Purdy was once a student at the very same Stockton elementary school on which he he would open fire. For Christmas 1978, he gave her a Ruger10/22 semi-automatic .22caliber rifle with a telescopicsight and 500 rounds of ammunition. This inspired the Boomtown Rats to write the smash hit I Don't Like Mondays. School shooting in San Diego. An 18-year-old gunman on Tuesday fatally shot 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school before he was killed by law enforcement officers, officials said.. The shooting claimed the lives of the. The only place I feel truly safe is my home and my PTSD makes it difficult to go places as common as the grocery store. The students killed during the shooting were: Its caused substantial amounts of nightmares, panic attacks and flashbacks to the shooting. The gunman, Patrick Purdy, who had an extended criminal history, shot and killed five schoolchildren and wounded 32 others. When I hear of other mass shootings, it is a real struggle to not mentally go down memory lane and relive the shooting I narrowly escaped. And it has stuck with them. And I wish that this was one isolated incident in my life, but we had a gunman in the parking lot at one of the places I worked violating a restraining order against domestic violence. Setting goals, working with others like a trauma-trained therapist to put one foot in front of the other toward healing. But when we choose daily, that our story doesnt end at tragedy, but can be a new point of beginning, we have the perspective we need to live again, and even thrive. Crystal Woodman Miller. Its crazy to think that I was incapable of dining in at a restaurant a few years ago given that I now work as a hostess in one. Later, students were ushered to safety in the school auditorium. It was a dark moment in history, remembered for its impact on the community and the lives of five students, none above 10 years old, that were taken by a gunman. On January 29, 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer opened fire on the. Even though our incident was over 33 years ago, when something like this happens, the images from that day always revisit me. Published: Feb. 28, 2023 at 5:54 PM PST. They were huddled in the classroom with the police running around the campus and dogs barking as someone pretended to try to get into the classroom. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. She and five other teachers saw and survived the shooting, helping students as young as six run from the bullets. "I'm having too much fun [to surrender] it was just like shooting ducks in a pond. With it being so close to home, it really hurt. News reporters marked every second with live reports, video, second by second reporting. 2. Theyre also now part of another sobering, distinctly American stat: Since Columbine in 1999, more than 311,000 students have experienced some form of gun violence at school. "It wasn't an attempt to exploit tragedy.". In the end, the 16 year old shooter killed two and injured 8 children, and a police officer. The source code for the WIKI 2 extension is being checked by specialists of the Mozilla Foundation, Google, and Apple. ClickAmericana.com is made with and by Synchronista LLC 2011-2022. By that definition, 72-year-old Hemet resident Huu Can Tran the man identified by authorities as the shooter would be the oldest person in recent history to carry out a mass shooting, and only the second in their 70s to carry out such an attack, according to the Violence Project. It doesnt exist. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Officials placed Noble Elementary School on lockdown Wednesday after a reported shooting near the school, according to a school employee. News reporters marked every second with live reports, video, second by second reporting. Other friends said the freckle-faced red-head was a fan of SWAT-style television shows. Wragg died in surgery and Suchar was dead on arrival at local hospital. Its been 32 years and absolutely nothing has changed. In the wake of the Texas shooting, I find myself consumed with grief. Police found the man one hour later driving on Superior and Euclid avenues in East Cleveland. Cleveland Elementary School shooting (San Diego), This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 