Asa H. Coon,14, Opens Fire In Cleveland School

[Hotwater]

Fourteen-year-old Asa H. Coon Opens Fire In Cleveland School

Police say gunman turned the gun on himself after wounding four

By David Lohr

October 10, 2007

CLEVELAND, OH (Crime Library) — A young man wearing a black Marilyn Manson concert shirt, black jeans, and black-painted finger nails walked into SuccessTech Academy today armed with two .38 caliber revolvers, and opened fire, shooting four people before turning a gun on himself.

Police have identified the shooter as Asa H. Coon, a 14-year-old student who had been suspended from school last week for fighting. Details remain sketchy, however, it appears the shooting first started in a bathroom area after a student identified as Michael Peek punched Coon in the face.

"Coon came out of the bathroom and bumped Mike and he (Mike) punched him in his face," said student Rasheem Smith, 15. "Mike started walking. He shot Mike in the side."


Officer on Scene

When the gunfire erupted, the principal announced a "Code Blue" alert over the public address system, and students began hiding under desks and in closets. According to eyewitness accounts, Coon worked his way up through the first two floors of administrative offices and to the third floor of classrooms.

Darnell Rodgers, 18, was shot as he made his way through the stairwell in search of safety.

"It took me a couple of minutes to realize that I was actually shot; when I felt my arm burning in the area, that's when I realized that I had got shot," Rodgers said.

Next Page

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'A Real Angry Kid,' Wounded Teacher Talks to 'Nightline'

abcnews.go.com - October 11, 2007 3:41:57 AM PDT

TRANSCRIPT: Read the Interview With Cleveland Teacher Shot by Student

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/...3716225&page=1

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Student opens fire at Cleveland school, shoots 4, kills self

newarkadvocate.com

CLEVELAND (AP) — A 14-year-old who cussed at his teachers, bickered with students and had a history of mental problems opened fire at his high school, wounding four before killing himself as police arrived.

It was a rampage Asa H. Coon, who had been suspended two days earlier for fighting, had warned classmates of — but none took him seriously. .....

Article continued

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Missed Warning Signs: Cleveland School Shooter Had History of Mental Illness

Student Warned of Retaliation After He Was Suspended, but He Was Ignored

abcnews.go.com - By AARON KATERSKY - Oct. 11, 2007

A 14-year-old Cleveland student, who shot and wounded four people before killing himself Wednesday, had been suspended for fighting two days earlier and was not supposed to be on campus, school officials say. .....

Article Continued

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Suspended student opens fire at Cleveland school

4 shot before gunman turns weapon on self

mansfieldnewsjournal.com - By JOE MILICIA - The Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- A 14-year-old suspended student, dressed in black, opened fire in his downtown high school Wednesday, wounding four people as terrified schoolmates hid in closets and bathrooms and huddled under laboratory desks. He then killed himself. .....

Article Continued

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School shooting rocks Cleveland

Two adults, three teens injured in spree by suspended pupil, who then killed self.

news-leader.com - Joe Milicia - The Associated Press - Thursday, October 11, 2007

Cleveland — A 14-year-old suspended student, dressed in black, opened fire in his downtown high school Wednesday, wounding four people as terrified schoolmates hid in closets and bathrooms and huddled under laboratory desks. He then killed himself.

A fellow student at SuccessTech Academy alternative school said the shooter, who was suspended for fighting two days earlier, had made threats in front of students and teachers last week. .....

Article Continued

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Another school in shock

Cleveland reeling after suspended youth wounds four in high school

columbusdispatch.com - By Brian McIntyre - Thursday, October 11, 2007

CLEVELAND -- For many students at SuccessTech Academy, the first indication of trouble was an alert on the school's public-address system: "Code Blue, Code Blue."

Jeremy Rivers didn't need the warning, a signal to teachers to lock students inside their classrooms.

He knew what was happening; it was unfolding just a few feet away. .....

Article Continued:

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School shooter warned: 'I got something for you'

freep.com - BY JOE MILICIA - ASSOCIATED PRESS - October 11, 2007

CLEVELAND -- When Asa H. Coon got suspended for fighting Monday, this was the 14-year-old's response to his schoolmates: "I got something for you all." .....

