Buell Elementary School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Buell Elementary School was an elementary school in Mount Morris Township, Michigan (approx. 5 miles North of Flint, Michigan). Buell Elementary School closed in 2002.[1]

[edit] Shooting

On February 29, 2000, 6 year old Dedrick Owens found a .32 caliber handgun [2] in his uncle's home. [3].

During a class changing period, in the presence of a teacher and 22 students, Owens shot classmate Kayla Rolland. At 6 years old, Rolland is believed to be the youngest school shooting victim in U.S. history.[4]Dedrick Owens is the youngest known school shooter.

Owens fired only one shot, which entered Rolland's right arm before traveling into her vital organs. At 10:59 am that same day, Rolland died at Hurley Medical Center while in cardiac arrest [5].

After the shooting, Owens threw the handgun into a wastebasket and fled to a nearby restroom. He was found there by a teacher and was taken into police custody soon after. He was held in custody until the Genesee County Family Independent Agency could determine his placement [6]. He and his two younger siblings have since been placed with an aunt. [7]

Due to Owens' age and lack of ability to form intent, Owens was never charged for the shooting. Six-year-olds are not liable for crimes they commit. In a 1893 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that "children under the age of 7 years could not be guilty of felony, or punished for any capital offense, for within that age the child is conclusively presumed incapable of committing a crime."[8] However, his uncle and two other men were charged.

Jamelle James, who kept the .32-caliber semiautomatic pistol ended up pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter and spent 2.5 years in prison before eventually being released and spending a period of time on probation. The other adults involved would be in and out of court systems in the years to follow.[1]

Dedrick and his younger brother were placed in foster care.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Five years after school shooting, Michigan community still in pain Sign on San Diego Retrieved on 26 November 2007
  2. ^ Major U.S. school shootings in the last 10 years Fox News
  3. ^ The Killing of Kayla Time Magazine
  4. ^ Broughton, Philip Delves. "Shocked pupils tell of shooting by six-year-old", The Daily Telegraph, 2000-03-01. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  5. ^ Student killed in Michigan elementary school shooting CNN
  6. ^ Michigan first-grader fatally shot by classmate CNN
  7. ^ More Indictments In School Shooting CBS News
  8. ^ Dwyer, Kevin and Fiorillo, Juré. True Stories of Law & Order: SVU. 2007: Berkley/Penguin, page 15. ISBN-10: 0425217353)

[edit] External links

This Michigan school-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Languages