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{{Short description|2005 shooting spree in Red Lake, Minnesota, US}} | |||
] | |||
{{Use American English|date=April 2021}} | |||
{{Wikinews|Ten dead on Minnesota Indian reservation after school shooting}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}} | |||
{{Infobox civilian attack | |||
| title = Red Lake shootings | |||
| caption = | |||
| map = {{Location map|Minnesota#USA | |||
|float=center | |||
|label = Red Lake | |||
|lat_deg = 48.155 | |||
|lon_deg = -95.1022 | |||
}} | |||
| location = ], ], U.S. | |||
| target = ] | |||
| date = {{start date and age|2005|03|21}} | |||
| coordinates = {{Coord|48|09|18|N|95|06|08|W|type:event_region:US-MN|display=it}} | |||
| time-begin = 2:49 | |||
| time-end = 2:58 p.m. | |||
| timezone = ] | |||
| type = ], ], ], ], ], ] | |||
| fatalities = 10 (8 at the school, including the perpetrator; the grandfather at home and grandfather's girlfriend) | |||
| injuries = 9 | |||
| perp = Jeffrey James “Jeff” Weise | |||
| weapons = * ] ] ] | |||
* ] ] semi-automatic pistol | |||
* ] ] ] | |||
* ] ] (unused and left at home) | |||
| dfen = Jeffrey May | |||
| motive = Inconclusive | |||
}} | |||
The '''Red Lake |
The '''Red Lake shootings''' were a ] that occurred on March 21, 2005, in two places on the ] in ], ], United States. That afternoon, 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandfather (an ] ] sergeant) and his grandfather's girlfriend at their home. After taking his grandfather's police weapons and bulletproof vest, Weise drove his grandfather's police vehicle to ], where he had been a student some months before. | ||
Weise shot and killed seven people at the school and wounded at least 9 others. The dead included an unarmed ] at the entrance of the school, a teacher, and five students. After the police arrived, Weise ]. After being wounded, he shot and killed himself in a classroom. At the time, it was the deadliest school shooting in the United States since the ]. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in ] history. | |||
== Background == | |||
==March 21 - Massacre on ] reservation== | |||
At the time of the shooting, by some accounts, Jeff Weise was living with his paternal grandfather, Daryl Lussier Sr., a sergeant with the Red Lake Police Department, run by the ] (aka Chippewa) tribal government at the ]. The household included his grandfather's 32-year-old girlfriend, Michelle Leigh Sigana.<ref name="Haga2005" /> | |||
Despite commonly being referred to as the '''Red Lake High School massacre''', two of the victims died in their home on the reservation. | |||
The reservation of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe is in northwest ] and is one of two nationally that are "closed"; only Ojibwe tribal members may live and own land there. Its residents suffer high rates of unemployment, violence, and suicide. Housing is poor, and many students do not finish ].<ref name="Maag2005">{{Cite magazine |last=Maag |first=Chris |date=2005-03-27 |title=The Devil in Red Lake |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1042470,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102203851/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1042470,00.html |archive-date=2012-11-02 |access-date=2012-12-19 |magazine=] |language=en-US}}</ref> Work opportunities are limited on the reservation, which has a population of more than 5,000. A study in 2004 found that a high proportion of students in high school had thought of suicide.<ref name="Sevcik2005">{{Cite news |last=Sevcik |first=Kimberly |date=2005-08-08 |title=Reservation for Death |url=http://www.salon.com/2005/08/08/red_lake/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107111013/http://www.salon.com/2005/08/08/red_lake/ |archive-date=2014-01-07 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> The nearest grocery stores are {{Convert|32|mi|km}} away from Red Lake in ].<ref name="Hastings2005">{{Cite news |last=Hastings |first=Deborah |date=2005-03-24 |title=Red Lake tribe poor, isolated and private |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/red-lake-tribe-poor-isolated-and-private/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
===Killing at home=== | |||
The incident began on the afternoon of ] when Weise shot his grandfather, Daryl "Dash" Lussier, with a .22 pistol while he was sleeping. It is not known how Weise got the pistol, but he is believed to have acquired it up to a year before the shooting. | |||
== Shootings == | |||
Weise then stole Lussier's two police-issue weapons, a ] ] and ] ]. He then shot Lussier's partner, Michelle Sigana, when she returned home. | |||
=== Trailer shooting === | |||
The day of the shootings, Weise retrieved a ] ] ] from his bedroom and fatally shot his grandfather as he was sleeping; he shot him two times in the head and ten times in the chest. According to Weise's friends, the teenager may have had the gun for as long as a year. He took Lussier's two police-issue weapons, a ] ] pistol and a ] ] ] ], a ] and a bulletproof vest.<ref name="Helms2005">{{Cite news |last=Helms |first=Marisa |date=2005-03-25 |title=Shooting fuels debate over safety of Prozac for teens |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/25_helmsm_prozacfolo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318022256/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/25_helmsm_prozacfolo/ |archive-date=2013-03-18 |access-date=2012-12-18 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> Weise then fatally shot Sigana, his grandfather's girlfriend, two times in the head as she carried laundry up the stairs.<ref name="O’Toole2013">{{Cite book |last=O’Toole |first=Mary Ellen |title=School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies, and Concepts for Prevention |date=2013 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4614-5526-4 |editor-last=Böckler |editor-first=Nils |place=New York, NY |pages=177–188 |language=en |chapter=Jeffrey Weise and the Shooting at Red Lake Minnesota High School: A Behavioral Perspective |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-5526-4_8 |editor2-last=Seeger |editor2-first=Thorsten |editor3-last=Sitzer |editor3-first=Peter |editor4-last=Heitmeyer |editor4-first=Wilhelm}}</ref>{{Rp|page=178}} | |||
=== |
=== Red Lake High School shooting === | ||
Weise then drove his grandfather's ] to school, arriving at around 2:45 p.m. ] (19:45 ]). Passing through the building's main entrance, he encountered unarmed security guard Derrick Brun, who was manning the school's ]. Weise fatally shot Brun, and then proceeded down a hallway firing at students, killing five students and a teacher (Neva Rogers) and injuring seven others. Witnesses say he smiled and waved as he shot at people. In an incident reminiscent of events that took place during the ], one witness said that he asked one victim if she believed in ] before he shot her. | |||
Weise then drove his grandfather's ] to ], arriving at around 2:45 p.m. ]. As he entered the school through the main entrance, he encountered two unarmed security guards manning a ]. Weise shot and killed security guard Derrick Brun with the shotgun, while the other security guard, Leann Grant, escaped without injury, warning students and teachers to take cover.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-03-22 |title=MPR: Recounting the horror in Red Lake shooting spree |url=https://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/22_gundersond_redlakeday2/ |access-date=2024-03-02 |work=] |language=en-US |agency=]}}</ref><ref name="FBI">{{Cite report |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/red-lake-high-school-shooting |title=FBI Investigation of Red Lake High School Shooting |date= |publisher=] |language=en-US |access-date=2024-03-02}}</ref> Weise proceeded into the main corridor of the school, shooting English teacher Neva Rogers who was pushing a computer cart and conversing with students in the hallway. The students scattered and Rogers ran to knock on Missy Dodd's classroom door. She was let in and initiated lockdown procedures, turning off lights, locking the door, and ushering the students under the tables.<ref name="FBI" /> | |||
Not long after Neva Rogers entered Missy Dodd's room, Weise shot out the glass panel next to the classroom door, reached his arm through, unlocked the door, and stepped into Dodd's study hall. There were fifteen students and three adults in the room.<ref name="FBI" /><ref name="Peterson2021">{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=Jillian |title=The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic |publisher=] |year=2021 |isbn=9781647002275 |language=en-US}}</ref> Neva Rogers began to pray, crying "God be with us!" Weise shot her in the head several times, killing her instantly.<ref name="Maag2005" /> | |||
