Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

January 3, 2007

A little too close to work...

Below are some pictures taken by KING-5 and KOMO-4, following a deadly shooting at Foss High School, which is less than a mile from my office. One person was killed, but so far they haven't found the shooter. I doubt he'll make his way down here before being caught, so I'm not terribly worried about it. The strange thing is, I didn't hear any sirens at all. It's been very quiet and we only found out when someone called our office to tell us what had happened. I wonder if this will make national news again? If so, it's another black eye for Tacoma and Washington State.

TACOMA, Wash. - A student was shot to death early Wednesday morning at Foss High School in Tacoma and police are looking for the shooter.Tacoma police say police are inside the school and are evacuating students. District Spokeswoman Pam Thompson says police have told the district that the students are safe and they have a "strong" suspect.The victim died of his wounds, said police Spokesman Mark Fulghum, but he did not know what may have prompted the shooting.One student who called the KOMO newsroom said he was herded into the gym with fellow students were placed in lockdown. He said the principal came in to inform them that a student had been shot. Jacki Phongsavath is a junior at the school and said the shooting happened about 7:30 a.m. around the corner from where he was standing. "I thought it was fireworks, but it was probably three shots," he said. "I looked around the corner and saw someone laying on the ground and blood on the lockers."He said that the victim was male, but didn't know who the shooter was. Students will be sent home as soon as buses arrive, and parents have been told to come pick up kids who don't take the bus.

11 comments:

  1. what a shocking story... sadly all too common these days

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  2. It's just so sad.....My dad was a high school principal for 30 years, and I have to say....I'm glad he's retired.

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  3. how horrible. this is one reason we homeschool our kids.....

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  4. Anonymous9:07 PM

    Ugh, these stories make me sick. And freaked out a little bit. Do you know how many kids in my class have brought weapons to school and successfully concealed them? They haven't done anything with them... yet. :/

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  5. Kathleen - That's just awful! Your mom and I never worried about that stuff at SHS. The most that ever happened was the occasional fistfight in the halls or stairs. I don't even remember weapons ever being found or used, not even knives.

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  6. HI JoJo, it made the Canadian news also. The motive could be over a girl or maybe drugs. Just a guess. I feel for both parents.

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  7. oh no, these mad people are really all over. i haven't seen it in the german news yet, might take a closer look in the newspaper.

    in 2002 when i was still in school there was the first killing frenzy in a german school in erfurt. a guy went crazy over the big exams, killed 16 people and shot himself. and when i had my school leaving examination only a few months later it was still in the back of my head that someone might freak out at our school, too. the whole situation was so nasty and i'm sooo happy that i'm done with school. everyday you read something else in the news, teacher attacked, boy brings weapons to school, gang beats school kids up... blah, has today's youth gone nuts completely?

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  8. Anonymous9:44 PM

    For the most part, I'm not too worried. 99.99% of the people who have brought knives or something and let it leak that they've had them are those rednecks who just like to show off. They're not planning on using them, they just have them. I'm more concerned with the school catching on fire or something.

    Sigh.

    ((P.S. I just bought tickets for Justice, Shea, mom, and I to go to Bamboozle. I'm excited, and it's four months away... It's gonna be a long four months. :D ))

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  9. i didn't see anything about this :(

    Having kids of high school age,I worry constantly that something bad is going to happen,although thankfully we live in a relatively small place,where nothing much ever happens.

    Eliza xxxxx

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  10. It made the Romanian news. It's such a sad story...

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  11. very sad situation. unbelievable.

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