15:06, ClevelandElementarySchoolshooting(Stockton), "SchoolSniperSuspectBraggedOf'SomethingBigToGetOnTV', "Lookbackinsorrow:in1979,ateenagegirlopenedfireonasuburbanSanDiegoelementaryschool;today,asthenationreelsfromarashofsimilartragedies,thesurvivorsstillstruggletounderstandwhyithappened", "GirlSniperKills2,Wounds9atSanDiegoSchool", "ClassmatesSayAllegedSniperSeemedLonely,FriendlessGirl", "40yearsago,BrendaSpencertooklives,changedlivesinamassshootingataSanDiegoelementaryschool", "SchoolShooterBrendaSpencerDeniedParole", "Schoolrifleattacknets25yearstolife", "Noparolegrantedfor'Idon'tlikeMondays'schoolshooter", "Shedidn'tlikeMondays,theydon'twantplaquemoved", "Tragicpast,uncertainpresent,brightfutureofClevelandElementary", "VictimsofSanDiegoSchoolShootingAreForcedtoCopeAgain10YearsLater", "WatchDeadlyCompulsionFullEpisode-KillerKids|Lifetime", "KillerKids-Season3Episode19DeadlyCompulsion", "DeadlyWomen|Season2Episode1ThrillKills", "40YearsAgo,BrendaSpencerTookLivesAtElementarySchool", "1993:ConvictedschoolshooterBrendaSpencerspeakswithSanDiego'sNews8-PART1", "1993:ConvictedschoolshooterBrendaSpencerspeakswithSanDiego'sNews8-PART2", "1993:ConvictedschoolshooterBrendaSpencerspeakswithSanDiego'sNews8-PART3", "1993:ConvictedschoolshooterBrendaSpencerspeakswithSanDiego'sNews8-PART4", MurderHistorian-IDon'tLikeMondaysBlog, UniversityofNorthCarolinaatCharlotte, LibertyPointInternationalMiddleSchool, CentralVisualandPerformingArtsHighSchool, "'NoWaytoPreventThis',SaysOnlyNationWhereThisRegularlyHappens", ListofschoolshootingsintheUnitedStatesbydeathtoll, Students and faculty at Grover Cleveland Elementary School. It has 988 students in grades PK, K-5 with a student-teacher ratio of 16 to 1. Thomas, now 35, is senior principal systems engineer for the aerospace and defense industry. Cindy Clement Carlson was the librarian at Sandy Hook Elementary School when a gunman killed 26 people, 20 of them children. After murdering his mother at their home, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School before taking his own life. Aftershootingseveral people at a school in San Diego on January 29, 1979 killing two adults and wounding nine others Brenda Ann Spencer, The real death of a cheerleader story (1985), Charles Manson & the murders that shocked the nation: How Sharon Tate & 6 others were killed in 1969, Ponch & John hit the roads as motorcycle cops in LA on CHiPs (1977-1983), Starsky and Hutch: The TV story & the classic theme music (1975-1979), Newspaper headlines from the real-life Death of a Cheerleader story: The Kirsten Costas murder (1984). High school student Lucy Sarkissian was in eight grade when two students at her school, STEM School Highlands Ranch, opened fire, killing one student and wounding eight others. Since this mass shooting, countless others like it have happened in the US. Wragg was hit when he went to the aid of a wounded 9-year-old girl, Suchar as he tried to help the fallen principal and Officer Robert Robb was shot through the neck while dragging wounded children to safety. At the time of the crime, she was sixteen years old. Dave Kelly, said Spencer emerged from her familys modest home, put two guns on the ground, then calmly went back into the house and brought other ammunition before heavily armed officers grabbed the girl. At 15 years old, I had to say goodbye to my two friends, Alyssa Alhadeff and Martin Duque, as well as my geography teacher, Scott Beigel. For her part, Brenda . If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. In 2009, the board again refused her application for parole, and ruled it would be ten years before she would be considered again. 1. Thanks for visiting and for supporting a small business! Evidently, shes pretty garbled over the telephone . I think back to last year, when 10 people died at a supermarket about 45 minutes away from my house the King Soopers store shooting in Boulder. Find out more here. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Attendance boundaries are reviewed annually and are subject to change. They didnt know if theyd be able to hug their children and take them home or have to face the worst day of their lives. Susan Rodgers was 16 years old when a former student at Granite High School opened fire at the school, wounding two teachers and three students. In 1989, 24-year-old Patrick Purdy walked onto the playground at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, with an AK-47 and opened fire, killing five children and a teacher. Now that you know, have fun looking around! A policeman on the scene, Sgt. Fourteen-year-old Jesse Osborne shot three students and a teacher, critically wounding six-year-old student Jacob Hall, who died from his injuries three days later. Five of our children were murdered that day, and more than 30 others were wounded. According to Cleveland School Remembers, Purdy had walked onto the campus around noon on Jan. 17, 1989. Due to my paralysis, I had to figure out how I was going to financially provide for myself and a potential family: how and where I was going to live. The shooting began as children were waiting outside for principal Burton Wragg to open the gate. [25] In the ensuing decades, it was leased to several charter and privateschools. It looked like they had had a pretty good party, he said. Geldof later explained: "Not liking Mondays as a reason for doing somebody in is a bit strange. It terrifies me. She seemed most comfortable and most excited when she was around guns or talking about them, her friends said Monday after the 16-year-old Miss Spencer allegedly opened fire with a rifle at a crowded school parking lot, killing two persons and wounding 10 others. It was attributed to an accident on her bicycle. Currently, Blountsville Elementary is the home to forty-four classrooms, two computer labs, media center, cafatorium, nurse's office, two administrative offices, a gymnasium, and extraordinary amounts of educational opportunities. I shot a pig (cop) I think and I want to shoot more. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. Now eligible for parole, is she being released from prison? At her first hearing, in 1993, Spencer said she had hoped police would shoot her, and that she had been a user of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crime, although the results of drug tests done when she was taken into custody were negative. 1979 mass shooting in San Diego, California, U.S. For the shooting in Northern California, see. Required fields are marked *. Twenty-nine were students and one was a teacher. For the students of Cleveland Elementary School, January 17, 1989, started out like any other Tuesday. On January 17, 1989, an armed gunman with an AK-47 assault rifle, killed five young students and wounded 30 more (including one teacher) at the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, CA. Here's a rundown of the other shootings: Cleveland Elementary School shooting in 1989, leaving 6 dead and 29 injured. I will always deal with survivors guilt and wonder why I was one of the lucky ones that lived through my experience. Change). Killed were Cleveland Grammar School's principal and a custodian. Classmates alleged that, the week before Spencer targeted kids in the playground, she boasted she was planning to "do something big to get on TV". Christy Buell was "shocked, saddened, horrified . Although she's previously been eligible for parole, Spencer was denied four times, including on August 13, 2009, and is not eligible again until this year - 40 years after the shooting. [3], Brenda Ann Spencer (born April 3, 1962) is an incarcerated American murderer who in 1979 committed a school shooting at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in the SanDiegoUnifiedSchoolDistrict in the SanCarlos neighborhood of SanDiego, California. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. I wanted to smile and laugh again, but I felt guilty to do so. But theres just a lot of guilt surrounding it for me. Spencer blazed away with rifle shots from her . The final addition happened in 2008. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. We shouldnt have to live like this. Despite being a teenager, she was tried as an adult, because of the seriousness of her crime. No children were hurt in . . I teach my godchildren and younger cousins to never be distracted in public, to always keep their head on a swivel and practice situational awareness. I remember being 10 years old when Sandy Hook happened and being terrified then to go to school. No one died, but the gunshots were real, the fear was deep, and the hours of uncertainty while trapped in a classroom were brutal. Spencer, a junior at Patrick Henry High School, was described as a pretty good shot by officers on the scene. You can also get our free newsletter, follow us on Facebook & Pinterest. In the Robb Elementary School shooting, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos open fire and killed 19 fellow students and 2 teachers, wounding many other individuals, including his . Now, my sense of security and safety is completely gone. "There's a part of us that does not let that go," said Judy Weldon. It will enhance any encyclopedic page you visit with the magic of the WIKI 2 technology. Would you like Wikipedia to always look as professional and up-to-date? A heavily-armed police SWAT (special weapons and tactics) team set up a barricade around the house, keeping parents, bystanders and reporters at least one block away. Please note maps are intended to give a general indication of a school's attendance area. 260 Page Street. It was her first teaching job in California. Learn how your comment data is processed. The suspect, Brenda Spencer, barricaded herself in her home across the street from the school and held police at bay for 6-1/2 hours before surrendering. Every time it happens I get more and more scared to set foot outside or pursue an education. Jaimee Roeschke. / CBS Sacramento. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I do not like being in the middle of large crowds. Uvalde took me back to our cafeteria, where parents came to pick up their children. When we were finally escorted out, we could see the quad where it happened. SAN DIEGO A 16-year-old girl fatally shot two persons and wounded nine others here Monday, later telling police she fired the .22 caliber rifle into a crowded elementary schoolyard because she "just wanted to liven up the day," police said. Rob Young was just over 6 . I was skeptical of everyone I saw, thinking they wanted to kill me. Because we are unable to change what has happened to us, we must instead choose our response and it takes intentionality. Every time I walk into a room I look for the nearest exit or for a good hiding spot. STOCKTON, Calif. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting is also known as the Cleveland School massacre and the Stockton Schoolyard Shooting. Principal Wragg, trying to keep his kids safe, was mortally injured and school custodian Mike Suchar tried to pull his friend to safety. [31], The 1982 JapaneseAmerican documentary film TheKillingofAmerica depicts the incident. It was horrible. View our online Press Pack. The shooting on that day changed the trajectory of our experience at school. It will be a long while before the families feel safe anywhere. Nearby homes were evacuated in the citys La Mesa section, a middle-class area of quiet, tree-lined streets and frame houses northeast of the city. I was in a classroom nearby with my sister. [33][34][35], The InvestigationDiscovery network portrayed Spencer's crimes in one of the three cases presented in the premiere episode of season 2 on the crime documentary series DeadlyWomen, titled "ThrillKillers", first air date: October 9, 2008.[36][37][38]. I never want anyone to feel as if their trauma will forever define them. Gabrielle Ben-Zaken. Brenda Spencer shot and killed two adults, wounded eight children and a San Diego police officer at Cleveland Elementary School in San Carlos on Jan. 29, 1979, 40 years ago. , Your email address will not be published. She and others call the decision by Judge Roger Benitez to reverse the ban on assault weapons a deadly choice. When officers entered the house after Miss Spencer surrendered. The gunman, who had a long criminal history, shot and killed five schoolchildren, and wounded 29 other children and one teacher, before committing suicide. A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the . SAN DIEGO Tuesday will mark 40 years since San Diego's first-ever school shooting, which took place at Cleveland Elementary school. Here's a . and theyre going to let her do herself in (with the intoxicants) until she passes out. After her surrender, however, police officials declined to comment on that account. I don't like Mondays. [17] In prison, Spencer was diagnosed with epilepsy and received medication to treat epilepsy and depression. My student, Oeun Lim, a delightful book-loving, imaginative 8-year-old, was killed that day. San Juan Unified staffer repeats racist slur when telling students to stop using it, 'She was a loveable soul': Cousin identifies victim of South Sacramento homicide. I remain hopeful through all this that at some point we will do something, but it has to be soon and it will take everyone who cares about children, about the common good, about the possibility of a better day to make it happen. Julie Schardt, Crystal Woodman Miller was a 16-year-old junior at Columbine High School when two classmates killed 12 students and one teacher, also wounding around 23 others, before killing themselves. NEW! News Local A man and two students at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton on Jan. 17, 1989, after a heavily armed gunman invaded the school yard and killed five children and injured 30 others before . Contact info. The student pulled out a gun and fired into a crowd, leaving Thomas partially paralyzed and three others wounded. Your email address will not be published. The shooter was 24-year-old Patrick Purdy, often described as a drifter. SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) Tuesday marked 40 years since a deadly shooting took place at Grover Cleveland Elementary School. I teach them the importance of communicating where they are and where they are going so in case, God forbid, something happens, someone will know where to find them. Heres how to party like its 1969, Print Color Fun: Free coloring pages & more fun for kids, Quotes Quotes Quotes: 1000s of clever & inspiring quotations, FindersFree.com: Find answers to lifes little questions. This article presents five school shooters from 1975 through 2007, classifies them within my typology, and compares them to the ten shooters discussed in Why Kids Kill. University of Iowa shooting in 1991, leaving 6 dead and 1 injured. I am aware of how short and precious life is and I dont want to waste a single second of it. Every time I walk into a new space, whether that be a grocery store, a movie theater or a mall, Im constantly looking for the nearest exit and planning an escape route. The 2006 British documentary I Don't Like Mondays also revisits the case. PS: If you liked this article, please share it! The principal came out and told the kids to hit the dirt. In the frantic moments follo-ing the two killings, eight students were wounded, police reported. Website. She reportedly answered: "I don't like Mondays. Ive developed PTSD as a result of the shooting. However, the entire siege lasted seven hours, as Spencer barricaded herself inside her home, and threatened to "come out shooting". The singer had been doing a radio interview, when the news was wired through. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. We ask that perfume or perfumed products not be used at school. The five shooters are Robert Poulin, Brenda Spencer, Wayne Lo, Luke Woodham, and Asa Coon. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Pescaro, who was 19 at the time, was shot in the back, only an inch from his spine. Who is Brenda Ann Spencer, is she being released from prison and which Bob Geldof song did she inspire? Court documents filed in the case say 150 people were working at the construction site near John Eaton Elementary School. When I hear about another mass shooting, it causes me to have visual flashbacks of my own experience. A True Crime Documentary On The Cleveland Elementary School Shooting Committed On January 29th 1979 By 16 year old Brenda Spencer.2 people were shot dead and. Later I learned that I knew five of the victims, including my coach for softball and basketball, Dave Sanders. More than 30 others were wounded by the gunman, who shot them with a semi-automatic rifle. The principal and a custodian were killed; eight children and police officer Robert Robb were injured. When she saw stuff like that, shed say, Oh, wow,' one friend recalled. She also told policenegotiators the children and adults whom she had shot were easy targets and that she was going to "come out shooting". A 16-year-old girl, Brenda Spencer, who lived in a house across the street from the school, was convicted of the shootings. It will forever be a part of your story but the degree to which it will affect you depends on choice and some intentionality. [16] Crime-scene photos contradict these accounts. Christy Buell and Monica Selvig, both 9, were in satisfactory condition after transfer from intensive care and Mary Clark, 8, was in satisfactory condition with a wound in the abdomen. Experiencing gun violence has greatly removed the sense of normalcy from my life. cleveland.com. I identify deeply with the staff at Robb Elementary. I was directly across the hallway from where the shooting occurred. I also had to say goodbye to everything I perceived as normalcy. I dont like Mondays, the girl reportedly told the Tribune. "For decades now, California legislators have called for a ban on so-called "assault weapons", a term in which they have defined on their own, and have had to modify several times to fit their narrative. On a clear blue day on Jan. 17, 1989, a man whose peripatetic life included years as a troubled Sacramento youth walked onto a playground in Stockton and shot 34 children, killing five. Original documents Brenda Spencer Parole Hearing 1993 Brenda Spencer Parole Hearing 1994 [5][2] Spencer has been repeatedly reminded of these statements at parole hearings. He fired more than 100 rounds in a minute before he ultimately shot himself. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting (also known as the Stockton schoolyard shooting and the Cleveland School massacre) occurred on January 17, 1989, at Cleveland Elementary School at 20 East Fulton Street in Stockton, California, United States. I shudder to think what would have happened on my campus if the shooter had brought an automatic rifle. FortifyFL is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows you to instantly relay information to appropirate law enforcement agencies and school officials. There was no option to opt our kids out of school that day. [13] She injured eight children; she began with nine-year-old Cam Miller, since he was wearing Spencer's favorite color blue. Investigators said the .22-caliber rifle the girl lay down as she was arrested was a Christmas present from her father, Wallace Spencer, a supervisor of technical services at San Diego State University. The Cleveland Elementary School shooting was a school shooting that took place on January 29, 1979, at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, United States. I still struggle with hearing things like fireworks, balloons and thunderstorms. All of the fatally shot victims and those who were wounded were Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants. High school football player William Tipper Thomas was 17 when a fellow student got into a fight with some of his teammates in the parking lot and outside the steps of the school. She remains