A ] article says that Chase Lussier, one of the students killed in the shootings, shoved his friend down to the ground and told her to "stay behind him," instead of running for his own life. The article said that as Weise entered the classroom where the two students were hiding, Chase's friend's and the gunman's eyes met. Weise fired his gun towards Chase's direction. The friend ducked and then, according to the article, "felt something warm and wet coating her jeans," which proved to be Lussier's blood. It is assessed by some experts that had he taken his own safety first, he would have survived the attack. | |||
The shooter then told students, "If any of you believe in God, now would be a good time to call in a favor."<ref name="FBI" /> Weise approached a group of students, asking, "Do you guys believe in God?"<ref name="FBI" /><ref name="Rosengren2005" /> One student, Chon'gai'la Morris replied no, and his life was spared.<ref name="Rosengren2005" /> The rest of the group said nothing, and as a result were shot at.<ref name="Rosengren2005" /> The shooter then turned and asked other students if the same question; those who replied in the affirmative or hesitated to answer were wounded or killed.<ref name="FBI" /><ref name="Peterson2021" /> | |||
===Brief shoot-out with police=== | |||
] special agent Paul McCabe stated that at some point, Weise returned to the entrance where he had opened fire and engaged in a brief shoot-out with the police, which ended when he was wounded by at least two bullets. None of the officers were hit. . | |||
Jeffrey May, a 16-year-old ], tried to wrestle Weise inside the classroom and stabbed him in the stomach with a ]. May's diversion allowed students to flee the classroom to safety, but Weise shot him two times in the neck and once in the jaw, leaving him seriously injured.<ref name="Maag2005" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-03-24 |title=Tales Of School Shooting Bravery, Slain Security Guard, Wounded Student Saved Others From Teen Gunman |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/24/national/main682915.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115130912/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/24/national/main682915.shtml |archive-date=2007-11-15 |access-date=2012-12-18 |work=] |language=en-US |agency=]}}</ref> Weise left Dodd's room a few minutes later to search for more targets. Three students and one teacher lay dead in the class, five more students had been hurt. Weise wandered through the halls and managed to enter one more classroom, where he wounded two more students. A girl hiding inside this classroom heard, the shooter ask, "Do you believe in God?" This time, he did not wait for answers and fired immediately after posing the question.<ref name="FBI" /> | |||
Witnesses said Weise smiled as he was shooting at people. Several survivors claimed that he asked students if they believed in ], shooting them if they answered yes or hesitated to answer.<ref name="FBI" /><ref name="Lennard2005">{{Cite news |last=Lennard |first=Jeremy |date=2005-03-22 |title=Ten dead in US school shooting |url=http://guardian.co.uk/usguns/Story/0,2763,1443322,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050919142743/http://www.guardian.co.uk/usguns/Story/0,2763,1443322,00.html |archive-date=2005-09-19 |access-date=2005-11-15 |newspaper=] |language=en-GB}}</ref> This is believed to have been a reference to a widely publicized, but alleged exchange during the 1999 ] between perpetrator ] and a Columbine victim.{{By whom|date=March 2023}} Weise had also used the screen name "do you believe in god."<ref name="FBI" /> Ryan Auginash was wounded when he affirmed his faith in Christianity.<ref name="FBI" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-03-23 |title=Teen who killed 9 was 'not the boy I knew' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7275159 |access-date=2024-03-02 |work=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> Lance Crowe was also wounded for refusing to answer.{{cn|date=March 2024}} | |||
A ]'s deputy's ] to his family members was leaked to several media outlets, revealing that Weise had been shot in the hip and leg as he exchanged fire with the Red Lake police before retreating into the classroom. None of the police officers were hit by Weise's gunfire. | |||
At around 2:52 p.m., Weise returned to the main entrance, where he wounded two students.<ref name="FBI" /> The police had arrived quickly and engaged him in gunfire. ] Special Agent Paul McCabe said the shootout lasted for about four minutes. None of the police officers were injured.<ref name="Lennard2005" /> After being hit three times in the lower back, right leg, and right arm by police gunfire, Weise retreated to the classroom where he had shot and killed the teacher and three students, yelling "I have hostages!"<ref name="Freed2005">{{Cite news |last1=Freed |first1=Joshua |last2=Condon |first2=Patrick |date=2005-03-31 |title=E-Mail Describes Bloody Scene Inside Red Lake High School |url=http://kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=77443 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709094008/http://kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=77443 |archive-date=2012-07-09 |work=] |language=en-US |agency=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lake |first=Chris Maag/Red |date=2005-03-27 |title=The Devil in Red Lake |url=https://time.com/archive/6671829/the-devil-in-red-lake/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> Weise shot and killed two more students who were hiding under tables, before leaning against a wall, putting the shotgun barrel to his chin, and firing, instantly killing himself.<ref name="Helms2005" /> | |||
==Weapons== | |||
Weise was armed with the following during the shooting: | |||
The shootings lasted nine minutes. Weise fired a total of 59 shots during the shooting spree; 14 at his grandfather's home and 45 at the school. He fired 37 rounds from his grandfather's Glock handgun, 14 from his Ruger handgun, and eight from the shotgun.<ref name="Hughes2005">{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=Art |date=2005-04-18 |title=Feds: Assault at Red Lake over in nine minutes |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/04/18_hughesa_redlakeupdate/ |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
*] ] ''- Unknown where Weise got this weapon from, may have posessed it for up to a year before the shooting. | |||
*] ] ''- Stolen from Daryl Lussier (police issued weapon).'' | |||
*] ''- Also taken from Lussier's home. Possibly police issued, presumably ].'' | |||
==Victims |
=== Victims === | ||
A total of ten people, including the perpetrator, died in these events.<ref name="MPR2005">{{Cite news |date=2005-03-22 |title=MPR: Victims of the Red Lake shooting |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/22_ap_redlakevictims/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715040519/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/22_ap_redlakevictims/ |archive-date=2018-07-15 |access-date=2018-06-04 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Enger |first=John |date=2015-03-18 |title=The shooting at Red Lake: The victims |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/18/red-lake-victims |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703022243/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/18/red-lake-victims |archive-date=2018-07-03 |access-date=2018-06-04 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
There were a total of 7 fatalities and 14 injuries in the school on ]; | |||
===Killed=== | |||
Faculty: | |||
*Neva Winnecoup-Rogers, 62, Teacher | |||
Staff: | |||
*Derrick Brun, 28, unarmed security guard | |||
Students: | |||
*Dewayne Lewis, 15, | |||
*Chase Lussier, 15 | |||
*Chanelle Rosebear, 15 | |||
*Thurlene Stillday, 15 | |||
*Alicia White, 14 | |||
* Daryl Lussier Sr., 58, police sergeant and Weise's paternal grandfather | |||
===Injured=== | |||
* Michelle Sigana, 32, Lussier's girlfriend | |||
{{incomplete list}} | |||
* Derrick Brun, 28, security guard | |||
*Ryan Auginash, 14, gunshot wound to the chest. | |||
* Neva Rogers, 62, English teacher | |||
*Steven Cobenais, 15, shot in the forehead, airlifted to ]. | |||
* Alicia White, 14, student<ref>{{Cite news |last=Enger |first=John |date=2015-03-18 |title=Feeling scars at Red Lake, 10 years later |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/18/red-lake-shooting-10-years |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
*Lance Crowe, 15, gunshot wound to the hand and chest. | |||
* Thurlene Stillday, 15, student | |||
*Jeffrey Green, 15 | |||
* Chanelle Rosebear, 15, student | |||
*Jeffrey May, 15, tried to wrestle shooter, was shot in the neck. | |||
* Chase Lussier, 15, student | |||
