14 year old shoots himself in the head during school

[Kopikatsu]

A New Hampshire elementary school was placed under lockdown Friday after a 14-year-old student shot himself in the face in the cafeteria with about 70 students present, NBC station WPTZ reported.

Cheshire County Attorney Peter Heed said Friday the gunshot was self-inflicted. The shooting happened around 11 a.m. at Walpole Elementary School in Walpole. The boy was hospitalized, but his name and condition were not released. No one else was hurt, according to WPTZ.

"Our hearts go out to the family of this young man and our thoughts go out to all of the students that were in the school at this time," Heed said at a news conference. He did not say what kind of gun the student used or where he might have obtained it. He also did not offer any information on why the student shot himself.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/10/10374117-report-boy-shoots-himself-in-front-of-70-students

Well, this is starting to become a fairly common occurrence. Wonder where he got the gun from...

inb4 arguments on gun regulation.

Anywho, let's all make wild guesses as to why he did it.

Edit: Because some people are making assumptions about this kid because it was in an elementary school, the kid in question is an eighth grader. Just sayian.

I bolded this because people are still making comments about his mental capacity. The elementary school in question takes on middle school students as well. He isn't retarded because he's in elementary school at 14.

 

[farscythe]

well as its random guess time....going by that he shot himself in clear view of everyone my vote would be that he was the misfit that got picked on by everyone and he reached the now look what you made me do stage.

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

I was unaware you could be 14 and in elementary school. Regardless, this is kind of disturbing. That isn't something anyone should have to witness, let alone 70 kids.

 

[twohundredpercent]

And I thought New Hampshire seemed like such a happy place. Wonder if someone's going to write a grunge song about it.

 

[Right Hook]

Yeah, I would assume attention, he wanted to send some sort of message, I'm willing to bet more information will come to light, either way this is really sad.

 

[FalloutJack]

This could have been an accident or it could've been the prelude to something worse had he not been shot. We don't know why the gun was there and in his hands.

 

[Kvaedi]

And I thought New Hampshire seemed like such a happy place. Wonder if someone's going to write a grunge song about it.

Working on a death metal version as we speak.

Back on topic, probably what everyone else is saying, sending a message, he was bullied or a misfit. There's really not many other reasons someone would do that in this manner.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

I'm not 100% on the American school system, but wouldn't he at least be in junior high or middle school by this point (assuming they aren't the same thing)?

Did he shoot himself over stress caused by having to repeat grades?

 

[Montezuma's Lawyer]

Most likely caused by influence outside school, Severe investigation of the family is needed.

 

[Kvaedi]

This could have been an accident or it could've been the prelude to something worse had he not been shot. We don't know why the gun was there and in his hands.

It's fairly difficult to accidentally shoot yourself with a gun, especially in the head...

I'm not 100% on the American school system, but wouldn't he at least be in junior high or middle school by this point (assuming they aren't the same thing)?

Did he shoot himself over stress caused by having to repeat grades?

The report said there were 7th and 8th graders at the school. I know many private elementary schools go all the way through grades usually considered middle school and junior high, some through highschool as well. His school may have worked like that.

The report said he was depressed, but the cause was unknown.

 

[A Raging Emo]

Poor kid. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS91knuzoOA&ob=av3n]

There was probably influence from outside school as well. Sure, this kid was probably getting bullied, but one does not take such drastic measures because of bullying, usually.

 

[Kvaedi]

i saw the title and thought AMERICA lo and behold it was.

never happens in the civilized country i live in cause we aren't a bunch of dumbshits wit a government dumb enough to follow a dated law that lets any idiot get hold of a gun.

Yes, because 14 year olds can purchase handguns in the United States! In fact, we just hand em out on Fridays! Why, I probably have twelve or so just sitting on the sidewalk still from last Friday's pistol giveaway! Nobody wanted 'em cause every American owns about thirty by now, don't ya know?

 

[DarkishFriend]

Might be a really mean thing to say, but the first thing I heard was Eddie Vedder saying "Jeremy spoke in class today." Though, seeing how he was 14 in Elementary school, that probably provides a lot of answers.

 

[krazykidd]

Silver lining, at least he didn't shoot anyone else . Usually gun shooting ( well in schools that i have read about) involver the gunner and other students. I gues to prevent mysel from being flammed i have to say it's sad ... So this is tragic! But at least he didn't shoot anyone else. I have recently decided that i personally don't have anything against suicide as long as it doesn't harm anyone else . So go him i guess . Sure there the trauma for the other stusents , but at least they didn't get shot or shoT at . Trauma can be treated , death , no so much .

 

[Shoggoth2588]

A maelstrom of adolescent hormones coupled with self-esteem issues and perhaps a bit more bullying than other students at that school endure? Just a guess...If they won't give any more info I'm guessing it was a 22 he used which may not have killed him. He could be brain-damaged after the self-inflicted wound. It's sad but there isn't much that can be done at this point.

 

[FalloutJack]

This could have been an accident or it could've been the prelude to something worse had he not been shot. We don't know why the gun was there and in his hands.

It's fairly difficult to accidentally shoot yourself with a gun, especially in the head...

If that were only true...

Sorry, it's just that people have accidentally shot others and themselves before. I'm not making an argument for the case being true HERE, but it is true in life. It's a possibility.

 

[Kvaedi]

This could have been an accident or it could've been the prelude to something worse had he not been shot. We don't know why the gun was there and in his hands.

It's fairly difficult to accidentally shoot yourself with a gun, especially in the head...

If that were only true...

Sorry, it's just that people have accidentally shot others and themselves before. I'm not making an argument for the case being true HERE, but it is true in life. It's a possibility.

Well, technically just about anything you can imagine IS possible. However, there are very few self-inflicted accidental headshots (there are far, far more cases of people shooting themselves in the foot, hand, arm, and the like) that were not the result of pure stupidity in its finest, like pulling the trigger 'because I thought it wasn't loaded.'

Now, if he were a really little kid who somehow got ahold of a gun, I would see more of a possibility of this, but a 14 year old? That's just not probable at all, because the only reasoning I can see behind bringing a gun to school when they're clearly and absolutely banned from school would be shooting people, and if you're not intending on shooting yourself, yet manage to point the barrel at your head...well damn.

The only way I could see that being the case would be if it was in his backpack, he reached back, fumbled with the trigger while pulling it out...still would be next to impossible to do that way, because of the amount of force needed to depress most triggers-it's not something that's easy to do accidentally at all, coupled with the fact he'd need to be pulling the gun out with the barrel towards his head, which would make pulling the trigger much harder, and would make just pulling the gun out harder in the first place....

I just don't see that happening.

 

[Antitonic]

Really is no way to tell why he did it unless you can talk to ghosts.

They could just ask the kid, maybe. It only says he was "hospitalized", not "rushed to the graveyard".