Student,
officer
swap fire
■Only 200 miles west of
Jonesboro, Ark., a school
police officer returns shots
at a 12 year-old boy
By David A. Lieb
The Associated Press
PRAIRIE GROVE, Ark. — A
police officer exchanged gun
shots with a seventh-grader
Thursday as the boy headed to
ward his junior high school with
a shotgun, authorities said. Both
were wounded.
The officer, who was assigned
part-time to the school, was treat
ed and released from a hospital.
The 12-year-old was in stable
condition after being shot in the
abdomen.
“There’s stuff that indicates he
was heading back to school,” said
Police Chief Robin Casey. “I think
the good Lord was on our side to
day. I think he helped us out and
prevented any kids from getting
hurt and hopefully prevented
this kid from dying.”
Prairie Grove Superintendent
Tom Louks said the boy had
skipped school Tuesday and
Wednesday after being involved
in a dispute Monday. The boy
was brought to school by at least
one of his parents Thursday but
left shortly after classes began,
Louks said.
Louks said the boy had not
been suspended because of Mon
day’s incident and had not been a
discipline problem before.
“I know the boy from church.
A nice young man,” Louks said.
The superintendent would not
say what happened to the boy
Monday, but a classmate said she
heard he had been punched. Stu
dents said the boy, whose name
was not released, was friendly.
“He wasn’t violent. We talked
about school and stuff,” said John
Gladwin, 13, who said he has
known the boy since kinder
garten. “He was a smart guy.”
Police said a resident called
Thursday morning, concerned
that a boy seen walking down a
road might have been skipping
school. Sgt. Greg Lovett was dis
patched from his office at the
Prairie Grove Junior High School.
In his search, he ran across
Louks and a principal who said
they had seen the boy near a hay
field. When Lovett called to the
boy, the child stood up in the tall
grass and fired three or four blasts
from what Casey described as “a
family gun.”
Lovett was hit in the face and
the chest, then in the back and
buttocks as he turned away. Lovett
returned fire, getting off about five
rounds and striking the boy once
in the stomach, police said.
Louks said he didn’t realize the
boy was armed until the first shot
^vas fired. Lovett was wearing a
bulletproof vest.
Prairie Grove is 200 miles west
of Jonesboro, where boys age 13
and 11 shot and killed four class
mates and a teacher two years ago.
The Prairie Grove school sys
tem, which has about 1,300 stu
dents in grades K-12, serves the
town of 1,800 and a rural, moun
tainous area on the western fringe
of the Ozark Mountains.
Police didn’t say what charges
they would consider against the
boy. Changes made in the state
law after the Jonesboro school
shootings make it possible to
charge him as an adult.
I will
• work out and
maintain a healthy
diet
• cherish my friendships
• finish my degree at
the uo and go to grad
school
• be a role model for
others
• always listen to my
inner voice
J will
challenge my friends to
drink responsibly... or
not at all.
rimay, may iz., jlkjkjkj
Nicole Feigion
Journalism Major, UO
009288
udents
]have
drinks or fewer
when they party
XQQQ
Office of Student Life
Data taken from 1998 UO Health Center Survey.