*Cody Thunder, 15, received a gunshot wound to the hip. | |||
* Dewayne Lewis, 15, student | |||
* Jeffrey Weise, 16, student/perpetrator | |||
== |
== Perpetrator == | ||
] | |||
===Perpetrator=== | |||
Jeffrey James Weise, born August 8, 1988, in ], Minnesota, was labeled an outsider in the Red Lake community and had recently been placed in "homebound" schooling for breaking school rules.<ref name="MPR2005" /> Weise had grown up with a difficult and disrupted family life; his parents were a young unmarried couple who separated before he was born. His mother, Joanne Weise, was 17 years old at the time of his birth. Joanne's family insisted that she give up her son to the father, Daryl Lussier Jr., who lived with his parents and family in Red Lake.<ref name="Sevcik2005" /> Weise did not live with his mother again until after he was two years old, when she reclaimed him and took him to live in Minneapolis. In later online postings, Weise wrote that his mother was an ] and was sometimes ] and ].<ref name="Sevcik2005" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-04-03 |title=A Bloody Day on the Rez |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2005/04/03/a-bloody-day-on-the-rez.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103043443/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2005/04/03/a-bloody-day-on-the-rez.html |archive-date=2012-11-03 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
* ], 16, committed ] by self-inflicted shotgun blast to the head. | |||
===Killed prior to the Shooting=== | |||
* Daryl Lussier, 58, killed by several ] shots to the torso | |||
* Michelle Sigana, 32, killed by at least one ] shot to the chest | |||
In 1992, his mother began dating a man who allegedly also abused Jeff.<ref name="Harden2005"> | |||
==Aftermath and Trivia== | |||
{{Cite news |last1=Harden |first1=Blaine |last2=Hedgpeth |first2=Dana |date=2005-03-25 |title=Minnesota Killer Chafed at Life On Reservation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64315-2005Mar24.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203140246/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64315-2005Mar24.html |archive-date=2017-12-03 |access-date=2012-12-20 |newspaper=] |language=en-US}} | |||
*The Chairman of the ] of ] Indians, ], stated that the shootings were "one of the darkest and most painful occurrences in the history of our tribe." | |||
</ref> After having two children, the couple married on June 27, 1998.<ref name="TheOjibweNews2005">{{Cite news |date=2005-03-25 |title=Jeffrey Weise |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-108594449.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104212137/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-108594449.html |archive-date=2012-11-04 |work=The Ojibwe News |via=]}}</ref><ref name="Davey2005" /> Weise moved around often because of his mother, and attended several different schools during his adolescence. In 2002, Weise was forced to repeat the eighth grade because of failing grades and truancy; he enrolled in a ] program at the school called the Learning Center. Beginning in middle school, Weise was frequently taunted and bullied by other students.<ref name="Rave2006"> | |||
{{Cite news |last=Rave |first=Jodi |date=2006-10-26 |title=Teen suicides series, Part 1: Family still struggling to understand teenager's rampage in Minnesota - Sunday, July 10, 2005 |url=http://missoulian.com/jodirave/article_cad5494b-ffaf-55e4-b62b-388c05f40b90.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717160134/http://missoulian.com/jodirave/article_cad5494b-ffaf-55e4-b62b-388c05f40b90.html |archive-date=2015-07-17 |access-date=2012-12-23 |work=] |language=en-US}} | |||
</ref> | |||
In 1997, when Weise was eight years old, his father died by suicide aged 32, shooting himself after a days-long standoff with Red Lake ].<ref name="Sevcik2005" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Monica |date=2005-03-27 |title=Tribe Buries 3 on a Long Road to Healing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/us/tribe-buries-3-on-a-long-road-to-healing.html |access-date=2019-08-16 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> Weise's grandfather, Daryl Lussier Sr., was a sergeant with the tribal police and was involved in the standoff.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Langman |first=Peter |title=School Shooters: Understanding High School, College, and Adult Perpetrators |date=2015-01-15 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1442233560 |pages=73 |language=en-US |author-link=Peter Langman}}</ref> Two years later, his mother was in an alcohol-related car accident and suffered severe brain damage. She had to be ] to a nursing home for rehabilitation.<ref name="Huffstutter2005">{{Cite news |last=Huffstutter |first=P.J. |date=2005-03-24 |title=Red Lake Reservation Readies Burial Rituals |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-24-na-shooting24-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419052625/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/24/nation/na-shooting24 |archive-date=2012-04-19 |access-date=2012-12-18 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Davey2005">{{Cite news |last1=Davey |first1=Monica |last2=Wilgoren |first2=Jodi |date=2005-03-24 |title=Signs of Danger Were Missed in Troubled Teenager's Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/us/signs-of-danger-were-missed-in-a-troubled-teenagers-life.html |access-date=2019-08-16 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> Weise was placed in the custody of his paternal grandmother, having to leave Minneapolis, where he had lived most of his life, to live with her and other paternal relatives on the Red Lake reservation.<ref name="Harden2005" /><ref name="Rave2005">{{Cite news |last=Rave |first=Jodi |date=2005-07-11 |title=Family still struggling to understand teenager's rampage in Minnesota |url=https://missoulian.com/jodirave/family-still-struggling-to-understand-teenager-s-rampage-in-minnesota/article_04bf17a5-82bf-5f8b-a35f-36e809538bfc.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2019-08-16 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
*This was the deadliest school shooting in the ] since the ] on ], ], when twelve students and a teacher were fatally shot and twenty four others were wounded. | |||
Weise became close to his paternal grandfather and his younger companion, Michele Sigana, who had given him his own room with them. The family said he had a good relationship with both.<ref name="Haga2005"> | |||
*Red Lake High School had installed ]s and had hired a security guard in ]. | |||
{{Cite news |last1=Haga |first1=Chuck |date=2005-03-25 |title=Family: Teen had 'a good relationship' with the grandfather he killed |url=http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/counseling-grandfather.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929152529/http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/counseling-grandfather.htm |archive-date=2011-09-29 |access-date=2012-12-18 |work=] |language=en-US |via=antidepressantsfacts.com}} | |||
</ref> In 2000, his mother and her husband separated; they completed the divorce in May 2004. Their custody arrangements covered only the children they had together, and not Weise.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hanners |first=David |date=2005-03-26 |title=Web postings show many sides to Weise |work=] |page=1A |language=en-US}}</ref> By 2003, his mother had moved to an assisted-living facility; she had recovered enough from her accident to work part-time, and had regained speech. Weise chose to stay with his grandmother rather than rejoin his mother and move again.<ref name="Rave2006" /> | |||
In September 2003, Weise enrolled at Red Lake Senior High School in Red Lake. Teachers and fellow students remembered him as withdrawn, and he reportedly had a history of troublesome behavior. At times he was referred to be homeschooled. His grandmother said he had not been in school for five weeks before the shooting.<ref name="Harden2005" /> His social studies teacher Wanda Baxter recalled, " was a good listener like any other ordinary student. He was quiet but never a troublemaker."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gunderson |first=Dan |date=2005-03-23 |title=MPR: Who was Jeff Weise? |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/22_ap_redlakesuspect/ |access-date=2012-03-14 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> Another teacher described Weise as "a pretty bright kid, but ... lazy when it came to school."<ref name="Bakken2002"> | |||
*], the son of Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr., was arrested in connection with the shootings on ], ] and charged with ]. He was charged with conspiracy to commit murder based on several email messages he exchanged with Jeff Weise which involved plans for the Red Lake High School massacre. The conspiracy charge was eventually dropped, though Jordain pled guilty to transmitting threatening messages through the Internet. | |||
