Seeking answers in shooting rampage
by Larry Oakes, Sharon Schmickle and John
McIntyre, Minneapolis Star
Tribune
March 22, 2005
BEMIDJI, MINN. -- It's still a mystery why Jeff Weise killed 10 people
on the Red Lake Indian Reservation Monday, but an FBI agent said today
he believes he knows what happened.
Michael Tabman, special agent in charge, today outlined the activities
of Weise, 16, that ended with his suicide at Red Lake High School.
His comments followed by several hours news conferences in Bemidji and
Fargo, N.D., where doctors spoke about how they responded to Monday's
emergency and the life-threatening wounds to some of the victims.
Tabman said Weise, armed with a .22-caliber weapon, went to the home of
his grandfather, Sgt. Daryl Lussier, 58, a Red Lake police officer. He
killed Lussier and his companion, Michelle Sigana, 32.
"Mr. Weise, we believe, took the police bulletproof vest and gun and
gunbelt of his grandfather, got into the police vehicle his grandfather
had and drove to the school, driving right up to the door."
There, he confronted and then, armed with his grandfather's service
weapons, a shotgun and .40-caliber pistol, shot and killed Derrick
Brun, 28, an unarmed security guard, Tabman said.
He continued into the school and fired shots at a group of students and
a teacher, Neva Winnecoup Rogers, Tabman said.
"Understandably, they fled into a classroom," Tabman said. "Weise
pursued them and opened fire, killing students and the teacher."
Afterwards, Tabman said, Weise wandered through the school firing his
weapons until police officers arrived, Tabman said.
Red Lake
He exchanged shots with them but didn't hit any of the officers. Weise
returned to the room where he killed the teacher and students and shot
himself, Tabman said.
The dead are Thurlene Stillday, 15; Chase Lussier, 15; Chanelle
Rosebear, 15; Alicia Spike, 14; Brun, 28; Weise's grandfather, Lussier,
58; Lussier's companion, Michelle Sigana, ; Dwayne Lewis, 15; and
Rogers, 62.
Tabman said Weise apparently was acting alone and chose his victims
randomly. He was inside the school for less that 10 minutes. Weise was
captured on a school videotape, but so far it doesn't appear that any
of the shootings were photographed, he said.
Tabman said he couldn't confirm whether Weise was the same person who
made posts to a neo-Nazi site, including one in which the writer billed
himself as the "Angel of Death.''
And he said authorities still didn't have a motive for the shootings.
Investigators didn't know if there had been any confrontation between
Weise and his grandfather.
It still isn't clear how many weapons he had but, Tabman said, "There
were a lot of rounds fired. There was a lot of damage."
When news of the shootings made its way to North Country Regional
Medical Center Monday afternoon, staff members expected the worst.
Tim Hall, emergency nursing director for North Country, said today that
hospital officials initially were told to be ready to treat at least 12
victims.
When it turned out to be six, Hall said, doctors and nurses were
relieved.
Hall said it helped that they had enough advanced warning to get
doctors ready.
Asked how it affected him, "It takes you back a step -- what [he was]
targeting.
It looked like they were shooting at the victims' heads. What does that
tell me? There was an intent to kill."
Sherri Birkeland, hospital spokeswoman, said the six victims arrived at
the hospital within a half hour -- between 4:22 p.m. and 4:50 p.m.
Each was assigned a doctor and a room.
The first two victims were among the most critical, Hall said, and one
of the two, who suffered a head wound, died.
Dr. Joe Corser, emergency medical director, said two other victims were
airlifted to MeritCare Health Center in Fargo for surgery for gunshot
wounds to the head. Three others were admitted to North Country, two
with chest wounds and one with a hip wound.
Corser said none of the three is in critical condition, adding
that all are expected to survive.
"I think they are very lucky; they survived both because their injuries
were not as severe and because they had excellent emergency care,"
Corser said.
The wounded being treated in Bemidji are students Ryan Auginash, Lance
Crowe, 15, and Cody Thunder, 15.
News about the wounded students at MeritCare in Fargo was much grimmer.
