Teen Gunman Asa Coon On Rampage At SuccessTech Academy High School in Cleveland
Written by OddCulture on October 10th, 2007 in crime, culture.
14 year old gunman Asa Coon confirmed dead.
“He’s crazy. He threatened to blow up our school. He threatened to stab everybody,”
5 injured in Cleveland school shooting
A gunman opened fire in a downtown high school Wednesday before killing himself, and five people were taken to a hospital, authorities said. Mayor Frank Jackson said three young people and two adults were hurt. Police said SuccessTech Academy had been secured and that the lone suspect had fatally shot himself.
Four people have been shot at Success Tech High School at 1440 Lakeside Avenue in Cleveland. The shooter is dead. The victims were two men ages 57 and 42; and two boys ages 17 and 14. A 14-year-old girl hurt her knee leaving the building but was not shot. All the children are in good condition and the two adults’ conditions were “slightly elevated,” according to Mayor Frank Jackson. The mayor and schools CEO Eugene Sanders came to the school and have been giving brief updates to the media.
Witnesses told WKYC that the 14-year-old gunman was upset about being suspended for fighting earlier this week. He came to the school Wednesday with a gun in each hand and began firing. The gunman was described by fellow students as “odd.”
Neighbor describes Success Tech shooter as “hyper”
Rachel Metzger, who lives across the street from the boy accused of shooting four people before killing himself today at Success Tech Academy, described the shooter as a “very hyper kid.” “He’s constantly yelling at his mom or anybody else,” Metzger said. “She (mom) could never keep control of him. He’s pretty violent.”
Metzger said the 14-year-old boy, Asa Coon, once joined her and others at a party at a relatives house in North Olmsted, where he threw a temper tantrum. Asa then stormed off and went missing for a couple of hours before he was found. “He’s constantly yelling at his mom, and everyone,” she said. You can hear him just like he’s standing outside.”
Some excerpts:
Did he play Halo 3?
No, he played Guild Wars.
Asa Coon’s Game. Notice the Jesus Christ Pose
SuccessTech Acadamy’s Website
SuccessTech (Epic Fail)
Ronnell Jackson, 15, said he saw the shooter running down a school hallway. ‘He was about to shoot me but I got out just in time,’ he said. Another student, Doneisha LeVert, said she heard the principal say ‘Code Blue’ over the public address system, and the students started running. She said she hid in a closet with some of her friends.
The gunman, apparently a 14-year-old student is reported to have been killed.
parents wanted metal detector:
Charles Blackwell, president of the Student-Parent Organization at SuccessTech, said parents have petitioned to get a metal detector and security guard. The guard they had was taken away three years ago, and the only guard regularly assigned now is primarily for the administration section of the building, Blackwell said.
Qapla’!
October 10th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
This was terrible news to hear. After my school had 2 bomb threats in 13 days, a small fire the next week…this is enough. I thought It was alos last year….but this year it’s started again.
Nice article by the way.
October 10th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
When will we figure out that Gun Free Zones are nothing more than Victim Disarmament Zones where rampaging psychos can kill without resistence until the police show up? When will people get it through their heads that every mass shooting in the last ten years happened in places where guns were not allowed? When will people figure out that criminals bent on murder and mayhem are not detered by Gun Free Zones? This crap is going to continue until people start to respect the 2nd Amendment and law abiding adults are allowed to protect themselves anywhere they happen to be.
October 10th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
SCurtis - if guns were not so readily available in certain states this kid would never have been able to get hold of two guns and all that ammo. How would civilian armed people have helped in this situation? Most people outside of the armed forces/law enforcement don’t have the training to safely fire a gun with lots of innocent people around e.g. at a school. In fact lots of people can’t even use a gun safely in the woods - ask Dick Cheney. I’m British, yet have lived in NY for 7 years now. We don’t have student shootings like this in Britain because outside of criminal gangs guns are not part of our culture. We don’t even arm our police in general. The lesson: readily available guns cause violence and the second ammendment should be dropped.
October 11th, 2007 at 12:02 am
You’re right. England does not have school shootings. What it does have is rampant thug crimes, home invasions and rapes. No thanks.
Law abiding people with guns are not the problem. Guns do not turn people into killers. The State of Florida issued about 1.2 million concealed weapon licenses between October 1987 and October 2007. During that 20 year period, only 161 licenses were revoked due to commission of a gun crime. Other states with Shall Issue concealed carry have similar statistics and every state that has implemented Shall Issue concealed carry (40 states) has seen a drop in violent crime.
The 2nd Amendment exists for two very good reasons. The first is the recognition that self-defense is the most fundamental of all human rights. The second is to provide a deterent to absolute government power. Both of these reasons are as valid today as they were when the Constitution was written and neither have a thing to do with hunting or sporting purposes.
I also think you are both over-estimating the amount of gun training the police get and underestimating the amount of training and practice private citizens have. Many police only practice when they have to re-qualify with their weapon. I practice at least twice a month and more often when I can. I also compete in combat shooting tournaments. You’d better believe I can hit what I aim at and so can all of the other people I know who carry.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:21 am
I knew this child . Let’s not villianize him . He was a sick kid that got no help
October 11th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Right! Instead, let’s villianize and/or blame the victims. If they had gotten out the
path of those bullets quicker, they would not have been shot. Clearly, it’s their
fault.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:21 am
What I don’t get is there was signs once again and they were ignored!