{{Cite news |last=Bakken |first=Ryan |date=2002-02-15 |title=Teen "seemed lost in life" |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/teen-seemed-lost-in-life/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110172251/http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/teen-seemed-lost-in-life/ |archive-date=2016-01-10 |access-date=2012-03-14 |work=] |language=en-US}} | |||
</ref> Several students remembered Weise as being non-violent.<ref name="Sevcik2005" /> A close friend of Weise described him as "the only one I talked to about my problems. He was trustworthy, and he was always capable of understanding what I was going through", and other students also said they could talk to him.<ref name="Maag2005" /><ref name="Sevcik2005" /> | |||
=== Internet activities === | |||
*] ] praised security guard Derrick Brun on March 26, 2006. He said "Derrick's bravery cost him his life, and all Americans honor him... ...Although he was unarmed, Derrick ignored the pleas of a colleague to run for his life... ...by engaging the assailant; he bought vital time for a fellow security guard to rush a group of students to safety." | |||
Weise was discovered to have been quite active on the Internet. According to '']'', Weise created two violent ] animations for the flash website ], using the alias "Regret". One animation, entitled "Target Practice", features a character who murders three people with a ], blows up a police car with a grenade, and kills a ]. The 30-second animation ends with the shooter putting the gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger. Weise had created another Flash animation, entitled "Clown", in which a ] kills a man by eating his head.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-03-23 |title=School Killer's Animated Terror |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0323051weise1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050324041214/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0323051weise1.html |archive-date=2005-03-24 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> A ] account, apparently created by Weise, contained three entries posted between December 2004 and January 2005. The ] was customized to be rendered in black and white. In his posts, Weise expressed his desire for change and salvation in his life.<ref name="Davey2005" /> He was also interested in ], and under the alias "Blades11", he would publish short stories he wrote online about humans trying to survive in a zombie apocalypse to the website "Rise of the Dead".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-03-22 |title=Troubled Life Of Minnesota Shooter - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/troubled-life-of-minnesota-shooter/ |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
'']'' and ] alleged that Weise had an account called Todesengel (German: 'angel of death') on nazi.org, a ] website operated by the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party. On a talkboard hosted by nazi.org, there were many entries signed by someone going by the name Jeff Weise, who stated that he was a Native American from Red Lake. These entries criticized interracial marriage on the reservation and shamed Native American teens for listening to rap music, claiming it makes them violent.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Left |first=Sarah |date=2005-03-22 |title=A neo-nazi 'angel of death' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/22/usa.usgunviolence1 |access-date=2023-09-07 |work=] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="CBSNews2005" /> | |||
According to reports, Weise spent great amounts of time online on blogging sites.<ref name="Davey2005" /> One such blog included a ] ] of the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party. The posts revealed an admiration for the ideas of ], and interests in persuading other Native Americans as to the merits of those ideas. On one occasion, he fought with a pupil whom he referred to as a "]". He also alleged that the school was warned that someone was going to "shoot up" the school on April 20, the birthday of ] and the anniversary of the ], and that the school authorities "pinned" the threat on him. According to one of Weise's classmates, the shooter was "obsessed" with the Columbine High School shooting incident.<ref name="FBI" /> In one of his online accounts, he listed the films ] (2003) and ] (2003), two films about pairs of students who plan out then carry out shooting attacks on their respective high schools, as two of his favorite films.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-03-24 |title=Warning signs plentiful, young man acted out on Internet |url=https://www.inforum.com/newsmd/warning-signs-plentiful-young-man-acted-out-on-internet |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=InForum |language=en}}</ref> | |||
=== Motives === | |||
Police investigators began searching for a motive behind the shootings. According to their findings and media reports, Weise was often ] or teased in school by classmates. A tall youth weighing 250 pounds (115 kg), he was known to wear dark ],<ref name="Davey2005" /> as well as a long black ] and other black clothing to school year round.<ref name="Davey2005" /> He was referred to as a "] kid" by many of his classmates.<ref name="CBSNews2005">{{Cite news |date=2005-03-22 |title=Troubled Life Of Minnesota Shooter |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/troubled-life-of-minnesota-shooter/ |work=] |language=en-US |agency=]}}</ref> Although Weise was sometimes described as a loner, several students said he had numerous friends.<ref name="Lennard2005" /> He had a notebook in which he drew what a close friend described as "dark stuff".<ref name="Bakken2002" /> | |||
Later Weise was found to have posted numerous online comments expressing his frustration with living in Red Lake, and feelings that his life was beyond his control. He described the reservation "as a place where people 'choose alcohol over friendship', where women neglect 'their own flesh and blood' for relationships with men, where he could not escape 'the grave I'm continually digging for myself'".<ref name="Harden2005" /> His depression led him to attempt suicide in May 2004, when he cut his wrist. He changed his mind, deciding "this was not the path", and posted his thoughts on the website Above Top Secret:<ref name="Langman2009">{{Cite book |last=Langman |first=Peter |title=Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters |publisher=] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0230101487 |page=122 |language=en-US |author-link=Peter Langman}}</ref> | |||
<blockquote>I had went through a lot of things in my life that had driven me to a darker path than most choose to take. I split the flesh on my wrist with a box opener, painting the floor of my bedroom with blood I shouldn't have spilt. After sitting there for what seemed like hours (which apparently was only minutes), I had the revelation that this was not the path. It was my dicision {{sic}} to seek medical treatment, as on the other hand I could have chose to sit there until enough blood drained from my downward lascerations on my wrists to die.</blockquote> | |||
After he attempted suicide again the following month in June 2004, his aunts arranged with the Red Lake Medical Center for him to be hospitalized at a facility away from the reservation.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Connolly |first1=Ceci |last2=Hedgpeth |first2=Dana |date=2005-03-24 |title=Shooter Described as Deeply Disturbed |newspaper=] |page=A12 |language=en-US}}</ref> His continuing treatment included counseling and a prescription for ], an ].<ref name="Haga2005" /> The extended Lussier family had been involved for years in trying to help him, and arranged for Weise to have care and psychiatric treatment for depression.<ref name="Haga2005" /> Dr. Leslie Lundt, a psychiatrist, has commented that a parent's suicide put individuals at high risk for psychological problems, as does alcohol abuse in the family.<ref name="Rave2006" /> | |||
Weise ended up staying at the Red Lake Medical Center for three days.<ref name="Huffstutter2005" /> One source said that his doctor had increased his dosage a week before the shooting, to 60 mg a day of Prozac.<ref name="Haga2005" /> His grandmother said he had not seen the doctor since February 21.<ref name="Harden2005" /> His aunts said they were concerned about the increase in his dosage.<ref name="Helms2005" /> | |||
== Aftermath == | |||
