The Frontier Middle School shooting was a

school shooting A school shooting is an attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of firearms. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple ...

that occurred on February 2, 1996, at Frontier Middle School in

Moses Lake, Washington Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,146 as of the 2020 census. Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, which includes all of Grant ...

, United States. The gunman, 14-year-old Barry Dale Loukaitis (; born February 26, 1981), killed his algebra teacher and two students, and held his classmates hostage before a gym coach subdued him.

Shooting

On the day of the shooting, Loukaitis was dressed as a

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

-style

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the te ...

and was wearing a black duster. He was armed with a .30–30 caliber hunting rifle and two handguns (one a

.22 caliber .22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm). Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO. .22 inch is also a popular ...

revolver) that belonged to his father. Loukaitis walked from his house to his school, where he had entered his algebra classroom during fifth period. He opened fire at students, killing two, Arnold Fritz and Manuel Vela, Jr., both fourteen. Another student, 13-year-old Natalie Hintz, sustained critical gunshot wounds to the right arm and abdomen, and was airlifted to

Harborview Medical Center Harborview Medical Center is a public hospital located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is managed by UW Medicine. Overview Harborview Medical Center is the designated Disaster Control Hospital for Seat ...

in Seattle. Loukaitis then fatally shot his algebra teacher Leona Caires in the chest. Teacher and coach Jon Lane entered the classroom upon hearing the gunshots to find Loukaitis holding his classmates hostage. He planned to use one hostage so he could safely exit the school. Lane volunteered as the hostage, and Loukaitis kept him at gunpoint with his rifle. Lane then grabbed the weapon from Loukaitis and wrestled him to the ground, later assisting in the

evacuation Evacuation or Evacuate may refer to: * Casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), patient evacuation in combat situations * Casualty movement, the procedure for moving a casualty from its initial location to an ambulance * Emergency evacuation, removal of per ...

of students. Lane kept Loukaitis subdued until police arrived at the scene.

Perpetrator and motives

In the year prior to the shooting, the Loukaitis family was in a

dysfunctional Abnormality (or dysfunctional behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as rare or dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when it is atypical or out of the ordinary, consists of un ...

state dealing with multiple issues. Loukaitis' parents separated in 1995, after his mother discovered her husband was having an affair. She filed for divorce against her husband in January 1996. His mother, Jo Ann Phillips, was a domineering woman who became increasingly distant and began speaking of suicide. She would frequently imply that her son Barry would also have to kill himself, and that the date of the double-suicide would be on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

of 1996. Barry talked his mother out of doing so, by having her write down her feelings.

Mental illness

Psychologists hired by the defense believed Loukaitis had either depression or

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, while prosecution witness Dr.Alan Unis, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington, diagnosed him with

dysthymic disorder Dysthymia ( ), also known as persistent depressive disorder (PDD), is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically a disorder primarily of mood, consisting of similar cognitive and physical problems as major depressive disorder, but with l ...

. Unis claimed Loukaitis could not have

because his personality was not fully developed at the time of the shooting. Loukaitis had

hyperactivity Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inappr ...

, and was taking Ritalin at the time of the shooting. He also had

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

, a mental illness present in the last three generations of the Loukaitis family, and last four generations of the Phillips family. Loukaitis claimed that he was only intent on killing Manuel Vela, and that the other deaths were accidental.

Trial

In June 1996, the Spokane Court of Appeals were to decide whether 15-year-old Barry Loukaitis should be

tried as an adult Trial as an adult is a situation in which a juvenile offender is tried as if they were an adult, whereby they may receive a longer or more serious sentence than would otherwise be possible if they were charged as a juvenile. While there are sp ...

or as a juvenile. On July2, three members of the Spokane Court of Appeals convinced Judge Evan Sperline to allow court-appointed psychiatrist Joan Petrich to present testimony regarding Loukaitis' mental health. The trial was later moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

due to media publicity. Loukaitis had pleaded insanity on all charges against him, and claimed that "mood swings" were the cause of his violent actions. During his trial, Joan Petrich testified that Loukaitis had been experiencing

delusion A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some o ...

al and messianic thoughts before the shooting. He had stated, "He felt like he was God and would laugh to himself. He felt he was superior to other people, and then those feelings were later replaced by hate, disdain, and not measuring up." Prosecutors Donna Wise and John Knodell argued that Loukaitis had carefully planned the shooting, getting ideas from the

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...

song "

Jeremy Jeremy may refer to: * Jeremy (given name), a given name * Jérémy, a French given name * ''Jeremy'' (film), a 1973 film * "Jeremy" (song), a song by Pearl Jam * Jeremy (snail), a left-coiled garden snail that died in 2017 * ''Jeremy'', a 19 ...

". The music video from "Jeremy" shows a troubled youth committing suicide in front of his teacher and classmates, although it was largely believed that "Jeremy" had opened fire on the class. This has been widely misunderstood because

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

had strong anti-violence imagery rules. The original video showed the child putting the gun into his mouth, however the only images allowed to air were those of the children covered in his blood. Prosecution also said that he had gotten ideas from the

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high ...

novel ''

Rage Rage may refer to: * Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger Games * Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game * Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell * ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first-per ...

'' and the films ''

Natural Born Killers ''Natural Born Killers'' is a 1994 American crime film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims of traumatic childhoo ...

'' and '' The Basketball Diaries''. Loukaitis has also stated that he tried to model his life after the novel ''Rage''s

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

Charlie Decker, who kills two teachers and takes his algebra class hostage. On September 24, 1997, Loukaitis was convicted of two counts of

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

, one count of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ...

, and 16 counts of aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced to serve two

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

s and an additional 205 years without the possibility of

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

. He is currently imprisoned at the

Clallam Bay Corrections Center Clallam Bay Corrections Center is situated on the Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, two miles (3.2 km) south of the community of Clallam Bay, Washington. CBCC opened as a medium-custody 450-bed facility in 1985 and converted to a Close Cust ...

in Washington State. The Washington State

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

denied Loukaitis' request for a new trial in 1999.

Re-sentencing

The

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

ruled in 2012 that people convicted of murder, which they committed when they were under 18 years of age, could not receive automatic life terms without parole and in 2016, the court ruled that the policy would also be applied retroactively. Loukaitis was heard for a re-sentencing in 2017, during which he apologized for the first time, in a letter to the Grant County Superior Court. He was resentenced to 189 years in prison.

References

External links

On the Other Foot: groundhogs, bullies, lawyers and children
Crime Library article on the shooting
''Moses Lake Asks: "What Has This Town Become?"''
''The Seattle Times'', Sunday, February 23, 1997
Loukaitis gets two life terms plus 205 years''In Moses Lake, Guns avoid blame''
''The Seattle Times'', Sunday, January 16, 2000
''Teenager Recounts Shooting Rampage -- Four Jurors Replaced For Variety Of Reasons''
''The Seattle Times'', Tuesday, August 26, 1997
Article on the shooting
{{School shootings in the United States 1996 murders in the United States 1996 mass shootings in the United States Mass shootings in the United States Attacks in the United States in 1996 Hostage taking in the United States School shootings committed by pupils School killings in the United States Grant County, Washington Murder in Washington (state) Middle school shootings in the United States Deaths by firearm in Washington (state) Crimes in Washington (state) 1996 in Washington (state) February 1996 events in the United States Mass shootings in Washington (state)