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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1998)
APRIL 1, 1998 Page A8 $wrtlanb Young Arkansas Shooting Suspect Had Training sh o ts w ere fire d . Y o u n g ste rs scrambled as some of their bloodied classmates fell and cried as they awaited emergency workers. “T here’s no explanation in my opinion why an 11-year-old or 13- year-old would do something like this,’’Craighead County Sheriff Dale Haas said. “ It breaks my heart." The morning after the tragedy, one big wreath, two bouquets and a candle were on the sidewalk in front o f the school. Classes were canceled. Killed were Natalie Brooks, Paige Ann Herring and Stephanie Johnson, all 12, and Brittany R. Varner, 11. Shannon Wright, 32, died luesday nigh, after surgery for wounds to her chest and abdomen. Students said she stepped in front of a sixth-grader as the shots rang out. The student was not hurt. Mrs. Wright, the mother o f a 2 1/ 2-year-old son, was kind and loving, said Lula Belle Jones, the school s cafeteria manager. Asked about stepping in front o f the bullet, Ms. Jones said: “She would do that without a doubt.” Linder state law, children under age 14 are charged only in Juvenile Court. They may be held until they are 2 1, but usually are turned out of the system by 18 because o f a lack of facilities. Prosecutor Brent Davis said that his office would charge the boys with five counts o f capital murder in Juve nile Court. However, state Attorney General Winston Bryant said earlier that a defendant must be 14 to be eligible for the death sentence. In Little Rock, U.S. Attorney Paula Casey said her office was lo o k in g into w h e th e r it could charge the 13-year-old with fed eral firearm s violations, though it was likely the 11-year-old would be off-lim its. Students described M itchell as a troubled boy who had recently begun bragging about involvem ent w ith a gang and was upset over a breakup with a girlfriend, who was am ong the w ounded. Students said he m ade num erous threats M on An 11 -year-old boy accused with his 13-year-old cousin o f shooting five people to death outside a school had been trained in target shooting, a family friend said.. Four girls and an English teacher who shielded a student from the at tack were killed in the ambush Tues day outside W estside Elementary School. Eleven others - 10 students and a teacher - were wounded. Six people remained hospitalized, one in critical condition. Authorities didn’t release the boys’ names, but The Jonesboro Sun iden tified them as Mitchell Johnson, 13, and his 11 -year-old cousin Andrew Golden. Detention hearings for the boys were scheduled tor this after noon. Authorities continued to search for answers to how the boys got their weapons and why they attacked. Po lice said Mitchell, who had beenjilted by a girl and made threats, and An drew lured classmates out of school with a false fire alarm, then mowed them down with gunfire. A ndrew ’s father, Dennis, is a leader o f a local gun club, the Jonesboro Practical Pistol Shooters. Both he and his wife are postmasters at towns near here. Terry Crider, a family friend and fellow shooting club member, said that Dennis Golden began taking his son hunting as a young child and had recently begun training him in “prac tical shooting,” a handgun com peti tion with moving and pop-up targets. He said the boy was a pretty good shot, although fairly slow. “ Dennis and Pat both have tried as hard as any parents to raise their child right, teach him respect for life, teach him what firearms can do and how to handle them safely,” Crider said. “So that’s one o f the things that kind o f alarms me. “T h ey ’re trying seriously to get their heads together and figure out what happened them selves,” Crider added. He had talked to the father earlier in the day. Law officers also were trying to understand. Authorities said up to 27 day. "H e told us that tom orrow you will find out if you live or die,” seventh-grader Melinda Henson, who described herself as a good friend o f the boy, told the Sun. “He told me yesterday that all the people who broke up with him, you know, he’s going to come to school tomorrow and shoot them," said 12- year-old Charles Vanoven, another seventh-grader. "I thought he was just kidding around.” Charles said the 13-year-old also pulled a knife on another student M onday, but he was afraid to re port him. O ther students said the boy was specifically targeting one o f the girls w ounded. “ He said he was definitely going to shoot C andace be cause she had bro ken up w ith him ,” s ix th -g ra d e r K ara T ate, 11, told the Sun. K im C andace Porter, identified by several students as the form er g irl friend, was listed in stable co n d i tion at St. Bernards Regional M edi cal C enter. T he school