Buck Jourdain, Chairman of the ], said that the shootings were "one of the darkest and most painful occurrences in the history of our tribe."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jourdain Jr. |first=Floyd |date=March 2005 |title=17-year-old charged with triple homicide |url=http://rlnn.com/ArtMar05/BucksStatement.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051018195240/http://www.rlnn.com/ArtMar05/BucksStatement.html |archive-date=2005-10-18 |work=Red Lake Net News |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
Louis Jourdain, the son of the Tribal Chairman Floyd "Buck" Jourdain Jr., was arrested in connection with the shootings on March 28, 2005 and charged with ] to commit murder.<ref name="CBSNews2005a">{{Cite news |date=2005-03-30 |title=Red Lake Shooting Conspiracy? |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/red-lake-shooting-conspiracy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716161247/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/30/national/main683990.shtml |archive-date=2007-07-16 |work=] |language=en-US |agency=]}}</ref> He was charged based on several email messages which he exchanged with Weise related to plans for the Red Lake High School shooting. The government dropped the conspiracy charge; however, Jourdain pleaded guilty to transmitting threatening messages through the Internet. | |||
Derrick Brun, the murdered security guard, was recognized for his bravery, with special recognition by President ].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} Jeffrey May, a sophomore injured while trying to attack Weise, was highly praised. He was featured in '']''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-03-04 |title='Reader's Digest' Readers Pick Hero From Red Lake |url=http://wcco.com/redlake/Reader.s.Digest.2.356070.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112074138/http://wcco.com/redlake/Reader.s.Digest.2.356070.html |archive-date=2007-11-12 |access-date=2017-10-12 |work=] |language=en-US |agency=]}}</ref><ref name="Rosengren2005">{{Cite magazine |last=Rosengren |first=John |date=September 2005 |title=Everyday Hero: Jeff May |url=http://www.rd.com/content/everyday-hero-jeff-may/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128123043/http://www.rd.com/content/everyday-hero-jeff-may/ |archive-date=2007-11-28 |magazine=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
The night after the shooting, many people of the community gathered at the high school gymnasium for a healing ceremony. They performed traditional Ojibwe ceremonies and prayed.<ref name="Maag2005" /> Within days, preparations started for funerals on the reservation. Tribal members drew from Ojibwe traditions as well as ] rites. They "collected bundles of ], to be given as gifts and burned during funeral ceremonies." Families picked personal items to be placed in the caskets.<ref name="Huffstutter2005" /> | |||
Weise's murders and suicide reopened the public debate about Prozac use among children and adolescents. In October 2004, the ] (FDA) had issued a warning about its use because of its association with more thoughts and acts of suicide and violence. At the time it was the only antidepressant approved for use with children.<ref name="Helms2005" /> | |||
Siblings of the victims and survivors participated in the 2018 School Walk Outs, which were designed to show respect for shooting victims seen nationally but especially in ] and Red Lake.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bowen |first=Joseph T. |date=2018-03-14 |title=At Red Lake, site of 2005 school shooting, walkout carries deep significance |url=https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/education/4417711-red-lake-site-2005-school-shooting-walkout-carries-deep-significance |access-date=2018-06-04 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
=== Compensation === | |||
After the murders and Weise's suicide, in April 2005, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians distributed 15 grants to families of victims and people affected by the shootings from a memorial fund that received $200,000 in donations from across the country. Initially, the tribe made 15 grants of $5,000 each to victims and their families, including one to Weise's relatives, to help pay for Weise's funeral and burial. Although some people objected, a tribal spokesman noted his family was not eligible for state compensation and said that they carried "a double burden."<ref name="LosAngelesTimes2005">{{Cite news |date=2005-04-15 |title=Tribe Gives Victims Aid to Shooter's Family, Citing a 'Double Burden' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-15-na-redlake15-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404201136/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/15/nation/na-redlake15 |archive-date=2013-04-04 |access-date=2012-12-18 |work=] |language=en-US |agency=]}}</ref> | |||
On July 21, 2006, the Red Lake school district reached a settlement with the families of the massacre victims. The school district agreed to pay $1,000,000 total to 21 of the victims' families, the maximum amount allowed by Minnesota law. Of the settlement, $900,000 was to be immediately granted to the families, and the remaining $100,000 to be set aside for future distribution.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miron |first=Molly |title=Judge signs $1 million order for Red Lake school shooting victims' families |url=https://www.mninjurylaw.com/html/recent-client-settlements/Judge-signs-1-million-order-for-Red-Lake-school-shooting-victims-families.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210162140/https://mninjurylaw.com/html/recent-client-settlements/Judge-signs-1-million-order-for-Red-Lake-school-shooting-victims-families.html |archive-date=2019-02-10 |access-date=2018-06-04 |website=Rodgers Law Office |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
{{Portal|United States|Law|Schools}} | |||
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* ] | * ] | ||
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== |
== References == | ||
{{Reflist}} | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
*, "]" | |||
*, a violent flash animation that the perpetrator created 5 months before the incident | |||
*, The perpetrator's '']'', ], ]. | |||
== External links == | |||
==Websites== | |||
* , ''Red Lake Net News'' (March 25, 2005) | |||
* (Red Lake memorial site) | |||
* , his website to provide discussion, links to resources and data from 10 years of research | |||
* , School Shooters | |||
* , School Shooters | |||
* , includes links to numerous articles about Red Lake Shooting, ''Blue Corn Comics'' | |||
* | |||
===News Articles=== | |||
* , Earth Sky Web | |||
*, '']'', ], ]. | |||
*Karnowski, Steve. "Shooting suspect apparently posted messages on neo-Nazi site", ''Duluth News Tribune'', ], ]. | |||
*, '']'' (subscription required) | |||
*, '']'', ] ]. | |||
*, '']'', ], ]. | |||
=== News articles === | |||
] | |||
{{Wikinews-inline|Ten dead on Minnesota Indian reservation after school shooting}} | |||
* , '']'', March 22, 2005. | |||
* Karnowski, Steve. "Shooting suspect apparently posted messages on neo-Nazi site," ''Duluth News Tribune'', March 22, 2005 | |||
* , '']'' | |||
* David Hanners and Beth Silva (March 24, 2005). , '']'' | |||
* , '']'', 25 March 2005 | |||
* , '']'', 29 March 2005 | |||
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{{School shootings in the United States}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 16:30, 20 December 2024
2005 shooting spree in Red Lake, Minnesota, US
Red Lake shootings | |
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Red LakeRed Lake (Minnesota)Show map of MinnesotaRed LakeRed Lake (the United States)Show map of the United States | |
Location | Red Lake, Minnesota, U.S. |
Coordinates | 48°09′18″N 95°06′08″W / 48.15500°N 95.10222°W / 48.15500; -95.10222 |
Date | March 21, 2005; 19 years ago (2005-03-21) 2:49 – 2:58 p.m. (UTC-6) |
Target | Red Lake Senior High School |
Attack type | Mass shooting, school shooting, mass murder, murder-suicide, spree shooting, parricide |
Weapons |
|
Deaths | 10 (8 at the school, including the perpetrator; the grandfather at home and grandfather's girlfriend) |
Injured | 9 |
Perpetrator | Jeffrey James “Jeff” Weise |
Defender | Jeffrey May |
Motive | Inconclusive |
The Red Lake shootings were a spree killing that occurred on March 21, 2005, in two places on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Red Lake, Minnesota, United States. That afternoon, 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandfather (an Ojibwe tribal police sergeant) and his grandfather's girlfriend at their home. After taking his grandfather's police weapons and bulletproof vest, Weise drove his grandfather's police vehicle to Red Lake Senior High School, where he had been a student some months before.