Dr. Michael Traynor, lead MeritCare physician, said Steven Cobenais
suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of his forehead, causing
severe neurological damage and loss of his left eye. Steven is being
kept sedated but has moved his body, which is an encouraging sign,
Traynor said. Cobenais also had an injury to his hand, suggesting that
he tried to block the bullet, he said.
Jeffrey May was hit by a bullet that entered his right cheek and lodged
in his neck close to his spine, Traynor said. He has severe damage to
his face and brain injuries. Jeffrey went into shock and spasm and may
have suffered a stroke, leaving his left side paralyzed, Traynor said.
He started to wake up this afternoon and has responded to yes and no
questions and also wrote something in a note to his family.
It appears that both boys were shot from close range, Traynor said.
Each boy went through three to four hours of surgery and remain in
critical condition. Traynor recovered a bullet -- believed to be 9 mm
or .40 caliber -- from Jeffrey's neck .
Traynor said Jeffrey is a very big boy for 15, he's 6-foot-4 and weighs
about 285 pounds. "If I was a football player I'd want Jeffrey May on
my line," Traynor said. "He's a very big strapping healthy young man."
Cobanais is smaller at 5-10 and 165 pounds, he said.
This morning, Corser and Hall described the urgent scene at the
hospital as officials activated their emergency disaster plan and tried
to monitor the situation without direct contact with the reservation,
using emergency medical service radios.
"Everything was in motion before the patients arrived," Corser said.
Corser said the hospital had about 40 minutes' notice that the hospital
would be getting patients. Medics at the scene and doctors at Red Lake
triaged the victims.
Corser said the hospital has prepared for large-scale emergencies, but
has never had one.
"We never dealt with anything like this before, he said.
Michael Campion, state public safety commissioner, said during a news
conference this morning that the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
has been assisting the FBI in the investigation. He also said access to
the highway leading into the Red Lake Indian Reservation has been
restricted. "We hope well-intentioned citizens will stay away for the
time being," Campion said.
He said he did not know if anyone had prior knowledge of the killer's
plan.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who also spoke at the news conference, said a day of
remembrance for the victims will be scheduled in the days ahead.
Planning will wait a few days and will include input from the victims'
families, he said.
He described the killer as "a very disturbed individual" who was
determined to do a lot of damage.
A crisis team is coming together to help the Red Lake community deal
with the tragedy. Campion said it would include professionals who are
"culturally sensitive" to the needs of the area.
"You have a loss like this, a tragedy like this, it is just painful. It
is sad," Pawlenty said. "And I'm sure that the families who are
impacted is feeling enormous pain today."
"Whether you are Native American or of some other cultural background,
everybody hurts the same," he said.
School in Red Lake was canceled today, but plans hadn't been made for
the rest of the week.
Weise had been placed in the school's Homebound program for some
violation of policy, Kathryn Beaulieu, a school board member told the
Associated Press. In the program, a teacher travels to the homes of
students to tutor them. Beaulieu said she didn't know what Weise's
violation was, and wouldn't be allowed to reveal it if she did.
In Bemidji this morning, talk on KAXE Radio 105.3 was about the tightly
knit Red Lake community and how it will be challenging to recover from
the tragedy. Callers to the community radio station also discussed
Weise's family. "Nice family," said one caller, who added that people
ought to be monitoring children's use of the Internet.
At the Capitol this morning, members of the Minnesota Senate bowed
their heads and clasped their hands during a moment of silence for the
victims. Sen. Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, who represents the area around
Red Lake, said, "I would ask that our thoughts and prayers be with
those people and really with all of us as we struggle with these
violent acts in our world.''
Floyd Jourdain Jr., chairman of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians,
has asked all tribal "entities and programs" to provide assistance to
those in need. In a message posted on the Red Lake website, he said he
had ordered all tribal and U.S. flags to be flown at half staff until
further notice.
"I encourage all Red Lake Nation members to embrace and support one
another in these tragic times," his message said.
U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said in a statement: "I am
personally saddened and stunned by the tragic events that took place in
Red Lake. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the tribal
community as we struggle to deal with and recover from this devastating
event."
--Staff writer Willard Woods and the Associated Press contributed to
this report.
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