has 250 students in sixth and seventh grades. Jonesboro is a university town of 52,000 about 130 m iles northeast o f Little Rock. The tw o boys, w earing cam ou flage shirts, pants and hats, w ere caught near the school w ith han d guns and rifles. Investigators said the boys w ere running in the direc tion o f a w hite van found about a half-mile away from the school with more guns and am m unition in it. The van was im pounded by police. C lassm ate Erica Sw indle, 12, said the younger boy ow ned a gun and w ent deer hunting often. “ H e'll sit there and say, ‘M an, h e ’s m aking me so mad I should ju st take my gun and start blasting him in the butt for it,” ’ E rica said. “You know he d o n ’t act like h e ’s mad, but you really d o n ’, know about him. H e’s 11.” Portland's Bradley-Angle House on the Jonesboro, Arkansas School Murders “ W eat Bradley-Angle House wish to pass along our condolences to the students, families and community o f Jonesboro, Arkansas. O ur hearts go out to each o f you. We grieve along with you for the lives lost and the injuries inflicted during this horrible, senseless tragedy. We find these murders and attempted murders very disturbing and wish to address sev eral related issues,” said Erika Sil ver, Executive Director. As individuals and communities, we must look closely at this tragedy. We must question how and why these young boys had access to lethal weap ons. We must realize that this vio lence was no, random but prem edi tated, and most likely specifically directed at females (as the targets). It is important to examine these b o y s ’ m o tiv e s. Early news reports have indicated that th e b o y s had bragged to fellow student about kill ing girls who broke up with them. Were these threats taken seriously? Were children, parents, and/or school personnel given appropriate infor mation to support them in dealing with such a threat? Although shocking, these murders are not a random, isolated incident. These murders are part o f a larger pattern in our society o f male vio lence perpetrated against females, particularly after a woman or girl has said no to, or ended a relationship. “One recent study found that pos sessiveness (including infidelity, fear o f termination o f the relationship, and sexual rivalry) was the most prevalent reason given by male of fenders for killing their romantic partners. Female offenders killed much more often for self-defense than for any other reason,” accordi ng to Rasche, 1993. I, is time to take our society’s epidemic o f violence seriously, es pecially violence against females, whether girls or women, strangers or friends, partners or spouses. “In 1996, 30% o f all female mur der victims were killed by their hus bands or boyfriends, while 3% o f males were killed by their wives or girlfriends,” according to a Federal Bureau o f Investigations presenta tion summary, 1997. There is no community, race, class, or culture immune to this violence. Until each and every segment o f our society demonstrates clear bound aries and consequences for perpetra tors o f violence against women and girls, this epidemic will continue. Until we collectively send the mes sage o f zero tolerance for violence against women and girls, and truly treat women and girls as equal to men and boys, this violence will continue. As violence m ore frequently touches our nation’s schools, we wish to stress the importance o f education not only for students, but also for teachers, counselors, parents, and administrative staff. Bradley-Angle House, Community Advocates for Safety and Self Reliance, and Port land W om en’s Crisis Line, offer school based curriculums. These cur riculums teach students how to rec ognize the signs o f domestic and sexual violence, support schools in their response to v iolence or the threat o f violence, and most importantly, help to increase safety and support for victims o f such violence. Educa tion programs such as these must be funded, and must be offered each year to every student and staff mem ber in all schools. Several domestic and sexual vio lence education curriculum are to be presented to Congress for nation wide implementation in schools. We urge Congress to pass a nationwide curricu 1 um sooner than later. We urge parents to demand implementation to help save lives. Until each o f us examines what we can do personally and as a com m unity to stop violence against women and girls, at home, at work, in our social and religious organiza tions, and at school - even elem en tary school - this epidemic o f vio lence will continue. We must take swift and continual action to prevent this kind o f violence in the future. Founded in 1975 to p rovide em ergency shelter for w om en and their children escaping dom estic abuse, B radley-A ngle H ouse is the oldest dom estic violence