Weise shot and killed seven people at the school and wounded at least 9 others. The dead included an unarmed security guard at the entrance of the school, a teacher, and five students. After the police arrived, Weise exchanged gunfire with them. After being wounded, he shot and killed himself in a classroom. At the time, it was the deadliest school shooting in the United States since the Columbine High School massacre. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in Minnesota history.
Background
At the time of the shooting, by some accounts, Jeff Weise was living with his paternal grandfather, Daryl Lussier Sr., a sergeant with the Red Lake Police Department, run by the Ojibwe (aka Chippewa) tribal government at the Red Lake Indian Reservation. The household included his grandfather's 32-year-old girlfriend, Michelle Leigh Sigana.
The reservation of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe is in northwest Minnesota and is one of two nationally that are "closed"; only Ojibwe tribal members may live and own land there. Its residents suffer high rates of unemployment, violence, and suicide. Housing is poor, and many students do not finish high school. Work opportunities are limited on the reservation, which has a population of more than 5,000. A study in 2004 found that a high proportion of students in high school had thought of suicide. The nearest grocery stores are 32 miles (51 km) away from Red Lake in Bemidji.
Shootings
Trailer shooting
The day of the shootings, Weise retrieved a Ruger MK II .22 caliber pistol from his bedroom and fatally shot his grandfather as he was sleeping; he shot him two times in the head and ten times in the chest. According to Weise's friends, the teenager may have had the gun for as long as a year. He took Lussier's two police-issue weapons, a .40 caliber Glock 22 pistol and a 12 gauge Remington 870 pump-action shotgun, a gun belt and a bulletproof vest. Weise then fatally shot Sigana, his grandfather's girlfriend, two times in the head as she carried laundry up the stairs.
Red Lake High School shooting
Weise then drove his grandfather's squad car to Red Lake Senior High School, arriving at around 2:45 p.m. CST. As he entered the school through the main entrance, he encountered two unarmed security guards manning a metal detector. Weise shot and killed security guard Derrick Brun with the shotgun, while the other security guard, Leann Grant, escaped without injury, warning students and teachers to take cover. Weise proceeded into the main corridor of the school, shooting English teacher Neva Rogers who was pushing a computer cart and conversing with students in the hallway. The students scattered and Rogers ran to knock on Missy Dodd's classroom door. She was let in and initiated lockdown procedures, turning off lights, locking the door, and ushering the students under the tables.
Not long after Neva Rogers entered Missy Dodd's room, Weise shot out the glass panel next to the classroom door, reached his arm through, unlocked the door, and stepped into Dodd's study hall. There were fifteen students and three adults in the room. Neva Rogers began to pray, crying "God be with us!" Weise shot her in the head several times, killing her instantly.
The shooter then told students, "If any of you believe in God, now would be a good time to call in a favor." Weise approached a group of students, asking, "Do you guys believe in God?" One student, Chon'gai'la Morris replied no, and his life was spared. The rest of the group said nothing, and as a result were shot at. The shooter then turned and asked other students if the same question; those who replied in the affirmative or hesitated to answer were wounded or killed.
Jeffrey May, a 16-year-old sophomore, tried to wrestle Weise inside the classroom and stabbed him in the stomach with a pencil. May's diversion allowed students to flee the classroom to safety, but Weise shot him two times in the neck and once in the jaw, leaving him seriously injured. Weise left Dodd's room a few minutes later to search for more targets. Three students and one teacher lay dead in the class, five more students had been hurt. Weise wandered through the halls and managed to enter one more classroom, where he wounded two more students. A girl hiding inside this classroom heard, the shooter ask, "Do you believe in God?" This time, he did not wait for answers and fired immediately after posing the question.
Witnesses said Weise smiled as he was shooting at people. Several survivors claimed that he asked students if they believed in God, shooting them if they answered yes or hesitated to answer. This is believed to have been a reference to a widely publicized, but alleged exchange during the 1999 Columbine High School massacre between perpetrator Eric Harris and a Columbine victim. Weise had also used the screen name "do you believe in god." Ryan Auginash was wounded when he affirmed his faith in Christianity. Lance Crowe was also wounded for refusing to answer.
At around 2:52 p.m., Weise returned to the main entrance, where he wounded two students. The police had arrived quickly and engaged him in gunfire. FBI Special Agent Paul McCabe said the shootout lasted for about four minutes. None of the police officers were injured. After being hit three times in the lower back, right leg, and right arm by police gunfire, Weise retreated to the classroom where he had shot and killed the teacher and three students, yelling "I have hostages!" Weise shot and killed two more students who were hiding under tables, before leaning against a wall, putting the shotgun barrel to his chin, and firing, instantly killing himself.
The shootings lasted nine minutes. Weise fired a total of 59 shots during the shooting spree; 14 at his grandfather's home and 45 at the school. He fired 37 rounds from his grandfather's Glock handgun, 14 from his Ruger handgun, and eight from the shotgun.
Victims
A total of ten people, including the perpetrator, died in these events.
- Daryl Lussier Sr., 58, police sergeant and Weise's paternal grandfather
- Michelle Sigana, 32, Lussier's girlfriend
- Derrick Brun, 28, security guard
- Neva Rogers, 62, English teacher
- Alicia White, 14, student
- Thurlene Stillday, 15, student
- Chanelle Rosebear, 15, student
- Chase Lussier, 15, student
- Dewayne Lewis, 15, student
- Jeffrey Weise, 16, student/perpetrator
Perpetrator
Jeffrey James Weise, born August 8, 1988, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was labeled an outsider in the Red Lake community and had recently been placed in "homebound" schooling for breaking school rules. Weise had grown up with a difficult and disrupted family life; his parents were a young unmarried couple who separated before he was born. His mother, Joanne Weise, was 17 years old at the time of his birth. Joanne's family insisted that she give up her son to the father, Daryl Lussier Jr., who lived with his parents and family in Red Lake. Weise did not live with his mother again until after he was two years old, when she reclaimed him and took him to live in Minneapolis. In later online postings, Weise wrote that his mother was an alcoholic and was sometimes physically and emotionally abusive.
In 1992, his mother began dating a man who allegedly also abused Jeff. After having two children, the couple married on June 27, 1998. Weise moved around often because of his mother, and attended several different schools during his adolescence. In 2002, Weise was forced to repeat the eighth grade because of failing grades and truancy; he enrolled in a special education program at the school called the Learning Center. Beginning in middle school, Weise was frequently taunted and bullied by other students.
