School Shootings and Armed Attacks

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      What We Know About the Apalachee High School Shooting Victims

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      The shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday killed two teachers and two students, becoming the deadliest episode of school violence in the state’s history. At least nine others were injured.The authorities identified the dead students as two 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. The educators killed were identified as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, officials said. Spellings of the names were not confirmed by the authorities.Law enforcement officials said in a news conference that the victims taken to the hospital were expected to make a full recovery.“Those that are deceased are heroes in my book,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Those that are in the hospital recovering right now are heroes in my book.”Mason Schermerhorn was described by friends of his family as a lighthearted teenager who liked spending time with his family, reading, telling jokes, playing video games and visiting Walt Disney World. He had recently started at the school.“He really enjoyed life,” said Doug Kilburn, 40, a friend who has known Schermerhorn’s mother for a decade. “He always had an upbeat attitude about everything.”Louis Briscoe, a co-worker and friend of Schermerhorn’s mother, said the boy and his family were looking forward to an upcoming vacation there.When Mr. Briscoe learned about the shooting at the high school in the afternoon, he called Schermerhorn’s mother to ask if everything was OK. She told him: “Mason’s gone.”“My heart just dropped,” said Mr. Briscoe, 45. He added, “Nobody should have to go through this type of pain.”The gunman — who the authorities identified as a 14-year-old student at the school — will be charged with murder, officials said. Students heard gunfire as they barricaded themselves in classrooms.The shooting has shaken residents in Winder, which has about 18,000 residents and is roughly 50 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.At the high school, Ms. Irimie and Mr. Aspinwall were math teachers. Mr. Aspinwall was also the football team’s defensive coordinator.David Phenix, a math special education teacher and the school’s golf coach, was injured during the shooting. Katie Phenix, his daughter, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he was shot in the foot and hip, shattering his hip bone.“He arrived to the hospital alert and awake,” she wrote in the post, adding that he had surgery earlier that day.Kate Selig More

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      Ronda Rousey Apologizes for Reposting Sandy Hook Conspiracy Video

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      The former U.F.C. star apologized after Reddit users asked her about the video she shared 11 years ago. She called it “the single most regrettable decision of my life.”The former mixed martial arts superstar and professional wrestler Ronda Rousey apologized on Friday for reposting a video in 2013 that spread conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, calling it “the single most regrettable decision of my life.”Ms. Rousey, who was one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s biggest stars, explained in her apology that she “watched a Sandy Hook conspiracy video and reposted it on twitter.”Ms. Rousey said the news media never asked her about the post, which has since been deleted. She said she considered apologizing for it many times, including in her memoir, but worried that doing so might “lead more people down the black hole” of conspiracies.“I deserve to be hated, labeled, detested, resented and worse for it,” she said in her apology, adding, “I apologize that this came 11 years too late.”Ms. Rousey’s apology came days after she hosted a Q. and A. session on Reddit.A user asked her if she should apologize for “sharing a video that you called ‘must-watch’ and ‘interesting’ that had claimed the Sandy Hook School Massacre was part of a government conspiracy.” Other users also asked about her old post.On Dec. 14, 2012, a 20-year-old man armed with semiautomatic pistols and a semiautomatic rifle walked into the school in Newtown, Conn., and killed 26 people, 20 of them children.In the years since, false conspiracy theories about the event have proliferated on the internet.In 2018, relatives of Sandy Hook victims sued Alex Jones, a media personality who spread conspiracy theories about the shooting through his company Infowars, for defamation. They were awarded more than $1.4 billion in damages, though what the families might receive is unclear as further legal battles drag on.In a post dated Jan. 15, 2013, Ms. Rousey wrote, “asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you’re told,” apparently in response to backlash she received about the video she had shared, according to a 2013 article on Bleacher Report, a sports news website.A 2013 analysis in The Huffington Post said the video, which appears to have been removed from YouTube, made a variety of false claims, including that some of the people in the school were paid actors.A lawyer and agents representing Ms. Rousey did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.Her apology has been viewed more than seven million times, and has received more than 2,000 comments, many of which appear to be supportive.In 2018, Ms. Rousey became the first woman to be inducted into the U.F.C. Hall of Fame. She also won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in middleweight judo and for years was one of the biggest stars for WWE. More

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      Jury Finds Parents of Gunman Not Liable in 2018 Texas School Shooting