Article Continued:

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Gunman Opens Fire at Cleveland High School

nytimes.com - By CHRIS MAAG and IAN URBINA - Published: October 11, 2007

CLEVELAND, Oct. 10 — Disgruntled about having been suspended on Monday after a fight, a 14-year-old student shot and injured two students and two teachers at a downtown Cleveland high school on Wednesday before fatally shooting himself, the authorities said. .....

Excerpt: “Shut up, shut up; I hate this school,” the gunman said, according to Mychael Wilmore-Smith, 14, a sophomore who was in a fourth-floor classroom when the gunman arrived on her floor and began firing.

Mychael said she darted down a flight of stairs before hiding with five other students in a classroom on the third floor. After several minutes, the group, sobbing, decided to sprint down the rest of the stairs, she said.

Article Continued:

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EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Student Captures Chaotic Scene inside School

fox19.com - Oct 11, 2007 02:18 PM

Video/Article Continued:

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5 Hospitalized After 14-Year-Old Goes on Shooting Rampage at Cleveland High School

foxnews.com - Thursday, October 11, 2007

CLEVELAND — When Asa H. Coon got suspended for fighting on Monday, this was the 14-year-old's response to his schoolmates: "I got something for you all." .....

Excerpt: It began, student Rasheem Smith said, after Coon left the bathroom and ran into 15-year-old student Michael Peek.

Coon "came out of the bathroom and bumped Mike and (Mike) punched him in his face. Mike started walking. He shot Mike in the side," said Smith, 15.

Wearing a Marilyn Manson concert shirt, black jeans and black-painted finger nails, Coon walked down the hallway, cussing and firing shots. Witnesses said he moved through the converted five-story downtown office building, working his way up through the first two floors of administrative offices to the third floor of classrooms.

Article Continued:

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Ohio school shooter had history of problems

CNN - updated 1 hour ago

» Watch what happened, and how there were warning signs

(CNN) -- A teenage gunman who opened fire at a Cleveland high school had a history of trouble inside and outside of school, say authorities, parents and fellow students. .....

Excerpt: "He got beat up and he came back today, and I knew something was going to happen," the student said outside the school Wednesday afternoon. "Yesterday I was like, 'I'm not coming to school, man. This dude might come up here and shoot us up.' "

Another student who said he was friends with Coon said Coon had warned him he was going to snap someday.

"He said if he did shoot up the school he'd let me and some other dude he knew go and all that, but I didn't think he actually meant that," the friend said. "I thought he was just kidding around."

He wasn't kidding around.

Article Continued:

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Classmate warned about teen Ohio gunman

‘We talked to the principal,’ student says about shooter who wounded 4

» NBC News Video's

msnbc.msn.com - Updated: 9:56 a.m. ET Oct. 11, 2007

CLEVELAND - A high school student said Thursday that he and classmates had warned their principal about threats by a classmate who shot and wounded four people before killing himself, and believed the attack could have been prevented.

The student, Rasheem Smith, said on CBS’ “Early Show” that despite their warnings about the student who opened fire Wednesday, Asa H. Coon, principal Johneita Durant told them she was too busy. .....

Article Continued:

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Student Who Shot Up Cleveland High School Had Troubled Past

CityNews.ca Staff - Thursday October 11, 2007

His name was Asa Coon and he was just 14 when he took his own life. But the troubled student wanted to take a number of others with him before he died. Coon is the teen who entered a Cleveland, Ohio school on Wednesday armed with two revolvers and opened fire, squeezing off eight shots at those inside.

Three teens and two teachers were wounded in the attack, but all survived the onslaught. Police later found Coon dead after he turned one of his weapons on himself, the final victim of his own rampage. .....

Article Continued

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Police Say Ohio Shooting Not Random

Komfie Manalo - AHN News Writer - October 11, 2007

Cleveland, Ohio (AHN) - Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said the shooting at the SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday afternoon was not random as the gunman was believed to be shooting at specific targets.

McGrath said 14-year-old Asa Coon targeting specific targets. Coon was upset after he was suspended by school authorities Monday for fighting.

"We do not believe this was a random shooting," McGrath said.

"It may have been the teachers he went to the school looking for. ... I believe they disciplined him in some manner. .....