In 1997, when Weise was eight years old, his father died by suicide aged 32, shooting himself after a days-long standoff with Red Lake tribal police. Weise's grandfather, Daryl Lussier Sr., was a sergeant with the tribal police and was involved in the standoff. Two years later, his mother was in an alcohol-related car accident and suffered severe brain damage. She had to be committed to a nursing home for rehabilitation. Weise was placed in the custody of his paternal grandmother, having to leave Minneapolis, where he had lived most of his life, to live with her and other paternal relatives on the Red Lake reservation.
Weise became close to his paternal grandfather and his younger companion, Michele Sigana, who had given him his own room with them. The family said he had a good relationship with both. In 2000, his mother and her husband separated; they completed the divorce in May 2004. Their custody arrangements covered only the children they had together, and not Weise. By 2003, his mother had moved to an assisted-living facility; she had recovered enough from her accident to work part-time, and had regained speech. Weise chose to stay with his grandmother rather than rejoin his mother and move again.
In September 2003, Weise enrolled at Red Lake Senior High School in Red Lake. Teachers and fellow students remembered him as withdrawn, and he reportedly had a history of troublesome behavior. At times he was referred to be homeschooled. His grandmother said he had not been in school for five weeks before the shooting. His social studies teacher Wanda Baxter recalled, " was a good listener like any other ordinary student. He was quiet but never a troublemaker." Another teacher described Weise as "a pretty bright kid, but ... lazy when it came to school." Several students remembered Weise as being non-violent. A close friend of Weise described him as "the only one I talked to about my problems. He was trustworthy, and he was always capable of understanding what I was going through", and other students also said they could talk to him.
Internet activities
Weise was discovered to have been quite active on the Internet. According to The Smoking Gun, Weise created two violent Flash animations for the flash website Newgrounds, using the alias "Regret". One animation, entitled "Target Practice", features a character who murders three people with a rifle, blows up a police car with a grenade, and kills a Klansman. The 30-second animation ends with the shooter putting the gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger. Weise had created another Flash animation, entitled "Clown", in which a clown kills a man by eating his head. A LiveJournal account, apparently created by Weise, contained three entries posted between December 2004 and January 2005. The weblog was customized to be rendered in black and white. In his posts, Weise expressed his desire for change and salvation in his life. He was also interested in zombies, and under the alias "Blades11", he would publish short stories he wrote online about humans trying to survive in a zombie apocalypse to the website "Rise of the Dead".
The Guardian and CBS News alleged that Weise had an account called Todesengel (German: 'angel of death') on nazi.org, a neo-Nazi website operated by the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party. On a talkboard hosted by nazi.org, there were many entries signed by someone going by the name Jeff Weise, who stated that he was a Native American from Red Lake. These entries criticized interracial marriage on the reservation and shamed Native American teens for listening to rap music, claiming it makes them violent.
According to reports, Weise spent great amounts of time online on blogging sites. One such blog included a Neo-Nazi Internet forum of the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party. The posts revealed an admiration for the ideas of Adolf Hitler, and interests in persuading other Native Americans as to the merits of those ideas. On one occasion, he fought with a pupil whom he referred to as a "Communist". He also alleged that the school was warned that someone was going to "shoot up" the school on April 20, the birthday of Adolf Hitler and the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, and that the school authorities "pinned" the threat on him. According to one of Weise's classmates, the shooter was "obsessed" with the Columbine High School shooting incident. In one of his online accounts, he listed the films Zero Day (2003) and Elephant (2003), two films about pairs of students who plan out then carry out shooting attacks on their respective high schools, as two of his favorite films.
Motives
Police investigators began searching for a motive behind the shootings. According to their findings and media reports, Weise was often bullied or teased in school by classmates. A tall youth weighing 250 pounds (115 kg), he was known to wear dark eyeliner, as well as a long black trench coat and other black clothing to school year round. He was referred to as a "goth kid" by many of his classmates. Although Weise was sometimes described as a loner, several students said he had numerous friends. He had a notebook in which he drew what a close friend described as "dark stuff".
Later Weise was found to have posted numerous online comments expressing his frustration with living in Red Lake, and feelings that his life was beyond his control. He described the reservation "as a place where people 'choose alcohol over friendship', where women neglect 'their own flesh and blood' for relationships with men, where he could not escape 'the grave I'm continually digging for myself'". His depression led him to attempt suicide in May 2004, when he cut his wrist. He changed his mind, deciding "this was not the path", and posted his thoughts on the website Above Top Secret:
I had went through a lot of things in my life that had driven me to a darker path than most choose to take. I split the flesh on my wrist with a box opener, painting the floor of my bedroom with blood I shouldn't have spilt. After sitting there for what seemed like hours (which apparently was only minutes), I had the revelation that this was not the path. It was my dicision [sic] to seek medical treatment, as on the other hand I could have chose to sit there until enough blood drained from my downward lascerations on my wrists to die.
After he attempted suicide again the following month in June 2004, his aunts arranged with the Red Lake Medical Center for him to be hospitalized at a facility away from the reservation. His continuing treatment included counseling and a prescription for Prozac, an anti-depressant. The extended Lussier family had been involved for years in trying to help him, and arranged for Weise to have care and psychiatric treatment for depression. Dr. Leslie Lundt, a psychiatrist, has commented that a parent's suicide put individuals at high risk for psychological problems, as does alcohol abuse in the family.
Weise ended up staying at the Red Lake Medical Center for three days. One source said that his doctor had increased his dosage a week before the shooting, to 60 mg a day of Prozac. His grandmother said he had not seen the doctor since February 21. His aunts said they were concerned about the increase in his dosage.
Aftermath
Buck Jourdain, Chairman of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, said that the shootings were "one of the darkest and most painful occurrences in the history of our tribe."
Louis Jourdain, the son of the Tribal Chairman Floyd "Buck" Jourdain Jr., was arrested in connection with the shootings on March 28, 2005 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. He was charged based on several email messages which he exchanged with Weise related to plans for the Red Lake High School shooting. The government dropped the conspiracy charge; however, Jourdain pleaded guilty to transmitting threatening messages through the Internet.
Derrick Brun, the murdered security guard, was recognized for his bravery, with special recognition by President George W. Bush. Jeffrey May, a sophomore injured while trying to attack Weise, was highly praised. He was featured in Reader's Digest.
The night after the shooting, many people of the community gathered at the high school gymnasium for a healing ceremony. They performed traditional Ojibwe ceremonies and prayed. Within days, preparations started for funerals on the reservation. Tribal members drew from Ojibwe traditions as well as Catholic rites. They "collected bundles of sage, to be given as gifts and burned during funeral ceremonies." Families picked personal items to be placed in the caskets.
Weise's murders and suicide reopened the public debate about Prozac use among children and adolescents. In October 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had issued a warning about its use because of its association with more thoughts and acts of suicide and violence. At the time it was the only antidepressant approved for use with children.
Siblings of the victims and survivors participated in the 2018 School Walk Outs, which were designed to show respect for shooting victims seen nationally but especially in Florida and Red Lake.
