UPDATE, 11:25 a.m. Wednesday:
Reynolds High School freshman Jared Michael Padgett carried a guitar case and duffel bag onto his school bus yesterday morning. Arriving at school, he went to the boy’s locker room, where he pulled an AR-15, handgun, nine loaded magazines, and a knife from the two cases. He put on what police say was a “non-ballistic vest” and a “multi-sport” camouflage helmet. And moments later, he shot and killed fellow freshman Emilio Hoffman, 14, and injured gym teacher Todd Rispler when confronted.
When 15-year-old Padgett encountered police officers in the building’s hallway a short time later, he ducked inside a bathroom and killed himself.
That’s the tale that’s just emerged, at the latest press conference in yesterday’s chilling incident at the Troutdale High School. There’s still no indication why Padgett did what he did—whether he’d targeted Hoffman specifically or it was meant to be a more wide-ranging attack. Certainly the hundreds of rounds of ammo, two guns and knufe Padgett was carrying suggest the latter. Anderson said cops have not established a connection between Padgett and Hoffman.
“The shooter obtained the weapons from his family home,” said Troutdale Police Chief Scott Anderson. “The weapons had been secured, but he defeated the security measures.”
ORIGINAL POST:
There’s at least one person dead at Troutdale’s Reynolds High School this morning—an “active shooter” the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office says began firing a gun shortly after 8 am. Nothing else is clear about the situation right now, including how the shooter died. But whatever happened, it’s apparently over.
According to a KOIN report, the shooting may have begun in the gymnasium. According to the Oregonian, there may have been three shooters—with two fleeing the scene (one caught). The O reports one teacher was shot, and one student.
Here’s a press release from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office:
At 8:07 a.m. this morning, police responded to Reynolds High School on the report of shots fired at the school. Multiple agencies responded and tactical teams are currently evacuating students and staff. The situation is stabilized, the shooter is confirmed deceased. Parents are asked to reunify with their students at the Wood Village Fred Meyer located at NE 223rd and NE Glisan St. All other people are asked to stay away from the area. Hashtag will be using is #RHShooting
Parents are being asked to meet up with students at the Fred Meyer in Wood Village, Ne 223rd and Glisan.
#RHShooting student: “When I got into the room and I saw one of the teachers had a wound, I knew this was not a joke, it was real.”
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) June 10, 2014
Update 9:50 AM: Denis here. The O has just reported, citing a sheriff’s office spokesman, that police believe there was only one shooter. We’ll have more details to share after a news conference happening right now.
And there’s also this kind of thing happening already. Right when parents are reflexively hugging their children, some people are reflexively hugging their guns.
@repblumenauer Already making #rhshooting political – You sir, should be ashamed.
— Portland OR Alerts (@pdxalerts) June 10, 2014
Update 10 am:
One student victim has also died, according to Troutdale Police Chief Scott Anderson.
“A gunman entered the buidling and shot one student,” Anderson said in a brief, scant news conference that just ended. “Unfortunately that student has died. The gunman was located and the gunman is also deceased.”
So rumors that a teacher was shot are apparently false. Authorities aren’t offering any more information, saying they’ll give an update at noon.
Also speaking in the press conference was Reynolds School District Superintendent Linda Florence.
“This is a very tragic day, one that I hoped would never be part of my experience,” Florence said.
Update, 10:30 am:
Students being interviewed by reporters on the scene are offering narratives that still suggest multiple gunmen. A student KOIN spoke with says he saw one gunman chasing a teacher, and that cops patting students down found a gun on another person—possibly a former Reynolds High School student who was on the scene.
“One of the gunmen was in the room with us,” said the student, who took refuge in a weight room. “He was a past student we believe.”
That “gunman” didn’t fire shots, the student said, but had a gun on him.
Update, 11 am:
Not multiple gunmen, according to the O, just a couple of students a student who happened to be packing when police patted him or her down.
One teacher, Todd Risper, was reportedly injured in the shooting, though not severely. Everyone is predictably shocked, no one thought this would happen at Reynolds HS, etc.
UPDATE 3:30 pm: Still not much official word on a motive or the shooter’s identity, but most outlets are reporting the victim in today’s attack was Emilio Hoffman, a soccer player and freshman at Reynolds. The attacker was apparently a fellow student armed with a rifle, according to the Associated Press. That person was found dead in a bathroom in the school.
The next press conference has been scheduled for 5 pm.
Update, 5:15 pm: Another press conference where not much new was revealed. The police won’t say who the shooter was (they’ve “tentatively identified” him), how he died, or say exactly what weapon he used (it was some kind of rifle).
Troutdale Police Chief Scott Anderson did confirm the victim was 14-year-old Hoffman, who was killed in the boy’s locker room. The shooter was found in a bathroom in a different part of the building. Cops aren’t saying whether Hoffman was a specific target of the attack, or if it was random.
Anderson credited the injured teacher, Todd Rispler, for making his way to the school’s office and initiating lockdown. Reynolds High School will be closed “until further notice” Superintendent Linda Florence said.
To your roles, everyone!
Media: REPORT EVERYTHING, SECONDS AFTER YOU HEAR IT. Can’t let KOIN hog all those juicy, school shooting page views.
Liberals: RUSH TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO DECRY GUNS. Next, do literally nothing outside of social media to advance anti-gun policy.
