Shane Halligan
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Shane Joseph Halligan (February 1990-December 12, 2006) was an 11th grader at Springfield Township High School who killed himself on December 12, 2006.
Shane worked as a volunteer fireman and wished to join the National Guard. However, his parents said that if his falling grades did not rise, he would be cut fromall extracurricular activities. He took this seriously and somehow managed to get the key to his father's AK-47 semiautomatic rifle that was located in the closet.
At around 9:19 am, Halligan fired several "warning" shots into the wall and ceiling of the hallway outside the second-floor science classrooms. He told surrounding students and staff to run. He explained that he had no intentions of ever hurting anyone but himself. Once all students and staff were inside classrooms, Shane went for a walk around the school. He stopped in front of one of the spanish classrooms where he conversed with a hall monitor who attempted to convince Shane not to take his life. It seemed Shane was convinced for he told the hall monitor that he would take another walk around the school and when he returned he would put the gun down. He then walked several feet away and shot himself in front of a display case between the library and spanish classrooms. A suicide note was later found in his pocket.
Shane was an amazing boy who constantly got involved with the community. He was an eagle scout at age 13, a state record; he was a volunteer fire fighter for Flourtown Fire Company; he was an active thespian and just an all-around amazing kid. He will always be remembered for his remarkable ability to make others laugh no matter what the situation. His "aisha" dance will go down in history as one of the funniest things ever to cross Springfield. Michael DeLaurentis, a fellow student, descibed him as "a short, intelligent boy." The night before, Shane watched a football game with his family. Later on the 12th, friends, family, loved ones and community members attended a vigil around the flag pole at the school. Flowers, candles, notes, pictures and more were left at the sight. Loving notes cover the flag pole in hope that Shane will somehow be able to read them. Many have left notes on Halligan's MySpace page. "Rest In Peace friend im sorry it ended like this," one note said. His myspace link is http://www.myspace.com/penguinsandwich. There is currenly a Facebook.com group entitled, "In Loving Memory of Shane Halligan" created by Matt Vincent, a fellow friend and schoolmate. Within days, The group has grown to thousands of members, all mourning the loss of Shane.