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      Jurors decided instead that blame rested with the gunman, who was 17 at the time, and the company that sold him ammunition used in the shooting.The parents of a gunman who was 17 when he killed eight students and two teachers at his high school in Santa Fe, Texas, in 2018 are not financially liable for his heinous actions, a jury found on Monday.The verdict, reached after a day of deliberations, followed an emotional three-week trial that was among the first attempts to hold parents accountable in civil court for the actions of their child in a school shooting.But instead of finding that the parents bore responsibility for the shooting, the jury decided that blame rested with the gunman and with the company that sold him ammunition used in the shooting. The jury awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the plaintiffs, who included the relatives of several of those killed and others who were wounded.The trial came several months after a Michigan couple was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for a mass shooting carried out by their teenage son. In that case, prosecutors presented evidence that the parents had ignored warning signs and failed to lock up a handgun used by their 15-year-old son in an attack at Oxford High School in 2021.The Texas gunman’s parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, were not accused of any crime. The trial instead focused on whether they had been negligent in the storage of more than a dozen firearms in their home — two of which were used in the shooting — and had failed to notice that their son was struggling or take steps to help him.After the shooting, the gunman, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial in criminal court, and he remains in a state hospital for mental health treatment. In the absence of a criminal trial, many in Santa Fe, just north of Galveston along the Gulf Coast of Texas, looked to the civil trial as their first opportunity for accountability, six years after the shooting.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Before Teacher Was Shot, Assistant Principal Was Warned First Grader Had a Gun

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      A Virginia grand jury found that the administrator had not acted on reports from staff members that the 6-year-old had brought a firearm to Richneck Elementary.The shooting of an elementary teacher by a 6-year-old student in Newport News, Va., last year was preceded by a “shocking” series of lapses by the school’s assistant principal at the time, according to a report by a special grand jury that was released on Wednesday.Despite having been told that same day that the student was “in a violent mood,” and having received several reports that he was carrying a firearm, the assistant principal turned down a school counselor’s request for permission to search the student, the grand jury said in its report.Less than a half-hour later, the student’s teacher, Abigail Zwerner,, was in the classroom with him and 15 other first graders when he pulled out 9-millimeter Taurus handgun and shot her from less than six feet away just before 2 p.m.The bullet passed through her hand and struck her chest. The gun, which was loaded with seven more rounds, jammed after the first shot. The boy later said that he had found it at home, in his mother’s purse.While her students sheltered in a neighboring classroom, Ms. Zwerner stumbled down the hallway and passed out in front of the door to the principal’s office. She survived.“I told you — I tried to keep you safe,” said one of the shooter’s friends, who had told one of Ms. Zwerner’s colleagues at Richneck Elementary School about the gun, according to the report.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Read the Special Grand Jury Report

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      Rules & Sanctions
      Newport News Public Schools Code of Conduct fosters the school division’s mission to ensure all students graduate “citizen-
      ready.” It provides guidance for students, families, and staff, and details the many options available to NNPS staff to
      address student conduct.
      The rules of conduct for students in Newport News Public Schools are presented in this section of the Handbook. These
      rules and regulations have been adopted by the Newport News School Board and represent its official policy.
      Examples for most rules are provided. Each rule is accompanied by the consequences for breaking that rule.
      All rules and regulations will be enforced on all Newport News school grounds and premises, including Todd Stadium;
      before, during and after school hours, or at any other time when school buildings and/or grounds are being used by a
      school group; or off school grounds at any school activity, function, field trip or event; or when students are traveling to
      or from school. The rules contained in this Handbook also apply to bus behavior and behavior at the bus stop.
      School personnel will take disciplinary action against any student who violates one or more of these rules and regulations
      in accordance with the consequences stated. Disciplinary action may include, but is not limited to, reprimand, after-
      school work, repayment for damages, clean-up, revocation of privileges associated with school activities (including
      participation in graduation exercises), suspension or expulsion.
      Principals and school security officers, under the direction of a school administrator, may search students and student
      property (including automobiles and other vehicles) when there is reasonable suspicion to do so. Students should understand
      that they have no expectation of privacy to their lockers, personal property, or vehicles allowed to park on school property.
      Consistent with applicable legal requirements, school division personnel may use search techniques such as metal detectors
      and use other lawful search techniques.
      Alternative schools/programs and magnet schools, such as Enterprise Academy and An Achievable Dream Academy,
      may require additional and/or more restrictive expectations of students consistent with the program design and mission.
      Such components may include, but are not limited to: attendance, participation, and dress code regulations.
      Statement of Non-Discrimination
      The Newport News School Division does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, marital
      status, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, sexual identity, veteran status, or disability in its programs, activities, or
      employment practices as required by the Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, and ADA regulations.
      The Human Resources Supervisor, Newport News Public Schools, at 12507 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, VA 23606,
      (757-881-5061), is responsible for coordinating the division’s efforts to meet its obligations under Section 504, Title IX, the
      ADA, and their implementing regulations.
      A cautionary note is offered to the Parent as this Handbook and its rules are reviewed.
      A set of rules does not replace the administrator’s judgment in the review of discipline incidents. In order for schools to
      be safe and orderly places of learning, rules must be obeyed. These rules are written to give direction. However, in daily
      activity, one basic rule is that good, sound judgment must be exercised in light of conditions of the moment.
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      James Crumbley Found Guilty in Michigan School Shooting Trial

