The 2007 SuccessTech Academy shooting was a

school shooting A school shooting is an Gun violence, armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shooti ...

that occurred on October 10, 2007, at the SuccessTech alternative high school in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, United States. 14-year-old freshman Asa H. Coon shot two students and two teachers before committing

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in a classroom on the fourth floor of the building.

Shooting

On October 10, 2007, Coon entered the five-story school building shortly before 1:00 p.m. EST, armed with two handguns (a .22 caliber revolver and a .38 caliber revolver), and a box of additional rounds of ammunition for each pistol; three folding knives were also in Coon's possession, which were all stocked together in a

duffel bag A duffel bag, duffle bag, or kit bag is a large bag made of either natural or synthetic fabric (typically canvas or nylon). History Historically a duffel bag had a top closure using a drawstring. Later bags had a webbing hand grip, along with ...

. Wearing a

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

concert shirt, black jeans, and black-painted fingernails,"5 Hospitalized After 14-Year-Old Goes on Shooting Rampage at Cleveland High School"
/ref> Coon walked to the fourth floor of the building and entered the men's washroom where he loaded two revolvers. The shooting began at 1:09pm on the fourth floor of the building, after 14-year-old Michael Peek punched Coon in the face for bumping into him, and shoving a gun in his face. When Peek walked away, Coon shot him in the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

. Another student, 17-year-old Darnell Rodgers, suffered a graze gunshot wound to the elbow in the same hallway. Michael Grassie, a

social studies In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...

teacher, was shot in the chest when Coon entered his classroom. A second teacher, David Kachadourian, was shot in the back of his shoulder while in the hallway evacuating his students. During the entire shooting, Coon was said to be cursing. The shooting ended when Coon entered a classroom on the fourth floor and fatally shot himself in the head. According to police chief Michael Mcgrath, Coon had fired eight shots during the shooting. The school was placed in a lockdown shortly after the shooting.

Victims

Four individuals were wounded by gunfire in the shooting; two students and two teachers. The two injured teachers were treated at MetroHealth Medical Center, and the two students injured were treated at the Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. A 14-year-old student was also hospitalized for knee and back injuries received from being trampled in a hallway by fleeing students. One student and one teacher were discharged from the hospital later that day; the other students were released the following day. The last victim was discharged from the hospital on October 15.

Perpetrator

Asa H. Coon (September 22, 1993 - October 10, 2007) Fourteen-year-old Coon had been placed on a three-day suspension two days prior to the shooting for an altercation with another student regarding the existence of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. The day he was suspended was the same day his brother, nineteen-year-old Stephen Coon, was arrested in connection with an armed robbery. According to Coon's uncle, Larry Looney, Coon said he was upset because the teachers would not listen to what he had to say regarding the fight. According to fellow students and teachers, Coon had apparently been the target of

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

by students at the school for his Gothic appearance and eccentric behavior, and had made threats of violence in front of students and teachers the week before the shooting. Joseph Fletcher, a friend of Coon, said he had been "pushed too far" and that teachers were unable to help with his problems. Michael Grassie, who was one of Coon's teachers, said that Coon was frustrated because he was given a failing grade in his World History class, and had made attempts to goad him into a fight. In 1997, a social worker in Cortland County, New York, reported that three-year-old Coon was living with his family in a garbage-shrewn house, and his older brother threatened neighbors with knives, rocks, and a fake bomb. When Coon was four, his mother, Lori Looney, was convicted of neglect by the county juvenile court. Social workers got involved again later. In 1999, Coon shot himself in the arm with his brother's

BB gun A BB gun is a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic spherical projectiles called BBs (not to be confused with similar-looking bearing balls), which are approximately the same size as BB-size lead birdshot used in shotguns ( in diameter) ...

, which was then turned over to the police by their mother, who did not know where the toy came from. It turned out that the toy was a gift from the boys father, Thomas Coon, who was largely not involved in the boys lives. In 2000, Coon had burn and scratch marks on him. He scratched himself because of flea bites, but he refused to say where the burn marks came from. Someone allegedly said that his brother had burned him.

Juvenile Court Juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, chi ...

records show that Coon had a criminal history and mental health problems since 2005, and threatened to commit suicide while in a mental health facility in summer 2006. For striking his mother in 2005, Coon was forced to undergo probation, counseling, and community service.

Aftermath

At 2:50 p.m., an hour-and-a-half after the shooting, Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson announced in a news conference that five people, including three students, were hurt in a shooting at the SuccessTech Academy. Four of them were shot; the students being in "stable" condition and the adults being in a more "elevated" state. Classes throughout the Cleveland Metropolitan School District were canceled the following two days and resumed on Monday, October 15, and classes at SuccessTech Academy did not resume until Tuesday, October 16. Cleveland's public school system established an anonymous

hotline A hotline is a Point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point information transfer, communications Data link, link in which a telephone call, call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by t ...

for students to report threats and dangerous behavior. The school system also announced plans to install

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and ...

s in all its schools and hire additional armed security guards to patrol the campuses. Schools were instructed to implement additional security precautions, to be reviewed by a professional security firm. A crime scene photo taken of Coon after his suicide was posted by Cleveland

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

Shane French (Rover) on a webpage promoting ''

Rover's Morning Glory ''Rover's Morning Glory'' is a nationally syndicated hot talk morning drive time radio show originating from Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7 FM). Hosted by radio personality Rover (Shane French), the show first began at cross-tow ...

'' and soon taken down. Mayor Jackson called the photo, which he did not see, "extremely inappropriate". Cleveland police officer Walter Emerick, who took the picture using his cell phone camera, was suspended from duty for eight days for sending the photo to other people, who eventually leaked it to the Internet.

References

External links

Cleveland.com — Coverage of the SuccessTech Academy shooting
{{DEFAULTSORT:SuccessTech Academy shooting, 2007 2000s in Cleveland 2007 in Ohio 2007 mass shootings in the United States Attacks on schools in 2007 Crimes in Cleveland High school shootings in the United States Mass shootings in Ohio Non-fatal shootings October 2007 crimes in the United States School shootings committed by pupils School shootings in Ohio Suicides by firearm in Ohio