in terven tion agency on the west coast and one o f the oldest in the U nited States. T oday, B rad ley -A n g le house provides a variety o f integrated program s at three different sites and throughout the com m unity, in cluding a 24-hour crisisline, E m er gency Shelter, C hildren’s Program , T ransitional Program , as w ell as D om estic V iolence education and support groups. Locals Speak of School Shooting “ I saw my best friend, Natalie Brooks, get killed - shot in the head tw ice.” - A m ber Vanoven, 11. “ He was fixing to shoot her and Mrs. W right m oved out in front o f her. She got shot. ... I sat and w atched h er.” - A m ber V anoven, about teacher Shannon W right, who was fatally shot w hile shielding a child. “He told us that tomorrow you will find out if you live or die.” - Seventh-grader Melinda Henson, describing a conversation with the 13-year-old suspect a day before the shooting. “T h e re ’s no explanation in my opinion why an 11 -year-old or 13- year-old w ould do som ething like this. ... It b reak s my h e a rt.” - C raighead C ounty S h e riff D ale Haas. “ It m akes me angry not so m uch at individual children that have done it as m uch as angry at a w orld in w hich such a thing can happen.” - A rkansas G ov. M ike H uckabee. NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Transportation Project Update NE Fremont to NE Shaver Phase I Construction tion plan for NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. This process was a continua tion of the MLK Action On January 15, 1998, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, Mayor Vera Katz and Commissioner Committee work and Albina Community Plan. Community meetings were held at King Elemen Charlie Hales announced tary School to invite public Phase I street improve comment. Over 400 ments totaling $1 million dollars will be made to NE residents attended the meetings to discuss their Martin Luther King Jr. wants, needs, and visions Blvd. between NE Fremont regarding NE MLK Jr. Blvd. and NE Shaver to encour age redevelopment. Support for this project was also echoed by: Grace Crunican, Director NE MLK Plan Details • 40 NEW parking spaces on NE MLK Jr. Blvd. between NE Fremont to NE Shaver • 25 plus additional pedes trian street lights ment of Transportation; along Martin Luther King Mike Burton, Executive Jr. Blvd. (MLK) from Director of METRO; and NE Fremont to NE Shaver. Carl Talton, Chairman of The improvements will the Portland Development consist of on-street parking, landscaping, lighting, improved side representatives from neighborhood associa tions and business asso ciations, MLK businesses, churches, and nonprofit organizations have been working on a transporta i If you are a contractor and would like to have the oppor tunity to bid on the MLK Project or any City of Portland public works project, please contact: Loretta Young • 50 plus additional trees along street City of Portland • Enhanced crossings at NE Beech and NE Failing 503/823-6850 • NEW transit stops including new bus shelters and bike racks There will be opportunities • 37 new trees in new 4’ wide median • Enhanced pedestrian street crossings to submit bids on: •Traffic control/flagging* •Paving‘ Painting street light poles’ Refurbishing existing street light poles* Additional bidding opportu walks, median removal issues. Upcoming Meeting to Learn more City Council Hearing J ob O pportunities Neighborhood residents who are interested in construction jobs may want to contact community resources that \pril 8th, 1998 assist with construction 10:30 a.m. employment. Contractors jty Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave. working on the project will be ’ ortland, Oregon 97204 encouraged to utilize these and replacement, en Over the past year, C ontracting O pportunities nities will be identified in future proposed development How we got here Specifics Shown below is the of the Oregon Depart Commission. late spring and last a year. community resources if they hanced transit stops, or more information, hire new employees for the improved pedestrian jlease contact Andre' crossing, and street work 3augh at 823-7530. project. The names of those contrac to encourage expansion of existing businesses and tors who were awarded contracts for this project will -......... 1 ............................. J lr » ln g « o n j C ovenant I C h u ro h Hl NE Martin Luther King Ir. Bled. Project Team City of Portland, Office of Transportation 1120 SW Fifth Avenue, Room 802 Portland, Oregon 97204 be identified at a later date. to attract additional Applicants may contact them development in the area. directly to inquire about job Construction will be-gin in opportunities. Andre' Bauqh, Project Manager Todd Liles, Project Engineer Project Phone: 823-/530 E-mail: agb@syseng.ci.portland.or.us
