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Police: Teen opens fire at school dance, kills teacher
April 25, 1998
Sobbing students console one another afterward
Web posted at: 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT)EDINBORO, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A 14-year-old-boy fatally shot a teacher and wounded two students at an eighth-grade dance in northwestern Pennsylvania Friday night, authorities said.
After firing the shots, the boy fled the dance hall until the owner caught up with him and disarmed him in a nearby field, police said. The suspect, an eighth grade student at J.W. Parker Middle School, is now in custody and state police are preparing a murder charge against him.
Officials have yet to release the boy's name.
"It seems we are now joining a growing list of communities that have had to deal with this type of violence," police spokesman Mark Zaleski said.
Edinboro Fire Chief Thom Gebhardt talks to reporters about the shooting 
175K/16 sec. AIFF or WAV sound The shots were fired at about 10 p.m. at the dance at Nick's Place, a restaurant just outside of Edinboro, a town of 5,000 people about 100 miles (160 km) north of Pittsburgh. About 250 students were at the dance at the time of the shooting.
"I didn't see the shot but I heard it, and then another," said Lucien Haury, a Parker student. "About 10 or 12 of us then piled into a closet."
Emergency workers cordon off the scene The victim was identified as John Gillette, an eighth grade science teacher who was chaperoning. Witnesses said Gillette was shot in the head when the 14-year-old student walked into the dance hall and began firing a .25-caliber gun.
Students in suits and satin dresses gathered in the cold outside after the shooting. Many held hands and cried; others hugged to console one another. One girl wailed, yelling "Oh my god!"
Another student was quoted in the Morning News of Erie as saying the suspect had told him he was going to make the dance "memorable." Zaleski had no comment on the report, saying the shooting was under investigation.
Town mourns well-liked teacher
The dance was organized by Gillette, who was also a student council adviser. School principal Donald Ickes, a neighbor of Gillette's, described the annual dance as "kind of like a high school prom for eighth graders."
Four students weep after the shooting Jane Sicker, a nursing supervisor at Saint Vincent's Health Center, told CNN two boys were brought to the center with gunshot wounds, but were later released. One of the boys was shot in the foot and the other had a wound to his abdomen, she said.
A female teacher was grazed with a bullet but did not require medical treatment, she added.
Meanwhile, the town is trying to come to grips with the tragedy in what seems to be a growing trend of youth violence. It was at least the fourth fatal school-related shooting in the past six months.
"I'm just sick," said Dave Hanlon, a friend of Gillette's. "He was such a vibrant person. This is a terrible loss."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Violent crime rising at U.S. schools - April 12, 1998
- School shootings have high profile but occur infrequently - March 25, 1998
- Violence against U.S. kids is common - March 25, 1998
- Survey: Serious violence at 10 percent of schools - March 19, 1998
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Edinboro, Pennsylvania Community Web
- Parker Middle School - unofficial page
- General McLane School District - Edinboro, PA
- Borough of Edinboro, Pennsylvania
- Saint Vincent Health System
- GoErie.com - site of the Erie Morning News and Erie Daily Times
- National Center for Education Statistics
- National Alliance for Safe Schools
- Gun-free Schools Act of 1994
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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