Article Continued

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Four shot at school, gunman kills himself

Students and staff ran, hid in restrooms, closets

cleveland.com - Michael O'Malley and Gabriel Baird - Plain Dealer Reporters - Thursday, October 11, 2007

SuccessTech Academy, one of Cleveland's best public high schools with a 94 percent graduation rate, seemed a highly unlikely place for a Columbine-type outburst of gun violence. .....

Article Continues: X 4 Pages

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Did Asa Coon leave a clue about shooting?

cleveland.com - Posted by Mark Naymik October 11, 2007 10:05AM

Asa Coon, the Cleveland teenager who opened fire Wednesday at his downtown high school, may have posted an ominous message on a social networking site the night before the shooting. .....

Article Continues

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Success Tech shooter shot himself in the head

cleveland.com - Posted by Donna J. Miller October 11, 2007 09:51AM

Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller has ruled 14-year-old Asa Coon's death a suicide.

"He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head," Miller said this morning.

Coon placed a 38-caliber handgun loaded with vermin pellets to the back, right side of his head, over the occipital lobe of his brain.

He died nearly instantly, Miller said. .....

Article Continues

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Exclusive: Suspected gunman involved in fight at school days before shooting; Caught on tape

wkyc.com - Updated:10/11/2007 8:28:04 AM

CLEVELAND -- Before the shootings at SuccessTech Academy the alledged shooter was in a fight two days before and its all caught on tape. The fight led to a suspension which some witnesses say may have motivated Wednesday's shootings.
Witnesses say the teen identified by police as the gunman, Asa Coon, and another SuccessTech student were in a fight on Monday.

Channel Three captured that fight on surviellance video. The station is right across Lakeside Avenue from the school. .....

Article Continues

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» Security camera video shows SuccessTech fight, shooting response
» Cleveland school shooting: Images no one will forget; WEB EXTRA

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=45157&bw=

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Rampage aftermath: Officials to hold 11:30 a.m. briefing; watch it LIVE

wkyc.com - Updated:10/11/2007 9:29:36 AM

CLEVELAND -- One day after a teen gunman shot four people before shooting himself, city officials are trying to comfort a city still in shock.
Police say 14-year-old Asa Coon opened fire in the halls of SuccessTech Academy Wednesday.

Mayor Frank Jackson opened up four Cleveland recreational centers this morning so that students, parents, and staff members from the school could meet with counselors.

City officials will hold a briefing at 11:30 this morning. Public Safety Director Martin Flask, Police Chief Michael McGrath, EMS Commissioner Edward Eckart, and City Communications Chief Maureen Harper will update the public on where the shooting investgation stands. .....

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=75909

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School shooting: teacher and student look out for each other

wkyc.com - Paul Thomas - Updated:10/11/2007 9:14:03 AM

CLEVELAND -- 57-year-old math teacher, David Kachadourian was wounded as he pulled students out of the line of gunfire at Success Tech Academy.

Shot in the back, Kachadourian grabbed Keith Knox Jr. from a hallway.

Knox was directing screaming students to safe areas when the teacher made a move for a closet and safety. .....

Article Continues

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Gunman's MySpace page reveals dark lifestyle

wkyc.com - Updated:10/11/2007 10:38:45 AM

CLEVELAND -- More details are coming out about the life of Asa Coon, the fourteen-year-old gunman who opened fire on students and staff at SuccessTech Academy.
Students tell us Coon was into the goth lifestyle and that's apparent on his MySpace page.

On Tuesday, Coon made his last posting.

An excerpt of that posting reads: .....

Video/Article Continues

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UPDATE at 9:15 a.m. Thursday: Grassie is in fair condition at MetroHealth.