Compensation
After the murders and Weise's suicide, in April 2005, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians distributed 15 grants to families of victims and people affected by the shootings from a memorial fund that received $200,000 in donations from across the country. Initially, the tribe made 15 grants of $5,000 each to victims and their families, including one to Weise's relatives, to help pay for Weise's funeral and burial. Although some people objected, a tribal spokesman noted his family was not eligible for state compensation and said that they carried "a double burden."
On July 21, 2006, the Red Lake school district reached a settlement with the families of the massacre victims. The school district agreed to pay $1,000,000 total to 21 of the victims' families, the maximum amount allowed by Minnesota law. Of the settlement, $900,000 was to be immediately granted to the families, and the remaining $100,000 to be set aside for future distribution.
See also
- Prozac
- Columbine effect
- List of massacres in Minnesota
- Mass shootings in the United States
- Contemporary Native American issues in the United States
References
- ^ Haga, Chuck (March 25, 2005). "Family: Teen had 'a good relationship' with the grandfather he killed". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2012 – via antidepressantsfacts.com.
- ^ Maag, Chris (March 27, 2005). "The Devil in Red Lake". TIME. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ Sevcik, Kimberly (August 8, 2005). "Reservation for Death". Salon. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014.
- Hastings, Deborah (March 24, 2005). "Red Lake tribe poor, isolated and private". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Helms, Marisa (March 25, 2005). "Shooting fuels debate over safety of Prozac for teens". Minnesota Public Radio. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- O’Toole, Mary Ellen (2013). "Jeffrey Weise and the Shooting at Red Lake Minnesota High School: A Behavioral Perspective". In Böckler, Nils; Seeger, Thorsten; Sitzer, Peter; Heitmeyer, Wilhelm (eds.). School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies, and Concepts for Prevention. New York, NY: Springer. pp. 177–188. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-5526-4_8. ISBN 978-1-4614-5526-4.
- "MPR: Recounting the horror in Red Lake shooting spree". Minnesota Public Radio. AP. March 22, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ FBI Investigation of Red Lake High School Shooting (Report). FBI. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Peterson, Jillian (2021). The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic. Abrams. ISBN 9781647002275.
- ^ Rosengren, John (September 2005). "Everyday Hero: Jeff May". Reader's Digest. Archived from the original on November 28, 2007.
- "Tales Of School Shooting Bravery, Slain Security Guard, Wounded Student Saved Others From Teen Gunman". CBS News. AP. March 24, 2005. Archived from the original on November 15, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ^ Lennard, Jeremy (March 22, 2005). "Ten dead in US school shooting". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 19, 2005. Retrieved November 15, 2005.
- "Teen who killed 9 was 'not the boy I knew'". NBC News. March 23, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- Freed, Joshua; Condon, Patrick (March 31, 2005). "E-Mail Describes Bloody Scene Inside Red Lake High School". KARE 11. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012.
- Lake, Chris Maag/Red (March 27, 2005). "The Devil in Red Lake". TIME. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
- Hughes, Art (April 18, 2005). "Feds: Assault at Red Lake over in nine minutes". Minnesota Public Radio.
- ^ "MPR: Victims of the Red Lake shooting". Minnesota Public Radio. March 22, 2005. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- Enger, John (March 18, 2015). "The shooting at Red Lake: The victims". MPRNews. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- Enger, John (March 18, 2015). "Feeling scars at Red Lake, 10 years later". MPRNews.
- "A Bloody Day on the Rez". Newsweek. April 3, 2005. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012.
- ^ Harden, Blaine; Hedgpeth, Dana (March 25, 2005). "Minnesota Killer Chafed at Life On Reservation". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- "Jeffrey Weise". The Ojibwe News. March 25, 2005. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
- ^ Davey, Monica; Wilgoren, Jodi (March 24, 2005). "Signs of Danger Were Missed in Troubled Teenager's Life". The New York Times. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ Rave, Jodi (October 26, 2006). "Teen suicides series, Part 1: Family still struggling to understand teenager's rampage in Minnesota - Sunday, July 10, 2005". Missoulian. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- Davey, Monica (March 27, 2005). "Tribe Buries 3 on a Long Road to Healing". The New York Times. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- Langman, Peter (January 15, 2015). School Shooters: Understanding High School, College, and Adult Perpetrators. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 73. ISBN 978-1442233560.
- ^ Huffstutter, P.J. (March 24, 2005). "Red Lake Reservation Readies Burial Rituals". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- Rave, Jodi (July 11, 2005). "Family still struggling to understand teenager's rampage in Minnesota". Missoulian. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- Hanners, David (March 26, 2005). "Web postings show many sides to Weise". Duluth News-Tribune. p. 1A.
- Gunderson, Dan (March 23, 2005). "MPR: Who was Jeff Weise?". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ Bakken, Ryan (February 15, 2002). "Teen "seemed lost in life"". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- "School Killer's Animated Terror". The Smoking Gun. March 23, 2005. Archived from the original on March 24, 2005.
- "Troubled Life Of Minnesota Shooter - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. March 22, 2005. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- Left, Sarah (March 22, 2005). "A neo-nazi 'angel of death'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
- ^ "Troubled Life Of Minnesota Shooter". CBS News. AP. March 22, 2005.
- "Warning signs plentiful, young man acted out on Internet". InForum. March 24, 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Langman, Peter (2009). Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 122. ISBN 978-0230101487.
- Connolly, Ceci; Hedgpeth, Dana (March 24, 2005). "Shooter Described as Deeply Disturbed". The Washington Post. p. A12.
- Jourdain Jr., Floyd (March 2005). "17-year-old charged with triple homicide". Red Lake Net News. Archived from the original on October 18, 2005.
- "Red Lake Shooting Conspiracy?". CBS News. Associated Press. March 30, 2005. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007.
- "'Reader's Digest' Readers Pick Hero From Red Lake". WCCO-TV. Associated Press. March 4, 2006. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- Bowen, Joseph T. (March 14, 2018). "At Red Lake, site of 2005 school shooting, walkout carries deep significance". The Bemidji Pioneer. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- "Tribe Gives Victims Aid to Shooter's Family, Citing a 'Double Burden'". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 15, 2005. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- Miron, Molly. "Judge signs $1 million order for Red Lake school shooting victims' families". Rodgers Law Office. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
External links
- Jeffrey James Weise obituary, Red Lake Net News (March 25, 2005)
- Peter Langman, PhD., School Shooters.info, his website to provide discussion, links to resources and data from 10 years of research
- Peter Langman, "Jeffrey Weise: Family Tree", School Shooters
- Peter Langman, "Biographical timeline of Jeffrey James Weise", School Shooters
- "Culture kills in Red Lake tragedy", includes links to numerous articles about Red Lake Shooting, Blue Corn Comics
- Red Lake Schools website
- Sota Iya Ye Yapi On-Line, Earth Sky Web
News articles
Ten dead on Minnesota Indian reservation after school shooting at Wikinews
- "Ten killed in US school shooting", BBC News, March 22, 2005.
- Karnowski, Steve. "Shooting suspect apparently posted messages on neo-Nazi site," Duluth News Tribune, March 22, 2005
- "The Depressive and the Psychopath", Slate
- David Hanners and Beth Silva (March 24, 2005). "Troubling Internet postings clash with family's view of a happy Weise", Saint Paul Pioneer Press
- "Native Americans Criticize Bush's Silence", The Washington Post, 25 March 2005
- "Tribal leader's son charged with conspiracy", Star Tribune, 29 March 2005
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