters.
— Associated Press
A student at a Nevada middle school opened fire on campus just before the starting bell Monday, wounding two boys and killing a teacher who was trying to protect other children, Sparks police and the teacher’s family said.
Twenty to 30 students witnessed the tragedy at Sparks Middle School that also left the lone suspected gunman dead, police said. It’s unclear whether the student committed suicide, but authorities say no shots were fired by law enforcement. Police said between 150 and 200 officers, including some from as far as 60 miles away, responded to the shooting.
A student who saw the shooting told the Reno Gazette-Journal that he and his friends were by the school basketball court when they heard a loud pop, followed by screaming.
“The teacher came to investigate,” eighth-grader Kyle Nucum, 13, said. “I thought it was a firecracker at first, but the student was pointing a gun at the teacher after the teacher told him to put it down, and the student fired a shot at the teacher and the teacher fell and everybody ran away.
“And we ran across the field to get somewhere safe and while we were running we heard about four or five more shots and we just got somewhere safe.”
Andrew Thompson, a seventh-grader, said on KOLO-TV that the shooter, a student, “started getting mad and shoots one of my friends.”
“He got shot in the shoulder,” Thompson said. Then, the shooter came near a teacher “and said ‘back up.’ The teacher backed up, and he pulled the trigger.”
Family members later identified the staff member who was killed as math teacher Michael Landsberry, 45.
“In my estimation, he is a hero. … We do know he was trying to intervene,” Reno Deputy Police Chief Tom Robinson said about the fallen staff member.
Landsberry was a military veteran who leaves behind a wife and two stepdaughters, his sister-in-law Chanda Landsberry said. She said she wasn’t surprised he stepped in to stop the rampage.
The motive for the shooting isn’t yet known. Names of the suspect and student victims haven’t yet been released.
“As you can imagine, the best description is chaos,” Robinson said. “It’s too early to say whether he was targeting people or going on an indiscriminate shooting spree.”
Students from the middle school and neighboring elementary school were evacuated to the nearby high school, and classes were canceled. The middle school will remain closed for the week.
At the evacuation center, parents comforted their children.
“We came flying down here to get our kids,” said Mike Fiorica, whose nephew attends the school. “… It’s really chaotic. You can imagine how parents are feeling. You don’t know if your kid’s OK.”
One of the students injured in the violence that erupted around 7:15 a.m. is out of surgery and the other is doing well, according to police.
The shooting happened on the school’s campus and ended outside the school building itself, according to police.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the horrific shooting at Sparks Middle School this morning,” Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said in a statement extending his thoughts and prayers to those affected.
About 700 students in seventh and eighth grades are enrolled at the school, which is in a working class neighborhood.
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