Who are the victims?

cleveland.com - Posted by Damian G. Guevara & Donna J. Miller October 10, 2007 22:45PM

Teacher Michael Grassie, 42
Grassie felt the worst of student Asa Coon's rage. ...... continued

Teacher David Kachadourian, 57
Kachadourian was shot behind his shoulder, said Christine Schmidt, a MetroHealth emergency medicine physician. ..... continued

Student Darnell Rodgers, 18
Rodgers received a cell phone call from his mother in the mid dle of the rampage and told her he was wounded. ..... continued

Student Michael Peek, 15
Emergency crews took the boy to Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, where a throng of loved ones filled the hospital's small emergency area. ..... continued

Student Trinnetta McGrady, 14
Coon's gunfire created another danger: a stampede caused by fleeing pupils. Fearful classmates trampled the girl as they rushed away from Coon. ..... continued

Article Continues

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More from The Plain Dealer

• Gunman shoots four, kills himself at school

• Who was Asa Coon? | Who are the victims?

• SuccessTech Academy has top students

• Worried SuccessTech parents just wanted their children

• Cleveland schools record several gun incidents in a week

• School shooting not random, police say

• Witness saw school shooter loading gun in bathroom

• Shooter "pushed too far"

• Injured teacher described as a good guy

• 60 school-shooting incidents in last 10 years

• School shooting puts Cleveland in bad light again

• Tips for helping kids cope with shooting

• Graphic: Sequence of events

• Graphic: Less damaging ammunition

• An inside account of school shooting

• Cleveland schools closed Thursday

Links For All The Above Are At This Link
http://www.cleveland.com/schoolshooting/

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Multimedia report: Photo gallery | PD video | Audio: 9-1-1 calls

http://www.cleveland.com/news/

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Multimedia - School shooting - Video

A student at SuccessTech Academy gives an eyewitness account of a shooting that wounded four at this Cleveland high school Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/pdvide...shooting_video

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Rampage aftermath: Police outline school shooting timeline

wkyc.com - Updated:10/11/2007 12:18:18 PM

CLEVELAND -- One day after a teen gunman shot four people before shooting himself, city officials are trying to comfort a city still in shock.

Police say 14-year-old Asa Coon opened fire in the halls of SuccessTech Academy Wednesday.

Mayor Frank Jackson opened up four Cleveland recreational centers this morning so that students, parents, and staff members from the school could meet with counselors.

At an 11:30 a.m. news conference, Police Chief Michael McGrath outlined preliminary information they had about Coon's actions Wednesday.

According to police, after entering the school, Coon went to a bathroom on the fourth floor, changing into new clothes. .....

Article Continues

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wkyc.com - VIDEO'S

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.asp...97&bw=hi&cat=2

[Hotwater]

Asa Coon MySpace page a fake

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007...oon_web_p.html

Posted by Christopher Evans October 11, 2007 12:27PM

A Utah teenager has admitted creating a fake Asa Coon Web page on the social networking site Myspace.com.

Posing as the gunman in Wednesday's shooting at Success Tech Academy in Cleveland, the 19-year-old creator of the fake Web site said in an email exchange with the Plain Dealer: "I don't generally give out personal information ... I, like many others (search for any famous person) make fake profiles on MySpace for the sole purpose of giving people a place to vent their thoughts and feelings."

Several national television news organizations and Web sites have quoted from Coon's page as real. Coon killed himself after shooting two teachers and two students.

"I realize I should put a disclaimer of sorts stating that this isn't the Official Asa H. Coon MySpace, but I believe if I did do that people wouldn't express their feelings," said the page creator who published the information at approximately 9:30 pm Pacific Standard Time, 12:30 am here. "I've been reading the comments on the stories on the major Cleveland News Agency websites, and I hear a lot of anger. When people do believe this is Asa Coon's MySpace, and they know that he will never read these, the people are inclined to express their true thoughts and feelings, if that makes much sense.

The teen, who lives in Orem, said he found a photo of "Asa Coon" after searching for "Goth kid" on www.photobucket.com, a site where people share photos.

The teen also claims credit for creating a fake Myspace profile for the Virginia Tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho.

"I created that profile late in the event happened, and throughout that week and weekend the page accumulated over 300,000 page views, as well as 20,000 blog comments," he says. "The Seung-Hui Cho profile was removed from MySpace after many people reported it, and I expect this profile will disappear in the next few days."

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Gunman's MySpace page revealed as fake

wkyc.com - Updated:10/11/2007 1:06:55 PM

CLEVELAND -- A MySpace page for Asa Coon was revealed to be a fake, the Plain Dealer reported Thursday afternoon.

wkyc.com initially reported that the MySpace page appeared to be legitimate.

