Student in Pennsylvania Kills Principal, Himself

RED LION, Pa.–An eighth-grader armed with three revolvers shot and killed the principal of his junior high school, and then himself, in the cafeteria Thursday morning while horrified students watched the gruesome scene.
With fresh memories of a machete attack on a kindergarten class less than two years ago in the same school district, parents rushed to the Red Lion Area Junior High School as police swarmed the building and students ran screaming.
Three hundred to 400 eighth-graders were gathered in the cafeteria of the school, on the outskirts of York, Pa., when the gunfire ended the school day before it ever really began.
The 14-year-old shooter, identified by students and parents as James Sheets, was sitting with his classmates just before homeroom when he silently pulled a revolver from his backpack, stood up and fired at least one shot into the chest of the principal before shooting himself, witnesses said.
The 51-year-old principal, Eugene Segro, who was standing less than 5 yards from the boy, died a short time later from a single gunshot wound to the chest at York Hospital, said Red Lion Borough Police Chief Walter Hughes.
Sheets died from a single gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Hughes said he knew of no dispute between the boy and the principal or about any trouble the teenager may have been having at home or in school. Investigators searched the shooter’s home, taking ”boxes and boxes” of evidence, including the boy’s computer, the chief said.
It was unclear Thursday which of the three loaded revolvers the boy had used, Hughes said. The teenager apparently had taken a .44-caliber Magnum, a .357-caliber Magnum, and .22-caliber revolver from a locked gun safe belonging to his stepfather, Arthur Baker, Hughes said.
No charges were expected to be filed against the boy’s parents, Hughes said. ”There’s nothing at this point to indicate this rises to the level of a criminal action,” the chief said.
Although investigators had not confirmed that Segro was the boy’s intended target, Hughes said police hadn’t found a list or anything to suggest that there were other people the teenager intended to shoot.
Matt Walthes, who is in seventh grade at the school and lives in the same Milner Heights neighborhood as the shooter, was walking by the cafeteria just after the principal was shot. He was able to see Sheets just before he shot himself. ”He had this look on his face like, ‘What did I just do?’ ” Walthes said.
Kristy Williams sat just a few tables away from Sheets when the shots rang out. ”He didn’t say anything. He just held out the gun. The principal fell over–moaning really loud,” said Williams, an eighth-grader. ”Everyone was quiet for a few seconds, and I could see (the boy’s face). He just stood there with this look I can’t explain and then he shot himself.”
Students said Sheets earned good grades and played football for the school. Parents remembered him sledding with their children. But neighbors were asked by Sheets’ mother not to give interviews.
”This is all really sad,” said Keith Ojeda, who sat next to Sheets in science class. ”Sometimes we also sat together at lunch. We became easy friends. He kept to himself, but he was funny in the same manner.”
Segro was liked by students and parents, who recalled how he would stand outside each day waving hello to them, even in the rain. ”He’s the only principal who lets you ride your skateboard to school. He kept them in his office during classes,” said Cody Frey, who is now in 10th grade at the local high school.
Parents and students met with administrators, police and grief counselors Thursday afternoon and evening. Many of them were concerned about security precautions in the local schools.
Surveillance cameras had been installed at entrances and exits after the machete attack in 2001. Police said it was possible that the video cameras in the cafeteria had recorded the shooting.
The school also locked the doors once classes began and had a zero-tolerance policy against bringing weapons to school. A York Regional Police officer was assigned to the high school and junior high early this year. He was at the high school when the shootings occurred, about 7:30 a.m.
”Obviously all that wasn’t enough,” said Chris Klock, whose son, Zachary, is in seventh grade at the school. ”They need metal detectors.”
Several parents, including Tammy Williams, whose daughters Angel and Kristy witnessed the shootings, said they were concerned about the school’s procedures. ”The teachers just left,” Tammy Williams said. ”I’m grateful my children are OK. But I’m absolutely furious at those teachers. They didn’t try to intervene or say, ‘Don’t shoot anyone else,’ or try to guide the children to the exits. It was the kids who were yelling, ‘He has a gun!’ ”
Williams said her daughters heard other students tell police that the boy had made threats to kill himself and the principal and that the threats hadn’t been taken seriously.
But Hughes said he had no information about any warning that the boy might have given. ”Sometimes there are no warning signs,” the chief said. ”Obviously anyone who does something like this has issues. But I don’t know what they were.”