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      Mr. Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, who was found guilty on identical charges last month, are the first parents in the country to be directly charged for the deaths caused by their child in a mass shooting.A jury found James Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter late Thursday over his failure to prevent his teenage son from killing four fellow students and wounding seven others in Michigan’s deadliest school shooting.Mr. Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, who was found guilty on identical charges in a separate trial last month, are the first parents in the country to be directly charged for the deaths caused by their child in a mass shooting.Their prosecutions were seen as part of a national effort to hold some parents responsible for enabling deadly violence by their children. In the Crumbleys’ trials, “the prosecution here found a successful playbook,” said Mark D. Chutkow, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor in Michigan.Prosecutors argued that the Crumbleys ignored warning signs about the massacre, painting Ms. Crumbley as a detached and negligent mother, and accusing Mr. Crumbley of failing to secure the gun used in the shooting.“James Crumbley was presented with the easiest, most glaring opportunities to prevent the deaths of these four students,” Karen McDonald, the prosecutor in Oakland County, said in closing arguments on Wednesday. “And he did nothing.”Oakland County prosecutors charged the Crumbleys three days after the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that killed Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Justin Shilling, 17; and Hana St. Juliana, 14.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      James Crumbley Declines to Testify in Oxford High School Shooting Trial

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      Witness testimony in the trial ended on Wednesday. Mr. Crumbley faces involuntary manslaughter charges for the four students killed by his son.Testimony ended Wednesday morning in the trial of James Crumbley, whose son carried out Michigan’s deadliest school shooting more than two years ago, and whose wife was convicted last month in the same courtroom for failing to prevent the rampage.Prosecutors took the rare step of seeking to hold the Crumbleys partially responsible for the shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021, in which their son, Ethan, who was 15 at the time, killed four people and injured seven others.“That nightmare was preventable, and it was foreseeable,” Marc Keast, an Oakland County prosecutor, said in an opening statement last week. He accused Mr. Crumbley of failing to secure the gun that his son used in the shooting.Mr. Crumbley has been jailed since December 2021, when he and his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. They requested separate trials, and unlike his wife, Mr. Crumbley chose not to testify in his own defense.The witness lists in the two trials were similar, but there were a few key differences in the evidence that was presented.At Ms. Crumbley’s trial, lawyers pored over her communications with her son, including months of text messages, as prosecutors tried to paint her as a detached and negligent mother.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      4 Students Shot Outside Atlanta High School

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      The students were fired at from a vehicle and were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.Four students were shot in the parking lot of an Atlanta high school on Wednesday afternoon, the police said, in the latest burst of gun violence on an American school campus.The students were fired at from an “unknown vehicle” shortly after classes had been let out at the end of the day at Benjamin E. Mays High School, Atlanta Public Schools said in a statement. The wounded male students — three 17-year-olds and an 18-year-old — were taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, officials said.Chief Ronald Applin of the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department said at a news conference that a fight had preceded the shooting.“We’re trying to figure out who committed this crime,” Chief Applin said.The authorities said that a vehicle had been stopped moments after the shooting and that three people in that vehicle, including a 17-year-old girl, her 35-year-old mother and a male, had been detained. They were taken to police headquarters to be interviewed in connection with the shooting.Photos and videos from the scene showed yellow police tape zigzagged across a parking lot filled with vehicles and police officers.Mayor Andre Dickens of Atlanta, a former student at the school, said at the news conference that some students had been held back at the school on Wednesday evening to be interviewed about the episode.“I’m shocked and heartbroken,” the mayor said. “This is the place where I spent four years of my life as a student.”Parking lots are the most common location of school shootings, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a research project that tracks instances in which a gun is fired or brandished on school property. In 2023, there were 346 episodes in which a gun was drawn or fired on a campus, leading to 71 deaths and leaving 249 people wounded, according to the database. More