Investigators were reviewing video and reading the writings of a 15-year-old boy on Wednesday as they sought clues to what drove him to go on a deadly shooting spree at his high school north of Detroit, where he killed three fellow classmates.
The suspect, whose name was withheld by officials because he is a minor, opened fire on Tuesday with a handgun his father had purchased four days earlier, killing three students.
Tate Myre, 16, died in a patrol car en route to a hospital. Hanna St. Julian, 14 and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, were also killed in the shooting. A teacher and seven other students were wounded, some critically, authorities said.
By Wednesday morning, more than 50,000 people had signed an online petition to rename the school's stadium after Myre, who was a member of Oxford High's football team, saying he tried to disarm the shooter. "Tate is not just a hero to his fellow students at Oxford high school but a legend, his act of bravery should be remembered forever and passed down through generations."
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in an interview on CNN on Wednesday that it was clear that the shooter intended to kill people. "He was shooting people at close range, oftentimes towards the head and chest. ... It's just absolutely coldhearted murders," he said, adding that the shooter fired at least 30 shots. "We can't get the motive from the suspect that we have in custody, but we think we've got a path to get a lot of supportive information as to how and why this occurred," he said.
The shooter was armed with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun his father had purchased on Nov. 26, along with three 15-round magazines. Seven live rounds remained in the gun when the youth was arrested, the sheriff said late on Tuesday.
The suspect was disarmed and taken into custody by sheriff's deputies minutes after the shooting began. He declined to speak with investigators after his parents retained a lawyer and denied authorities permission to interview their son, Bouchard said. "The person who's got the most insight on motive is not talking," the sheriff said.
Bouchard said he was unaware of any previous run-ins with law enforcement by the suspect, a high school sophomore, adding that investigators had so far seen nothing to suggest a history of disciplinary problems or threats. He said forensic technicians were collecting evidence from the crime scene, while detectives began collecting video footage from security cameras mounted around the school and interviewing witnesses and those acquainted with the suspect. The sheriff said a search warrant was executed at the suspect's home in Oxford and his cellphone was seized.
Bouchard credited swift action by his deputies for preventing greater loss of life, saying they arrived on the scene within minutes and moved straight toward the sound of gunshots. Officers confronted the young assailant advancing down a hallway toward them with a loaded weapon, and he put his hands over his head and surrendered, Bouchard said. The precise sequence of events during the violence remained unclear, but police believe the student carried the weapon into school in a backpack, the sheriff said.
The boy, who was unharmed, was being detained in a special cell under suicide watch at a juvenile detention center, Oakland County Executive David Coulter said.
Of the seven other students struck by gunfire, three of them - a 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the head and two girls with chest wounds, aged 14 and 17 - were hospitalized in critical condition, Bouchard said. The younger girl was on a ventilator after surgery. The four remaining teenage victims - three boys and a girl - were listed in serious or stable condition. One teacher was treated for a shoulder wound and later discharged.
The boy apparently "had been shooting" the gun before Tuesday's attack and had posted pictures of the weapon and a target he was using, according to the sheriff.
Comment: So Omicron is a NothingBurger™ - what a surprise! What would actually be surprising is if the "experts" took this information and used it to tone down the hyperbolic reaction and eased restrictions. Surprising indeed.
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