How could this happen in Mr. Decker's Brave Old Psychotic World, where kids are suspended for bringing an asprin tablet to school?

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20000413_557.html

'Crazy and scary': first-graders accused of murder plot

LAKE STATION, Ind. (AP) _ Police say three first-grade students were plotting to kill a classmate, even going so far as drawing a crude map of where slaying was to take place.

Three girls at Virgil I. Bailey Elementary School had planned to kill a rival 7-year-old classmate in a wooded area near the school today because they were jealous of her, police said Wednesday.

They planned to shoot her, but they also discussed killing her with a butcher knife or hanging her, said Lake Station Police Lt. Rich Arnold.

"They were going to kill her somehow," said Police Chief Jim Strine. "They drew a map of where they were going to do it.

"We're dealing with first-graders here. It's crazy and scary."

No weapons were found in a search of the school. But Arnold said police in this northwestern Indiana city took the incident "very seriously."

The three students were suspended Wednesday, a day after a parent alerted school officials of the plan. No criminal charges were expected to be filed.

The three girls admitted their involvement in the murder plot, said Lake Station Superintendent Charles Costa.

The girls had formed a "hate club" dedicated to killing the classmate, and were trying to recruit members, but Costa said he believes the trio was acting alone in the scheme.

Parent Doug Greider said his daughter had been approached by one of the girls Tuesday and asked to join the club, as had other girls in the class. He said his daughter did not want to speak up about the club because she was afraid of being hurt herself.

"There were a lot of girls involved in this," Greider said. "This was going to happen, no matter what."

The girls had made two drawings, which Costa said were too childlike to be called maps, illustrating the school and the nearby woods.

The parents of all four girls met Wednesday with a Lake Station detective, the school's principal, another school official and a counselor.

Parents helped locate the girls' two drawings, one found at school and the other in one of the girl's homes. The school, student backpacks and desks were searched for weapons, but none were found, Costa said.

The school has 197 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, including 26 first-grade students.

The three girls were suspended for three days, but cannot return until the school gets a letter from a health care professional stating they are not a danger to other student.

The father of the 7-year-old girl targeted said his wife met Wednesday with school officials, who asked her if she wanted to transfer her daughter to another school.

The girl's mother chose to keep her daughter at the school because most of the girl's friends attend the school.

"Ten years ago, stuff like this didn't happen," said the 25-year-old man, who asked not to be identified. "But kids are getting shot. I think it could have happened."

In February, police say a 6-year-old shot and killed classmate Kayla Rolland in Mount Morris Township, Mich., after he obtained a gun from home. Three men have been indicted for possessing the gun that was used in the shooting.

-- (@ .), April 13, 2000

Answers

If I killed all the kids I plotted to kill when I was a kid, there would be a whole town of dead kids. And probably teachers for that matter. It's simply one of the ways you deal with your anger at that age. Did none of you ever write a list of the stuff you were going to take with you when you plotted to run away from home the umpteenth time? (For things like not getting dessert because you didn't do your homework?) Theres a huge world of difference between pretending about that kinda stuff and actually doing it, don't cha think?

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), April 13, 2000.

Not to the thought police, Kritter.

By the way, we will not only have to ban guns, but knives, rope, and tall trees as well. For the children, of course.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), April 13, 2000.

Yes, but the difference is, you talked about it. Kids today are doing it...

-- Big kid (kids@will.be kids), April 13, 2000.

Man, I'm glad that I'm not a kid today. When I was little, my brother and I plotted to blow up all of our enemies and flush their remains down the toilet. We even told our parents about this plan. Their answer was to assign us more chores since we obviously had too much time on our hands. We also spend a lot of time plotting evil things to do to my sister, the least of which had something to do with tying her up in the treehouse and pretending that we didn't know where she was.

I guess that we turned out okay: we all pay our taxes and don't kick small, furry animals ... I can't imagine having to tell all the stuff we thought of to a shrink. We were just typical little boys...

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), April 13, 2000.

"They planned to shoot her, but they also discussed killing her with a butcher knife or hanging her, said Lake"

Sounds like these girls might be spending too much time watching TV, Southpark perhaps?

Sounds like tipical angry retaliation fantasizing for that age, along with the "click" mentality little girls enjoy so much with the "recruiting".

