An 8-year-old girl was killed and 10 others were injured when a teenage gunman entered the Oakland Elementary School in Greenwood, S.C., on Sept. 26 and opened fire in the cafeteria and a classroom.
One of the injured, Tequila Thomas, 8, died of her wounds on Sept. 29.
Police have charged James William Wilson, 19, of Greenwood, with first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill. Mr. Wilson told a local newspaper that he was copying a similar rampage last May in Winnetka, Ill., in which one pupil was killed and six others wounded. (See Education Week, June 1, 1988.)
According to a police spokesman, Mr. Wilson entered the school4around 11 A.M., walked to the cafeteria, pulled out a .22-caliber revolver, and opened fire, injuring one teacher and three students.
He then went into a girls’ restroom, where he scuffled with a physical-education teacher. The teacher was shot in the mouth and hand.
Mr. Wilson then entered a classroom and opened fire, injuring five students and killing one, Shequila Tawonn Bradley.
When he ran out of bullets, he dropped his gun, police said. The wounded physical-education teacher ordered him to stand with his hands above his head until police arrived.
The school was closed until last8Thursday, and counselors were available to both parents and students.
Chicago Shooting
Counselors were also working last week with students and teachers at the Moses Montefiore Public School in Chicago, where a gunman shot and killed a custodian and a police officer on Sept. 22.
Police there arrested Clemie Henderson, 40, who was also charged with the murder of two people in an automobile-parts store near the high school on the city’s west side.
The school custodian, Arthur Baker, 33, and the police officer, Irma Ruiz, 40, were shot to death while trying to stop the gunman.--lj