Conservatives: IF YOU HAVE HALF A BRAIN, STAY QUIET (CONFIDENT IN THE KNOWLEDGE NOTHING WILL CHANGE), OR PLEAD FOR PATIENCE. If you have less than half, either get all self-righteous about politicizing tragedy, or go full Joe the Plumber.
Far Leftists/Far Rightists: EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW THIS IS A GOVERNMENT PLOT.
Politicians: NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE STATEMENTS WHOSE CLARITY IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO HOW SAFE YOUR SEAT IS. Note: it is always this time.
Commenters: RESPOND WITH CALLOUS, CYNICAL DICKERY (i.e. stay the course.)
Oh shit, some white person got shot. Better crank the media coverage to 11 and ride that shit hard.
EDIT: “Update, 11 am: Not multiple gunmen, according to the O, just a couple students who happened to be packing when police patted them down.”
No big deal. Seriously, “just a couple of students who happened to be packing”.
HAHA “No big deal. Seriously, “just a couple of students who happened to be packing”. That’s funny man.
The shooter will eventually be revealed to be a follower of Satan and medicated by physician prescribed uptake inhibitors containing Fluoride.
CC, as always you know exactly what to say. Bravo.
Why’d they have to call the cops? They’re just gonna use excessive force on the suspect, who’s obviously mentally ill. Just talk with the dude and I’m sure he’ll chill out. (sarcasm)
wtf media…. The kid walked in with a rifle and shot. Why is there a picture of a pistol. Because you want to take away guns… That’s fucked up! Report instead of being so fucking bias. OK liberal haters jump on board.
“Right when parents are reflexively hugging their children”
I think you mean “right when politicians are reflexively politicizing a tragedy to advance their ideological agenda.” Get it right, now.
This is horrible. A student was shot dead at school and you dipshits are having a clever comment contest.
Merc, please be the one media outlet in ever to not post the shooter’s name and life story. Mourn and remember Hoffman, don’t glorify the shooter.
Seriously, stop erasing Emilio’s Latino identity too you fuckshits.
Since you brought up the White thing why don’t you fucking acknowledge how the overwhelming majority of these shootings have been perpetrated by White men and yet when Black or brown men commit crimes its a “culture of violence” but nooooo when White men do it it’s about mental health. Choke on that for a fucking minute.
What’s compelling is how just after the shooting, Jared Michael Padgett’s sister had asked where her brother was, expressing nervous concern, as if she had a premonition that the shooter might just be her brother, whose facebook wall is littered with likes for military groups, guns and anti establishment groups. Strangely the youth even expressed sympathy for another mass shooter last year… had he then come to plan this all along?
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2014/06/ja…
Seriously, no one is talking about this:
Basically, the situation was static and resolved before any Rambo/SWAT/ Militarized thugs arrived to put on their show for the media. If their were any heroes here, it was a couple of school cops & maybe a local cop or two early to arrive on the scene. The media and police state pour so much energy into cop propaganda trying to convince us that the cops are in control and there for everyone’s safety.
I think it’s pretty clear that they only contributed to kaos making a tragic situation much worse, and victimizing already traumatized students further with their ridiculous antics and TV Drama bullshit. Students were unnecessarily detained, kept from uniting with their families for hours. They were illegally searched and had their possessions seized; BackPacks, Wallets, Purses, Cars Etc. Packpacks were seen strewn across the road where bomb and drug sniffing dogs searched them.
Where there also a bomb threat?? No there wasn’t. One shooter, one victim and a lot of TV Drama Bullshit, childish, cowardly, authoritarian cop shit going on. In retrospect, it really looked like a rehearsed, drill, meant to soften up the public to the idea of a total
suspension of all civil rights and a test to see how compliant and how much resistance they might meet encounter when stepping way over the line. One can only say that as always, the corporate media was totally complicit in delivering the message that that the Militarized Police are your friends and here to keep you safe. I’m not sure if i have ever been so disgusted.
One can only speculate on whether or not this was another government, false flag, MK Ultra Psyop, but taken in it’s context, it would certainly seem that we are under siege and that there is a big push to disarm the American people before the economy and empire crumbles..
One of the sad things here is how pertinent facts completely disappear from the media to never be explained or mentioned again. The thing that most makes this look like a psy-op is the changing narrative, secrecy, and misinformation fed to the public all day long as the story unfolded. The Oregonian and KATU, along with most other outlets reported up to three shooters for many hours, and both reported all day long into the evening that the deceased student was a female freshman. This is part of the psy-op as used with 9-11 and Sandy Hook. Confuse and wear people down with lies and contradictory I formation until they don’t want to hear any more facts or ask any more questions.
Anyone willing to work around these obstacles and stick with perusing the truth will soon learn that most of the official story is a complete fabrication and makes no sense at all.
The very day Ferdinand Marcos took power in the Philippines, he announced that all citizens had two weeks to turn in all firearms under the threat of the death penalty if they resisted.
The one thing most clear and impotent here is the need for very thorough background checks on people most connected to this like Troutdale Police Chief Anderson and the big fat guy from MCSO that acted as authoritarian information officer. We need to know their military back grounds and any connections they might have with FBI/CIA/ NSA, etc. we need the same info on the shooters family. Ties to Military operations, psychiatric programs etc. there is really no journalism left any more and those that ask questions are usually demonized.