But, IMO even though they didn't find weapons or the girls didn't get to carry out their fantasies, that it's brought up to all the involved parent's attention, the school and the media is not a bad thing. Clearly the girls need support help dealing with their angers, and because "in our days" we didn't get such support, doesn't mean it was right and we should have been left free to fantasize any gory and murderous thoughts. Clearly something is wrong when 6 years olds have those thoughts.

So hopefully the girls and their parents will get some helpful concelling to nip potential major delinquency and real harm from them in the future. I hope they don't overkill this issue though.

-- Chris (!@#$@pond.com), April 13, 2000.

True, Chris, I didn't select such brutal weapons when I was a child. It was more like a "They'll be sorry when I kills them" kinda thing. I guess the fact that kids today do more than just talk about killing IS alarming. However, your vast majority (99.75% by my estimates) will never do anything but plot. I don't "think" I was dealing with the situation poorly back then...I got mad, I wished them dead, I felt satisfied with that, and I was back playing with them the next day. (Or..is it me?..heh)

(PS..I have wished death on my boss more times than I can count.. (but to his face I wish "pox" on him) let's see if the thought police show up at my house tomorrow)

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), April 13, 2000.

Plans for LA school shoot up foiled

United Press International - April 13, 2000 15:29

LOS ANGELES, April 13 (UPI) -- Three people have reportedly been arrested in an apparent plot to commit a "Columbine-type" shooting spree at a Los Angeles high school.

There were few details on the alleged plot that was made public in a surprise statement by Mayor Richard Riordan as he met with a handful of reporters prior to his State of the City address Thursday in Hollywood.

"They have apparently arrested three youths who were planning a Columbine-type shooting," the mayor said, according to Los Angeles television station KNBC.

"It's so shocking to think it could happen anywhere - it could happen here or anywhere," Riordan said. "I don't know the facts but I think, you know, what if we hadn't been fortunate enough to find it out?"

Police and school officials had no immediate comment on the mayor's statement.

Television reports said the alleged plot was aimed at the James Monroe High School in the suburban San Fernando Valley community of North Hills.

The report comes one week before the first anniversary of the worst school shooting incident in U.S. history, the rampage by two armed students at Columbine High School in Colorado. Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, carried out a long-planned surprise attack on their school, killing a dozen students and a teacher and wounding 23 other people. Both Harris and Klebold killed themselves after terrorizing the school for more than an hour.

President Clinton is expected to visit Columbine on April 20 and will use the occasion to call for stricter gun controls.

Los Angeles-area schools have had their problems with gang-related violence in recent years, however there has never been an incident involving an apparently random shooting. A reputed white supremacist opened fire at the North Valley Jewish community center in Los Angeles on August 10, 1999, wounding two adults and three children. -- Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved. --

-- (@ .), April 13, 2000.

What do we in America expect? We refuse to punish our children, we have raised so much fuss/litigation that there is no more corporal punishment in school, or at home.

Our technology age is supposed to enable us to be faster, yet we are going nowhere but a steep decline. We dont even have time to spend with our children.

I have recently had a friend who was attacked by his 3 sons ages 10,7, and 5 years of age. Bitter divorce, bitter exwife. On a visit to pickup his children they came out of the home, armed with knives and baseball bats. This man received superificial knife injuries to his back, and calf. He received a very strong blow to his knee which took him to the ground. At which point his sons spat upon him and proceeded to beat him and knife him.

Violence. Remember the old days, huh? Thats when anyone of our relative could yoke us up by our collars, and give us the what for. And hence came fear and respect. To some this story perhaps is not a real big deal. You need to hear what I am saying.

I have a brother who has worked in the juvenile division of court as a deputy over 20 years. He was shot in the courtroom by a 14 year old who grabbed the other deputies gun. He still has the bullet in his hand they can not remove it or it shall paralyze him.

I say return corporal punishment, give the parents back the right to do as they see fit with their children.

-- shady (nev@xxx.c), April 14, 2000.

C'mon. Did anyone read Lord of the Flies? This was known by an earlier and more sophisticated mind set as original sin.

Humans have dark impulses. These must be redirected. Humans have impulses to goodness. These must be enhanced.

Who does the redirection? Adults. How? Recognize our nature, and pray.

-- observer (observer@themountaintop.com), April 14, 2000.