Here are the latest developments.
The alleged shooter — Bryan Oliver — has been charged as an adult with “two counts of premeditated attempted murder and three counts of assault with a firearm.” Reports are that Oliver was targeting bullies who “called him a `ginger’ and said gingers don’t have souls.”
Will South Park take the fall? The synopsis of the episode titled “Ginger Kids“:
Cartman suffers from a mysterious and sudden onset of Gingervitus. Sick and tired of being ridiculed for his red hair, light skin, and freckles, he rallies all the ginger kids everywhere to fight against discrimination and rise up and become the master race they are intended to be.
There are still some open questions. Was Oliver suspended for making threats?
Investigators have declined to comment on allegations made by many students that Oliver had been suspended from the school last year for allegedly making a hit list of students he wished to harm.
And where did Oliver get the shotgun? Early reports are that Oliver used his brother’s shotgun, but I haven’t seen any new reporting on how old the brother was and how Oliver was able to access it.
This is all very troubling as a) schools across the country are supposed to be on the lookout for bullying, b) if threats were made prior to the shooting, this again raises question about what the school was or was not doing and c) it sounds like another example — like Adam Lanza in Newtown — of a troubled young man getting his hands on a weapon that wasn’t completely secured.
But the MSM, the president, Governor Cuomo, etc. won’t focus on that real and undiscussed problem.