He was tired and hungry. Lonely and confused. Most of all, he was
scared.
After a cool summer night spent hiding in the woods, a 13-year-old
boy who was being sought by police for allegedly firing a gun in a
school cafeteria surrendered yesterday morning at his grandmother's
house.
Just before King County sheriff's deputies took him into custody,
the boy ate a home-cooked breakfast of eggs and toast. He was given
cream for scratches and poison ivy. He washed his face and hair, and
put on a Detroit Pistons basketball T-shirt.
Then plainclothes detectives led him away from the gray,
flat-roofed home, surrounded by cars and toys, in a Skyway
neighborhood.
"We're glad he's OK. We love him and we are here for
him," said the boy's 22-year-old aunt. "This had been like a
bad dream."
On Monday, the boy -- dressed in black and armed with a .22 caliber
pistol taken from his grandfather's locked cabinet -- walked into
Skyway's Dimmitt Middle School, jumped on top of a cafeteria table and
fired a lone shot at the ceiling, police said.
Terrified students, attending summer school classes, scattered as
the boy yelled, "Get to the stage right now, or I'll kill all of
you."
In one terrifying instant, the boy pointed the gun in the face of a
girl.
No one was injured in the incident. But yesterday, several people
close to the boy said he had written a note to a friend. In it, he
professed deep love for his brother, 11, and 3-year-old sister.
According to a source, he wrote: "I know I will never see them
again."
The boy faces possible charges of assault with a firearm, reckless
endangerment and unlawful possession of a firearm. Charges could be
filed by the end of this week, and he will appear in court today for a
detention review.
After a dozen interviews yesterday, a fresh picture of the boy's
young life took shape: He enjoyed in-line skating, swimming and
country music, and was not known to police as a trouble-maker.
Yet, he was dealing with estranged parents who bickered over how
best to raise him; he worried that his father in Seattle, whom he saw
infrequently, would soon move to Las Vegas; and he was frustrated that
his single mother had moved the family from a house and neighborhood
he liked.
On top of all that, the boy was struggling in summer school
remedial classes. Last Friday, he was sent home with a notice for
incomplete work in three areas of coursework, school officials said.
And he apparently had crossed paths with a teacher at the school who
was known as a "strict teacher," his mother said.
Asked what led to Monday's outburst, the boy's mother, her eyes
strained from worrying this week about her son, said the events in her
son's life may have been more than he could bear.
"He's got some issues," she said. "We will get him
the help he needs."
The boy's father, who lives in the Seattle area and last saw his
son in January, lamented that he has not played a bigger role in his
son's life.
"The gunshot was his way of letting everything out. It is sad
he had to go to this extreme to get attention," the father said.
"It should have never come to this."
In an interview yesterday, the father said he met the boy's mother
on a phone chatline. After the boy was born, the relationship between
his mother and father, who never married, became strained.
"I haven't had the best jobs in the world, and I've even lived
in a car for six years at one point," the boy's father said.
"But I've always tried to keep a job (so that) child support is
being paid."
Child support was an issue for the couple. The boy's mother had
been scheduled to get more child support from the boy's father.
But recently, the son believed the father would refuse to pay after
they had a conversation.
"(The boy) had a problem with that," the mother said.
"It hurt his feelings and it showed (him) his dad didn't think he
was worth the money."
Adding to the boy's trouble, the Renton house in which he lived
with his mother since 1996 was foreclosed.
Although they moved to a Highland duplex, the boy had been so
attached to the previous house, family members said, he frequently
returned.
In January, a boy from another school punched the teen in the head
causing a concussion; he had to be hospitalized for three days, his
mother said.
Conditions at school did not help. According to the boy's
grandmother, the boy -- like most kids -- did not like classes, or
some of his teachers.
When the boy's grades suffered during the regular school year, he
was forced to go to Dimmitt's summer school session.
He liked music -- mostly '80s tunes and classical music. Even some
country. But in recent weeks, he started listening solely to edgy,
alternative rock, including Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson.
The switch in musical taste worried his mother. After starting
summer school, he also began hanging with different friends, family
members said.
The boy's father felt the boy's mother needed to be more
disciplined and stern with him. "More in control," the
father said.
This past weekend, the mother, concerned about the music, quietly
took the boy's CD player.
He spent Sunday night at his grandparents' house. On Monday, he was
driven to school by a grandparent. Unknown to his family, he had the
gun, a family heirloom, with him.
Police found the gun near the grandparents' home.
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Reported By:
Mike Nelson
Director
Keys To Safer Schools
If
you have any comments or questions please Email us at keys@keystosaferschools.com.
(501)246-8835