imprisoned at the California Institution for Women in Chino. The school was on lockdown briefly, but no children were hurt. Gabrielle Ben-Zaken, now 19, was 15 when a classmate opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. He has taken a huge step in the right direction and upheld his oath of office, by defending our fundamental rights set forth in our constitution. When asked why she did it she simply saidI dont like Mondays.. Upon realising he was speaking to the shooter, he asked what her motive was. On April 4, 1980, a day after her 18th birthday, she was sentenced to 25 years to life. The principal and a custodian were killed; eight children and police officer Robert Robb were injured. Its incredibly easy to give into despair, and hopelessness. They might be survivors, but their hearts and souls will be tattooed by the pain of that day. So I had to talk to my twins, starting at the age of 5, about the reality of school shootings. The shots were fired from a house located directly across the street and 100 feet away. There was never a day at school where I felt safe, I was constantly on edge. Brenda Ann Spencer. On January 17, 1989, almost ten years after the events at San Diego's Grover Cleveland Elementary, there was anothershooting at a school coincidentally named Grover Cleveland Elementary, this one in Stockton,California. Florida Prepaid Open Enrollment runs now through April 30th. Legendary Irish rocker Bob Geldof described how he felt as the news broke on the sad day. Cleveland School Shooting Victims. Experiencing gun violence at a place like a school has completely shifted my perception of comfort in public spaces ever since. Five students were killed and thirty were injured. The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 is considered to be an immediate result of the Stockton shooting. On January 17, 1989, a former student opened fire on the playground of Cleveland Elementary School.Within 3 minutes the gunman fired 106 rounds from his recently-purchased AK-47, killing 5 students and injuring another 31. STOCKTON, Calif. (KTXL) - Survivors of the Cleveland Elementary School shooting are speaking out after a federal judge struck down California's assault weapons ban. Quick Links Cleveland PAC Canadian Parents for French ERASE Bullying [28], BobGeldof, then the lead singer of the BoomtownRats, read about the incident when a news story about it came off the telex at WRAS-FM, the campus radio station at GeorgiaStateUniversity in Atlanta. By MICHAEL GRANBERRY. It sickens and chills me to think about it. Read more crime stories on cleveland.com: Man who lost eye during Clevelands George Floyd protest sues deputy who shot him in the head with bean bag, Five hurt, one dead after Memorial Day block party shooting in Garfield Heights, Former Parma imam fraudulently obtained more than $80,000 in public-assistance benefits, feds say, Prosecutors seek death penalty against man accused of killing undercover Cleveland police detective, informant, Man shot to death at East Cleveland gas station, police say. The brutal killer coldly replied: "I just did it for the fun of it. "He's opening the door to who knows what kind of violence, utterly devastating," Weldon said. Fortify FL. CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - Shots were fired at a home across campus from a Cleveland County elementary school on Thursday morning. It was a dark moment in Stockton history, remembered for its impact on the community with the lives of five students, none older than 10-years old, lost. In the span of only a few minutes, the act marked the first mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history. Christy Buell, a survivor of the 1979 shooting, said that she was "shocked, saddened, horrified" by the headlines concerning the 1989 shooting. Brenda Ann Spencer, fdd 3 april 1962 i San Diego i Kalifornien i USA, blev knd d hon mndagen den 29 januari r 1979 under en beskjutning mot Cleveland Elementary School i San Diego i Kalifornien ddade rektorn Burton Wragg och skolans vaktmstare Mike Suchar. The song hit number 1 on the British charts in the summer of 1979, was one of the top 100 singles in the US around the same time, went on to win several UK music awards, and was even covered by singer Tori Amos in 2001. The Cleveland School massacre (also known as the Stockton Schoolyard Shooting) occurred on January 17, 1989. Newspaper reporter Gus Stevens, who called Spencer's neighbours for quotes during the lengthy standoff with cops, accidentally phoned her home. cleveland elementary school shooting Latest Breaking News, Pictures, Videos, and Special Reports from The Economic Times. A parent and child leave Noble Elementary School where a Cleveland Heights police car sits after a shooting near the school happened earlier in the day. This is his duty. Higgins said.