However, several helpful viewers pointed out that the page had no comments on it before yesterday.

Here's the Plain Dealer's story: Asa Coon MySpace page a fake. (at below link)

Here is the fake Asa Coon photo the Utah teen who created the page used: photobucket image (at below link)

Video: Images of the fake MySpace page (at below link)

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=75908

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http://www.cleveland.com/news/

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Brother of school shooter taken into custody

wkyc.com - Updated:10/11/2007 2:26:14 PM

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Police have picked up the brother of the Cleveland teen who shot and wounded four people at his downtown school Thursday and then killed himself.

Officers took 19-year-old Stephen Coon out of their home in handcuffs this afternoon. It was unclear why he was being placed in police custody. .....

Article Continues

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Asa Coon's brother arrested

cleveland.com - Laura Johnston October 11, 2007 13:50PM

Cleveland police officers arrested Asa Coon's brother, Stephen, about 1 p.m. today at the family's home on West 43rd Street.

Police and officers believed to be from the Adult Parole Authority escorted Stephen Coon out of the house and into an unmarked police car. .....

Stephen Coon, the brother of yesterday's school shooter, Asa Coon, was
arrested at his home Thursday, October 11, 2007. Asa, a student at
SuccessTech Academy, shot four people yesterday before turning the
gun on himself. - Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer

Article Continues

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Cops nab brother of Ohio shooter

cleveland.com - By JOE MILICIA - The Associated Press - 10/11/2007, 2:58 p.m. EDT

CLEVELAND (AP) — The brother of a high school student who shot and wounded four people before killing himself was led out of his home in handcuffs by police officers on Thursday, as family members looked on and called his name. .....

Article Continues - X 4 Pages

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Are there any pix of Asa H. Coon himself?

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Police visited Asa Coon's house numerous times

cleveland.com - Posted by Mark Naymik October 11, 2007 13:27PM

Cleveland Chief of Police Michael McGrath said police officers were dispatched to Asa Coon's house five times since 2006 for the following reasons: domestic violence, assault, a property crime, an accident and to investigate Wednesday's shooting. .....

Article Continued

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Who was Asa Coon?

cleveland.com - Posted by Scott Stephens and Rachel Dissell - October 10, 2007 22:47PM

Some of the kids called him Jack Black, the loud, chubby, long-haired actor in the movie "School of Rock."

He could be loud sometimes, all right, and his appearance cried for attention: his shock of wavy brown hair, his fingernails painted black, the dog collar around his neck, his faded rock concert T-shirts under a trench coat.

But there was another Asa Coon, an Asa Coon far more menacing than the loopy kid with the unkempt hair and faux Gothic look.

This was the Asa who always seemed to be in fights at school. This was the Asa who slapped around his mother. This was the Asa who talked about suicide. .....

Article Continued

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Cleveland school shooting: The victims

wkyc.com - Updated:10/11/2007 5:19:06 PM

CLEVELAND -- Five people were rushed to the hospital following a shooting at a local high school.

Police say, Asa Coon walked into SuccessTech Academy and opened fire Wednesday afternoon.

Hit by his gunfire were:

Math teacher David Kachadourian, 57. Late Wednesday he was released from the hospital. Center.

Social Studies teacher Michael Grassie, 42. He underwent 90 minutes of surgery at Metro Wednesday. His current condition is listed as fair.

Student Michael Peek, 15. Peek is listed in stable condition at Metro.

Student Darnell Rodgers, 18, was treated and released.

Fifteen year-old Trinnietta McGrady suffered a twisted knee trying to escape from the school. She's listed in stable condition.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=75885

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Service to pray for school shooting victims set for tonight

wkyc.com - Updated:10/11/2007 5:12:16 PM

CLEVELAND -- A local church has opened its doors to the community in light of Wednesday's shooting at SuccessTech Academy.

The In Touch for Christ Christian Center will hold a special prayer service tonight at 7 p.m. to pray for the victims of today's shooting.

The center is located at 969 East 140th Street.

Bishop Prince Moultry says he has received numerous calls from concerned parents about school violence, particularly today's incident at SuccessTech. So he felt compelled to organize tonight's service.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=75880