WHEN will people wake up and stop doing this?
I guess NEVER
October 11th, 2007 at 11:25 am
The first sign is his last name is Coon at a black school, i wonder if he got picked on? Wake up people! racism is alive and strong, and it’s not just whites against blacks. This was completely uncalled for, but i wonder how many times it takes you to get sucker punched before you explode
October 11th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Don’t want to sound harsh, but there is a cruel yet positive result to this whole tragic situation:
Michael Peek, the student who was first to be shot, well, let’s just say I don’t think he will be punching anyone else in the face for bumping into him for some time.
Let’s face cold, hard facts for a moment, shall we?
If it takes a bullet or two, and possibly removal from the gene pool for any number of reasons, to teach one manners and to respect their fellow human being, I say this:
SUCKS TO BE YOU. But you had it coming.
October 11th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Response to SCurtis:
1) “England does not have school shootings. What it does have is rampant thug crimes, home invasions and rapes. No thanks.”
Are you describing the United Kingdom or events in “A Clockwork Orange”? Have you ever lived in the United Kingdom? or even visited? You can’t even get the name of my country right - Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales. It is incorrect to refer to it as England and offensive to Scots like myself (the United Kingdom includes those three plus Northern Ireland). Before you make wild statements maybe you should go to Nationmaster.com and look at the UN crime statistics for various countries. The USA is ranked #1 for the absolute number of assaults; the UK is #3. Taking into account differing population sizes and looking at assults per capita the US is ranked #6 and the UK is ranked #8. The US is ranked #6 for the total number of murders and #24 for murders per capita; The UK is ranked #18 for total numbers of muders and #46 for murders per capita. The USA is #1 for total number of rapes and the UK is #7; the per capita rankings are USA =#9 and the UK is #13. There are no relevant statistics on “home invasions” because the UN collects statistics on burglary not home invasion; in fact I don’t know of any statute for home invasion; accused people are prosecuted under assault and murder laws as necessary. Burglaries usually take place when there is nobody there. Overall though the statistics prove there is less violent crime and the UK is a safer place to live. The UK does not arm most police officers and there are stringent gun control measures, licensing and psychological testing.
“You’d better believe I can hit what I aim at and so can all of the other people I know who carry.”
Listen Mr.Egotastic - we’re not talking about whether you would have been a have-a-go hero at the school; we’re discussing whether the average person could shoot accurately. The UK doesn’t even make the ranking for firearm homicide statistics (which includes first and second degree, not just murder); the USA is #8 - not far below countries like Columbia. I rest my case.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:01 am
I am well aware of the make-up of Great Britain. My step-mother is British. My great-grandmother was British. My father lived in Londer for six years. Forgive my shorthand, but I was thinking about the out-of-control thug crime problem in London. Last time I checked London was in England. Besides, I also know that Scotland and Wales have some home rule and are pushing for more.
The UN is probably not the best system of record for those statistics and there is a fair bit of evidence that they are under-reported. I’d also like to point out that the rate of gun crime is irrelevant. What matters is the overall rate of violent crime. The murder capital of the world during the 20th Century was Soviet Moscow, which had a total ban on civilian gun ownership. But, I digress.
Let me explain the difference between Great Britain and where I live. In London, three thugs can rob my store. If I resist, I get arrested too. This has happened. I’ve read a decent number of cases of people getting tossed in the clink for fighting back. Apparently, civilized people are supposed to cower and wait for the police. By contrast, Florida has the Stand Your Ground Act. If anyone forceably enters my home, vehicle or place of business, the law assumes that I am in reasonable fear for my life or severe bodily harm. I can use deadly force and be shielded from both criminal and civil liability. Why? Because self-defense is a basic human right.
This has nothing to do with being a wannabe hero. I hope I never have to draw a gun on a human being. This is about taking responsibility for my personal safety and the safety of my family. Part of that responsibility means that I must be proficient with my weapon. There is nothing “Rambo” about that. It is a sober duty that I take seriously.
The police cannot protect everyone. They do not have magical transporters. They cannot be everywhere at once. The average 911 response time in the States is 7 minutes, but times can extend to 20 minutes or more in some cities. If someone kicked in your door, would you rather have a phone or a gun?
October 12th, 2007 at 9:04 am
Oh. I forgot a one point. The overwhelming majority of violent crime in the U.S. is restricted to a small number of postal codes (about 20 if I remember correctly). Remove those postal codes from the statistics and our violent crime rate is far lower than Europe’s. Most of the country is very safe, partly because we are the most heavily armed civilian population on the planet. An armed society is a polite society.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Story on British crime rates http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/3/21/205139.shtml
October 12th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Here is what The Times of London had to say on the subject: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article2409817.ece?Submitted=true
October 17th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Damn, Billy, the comments section in this one isn’t a tardfest for a change!
If only the kid had held out another four years, then I’m sure he could have joined the Army and shot a lot of people. Same for any kid who shoots up a school; lack of perspective + raging hormones + bullying = bodies.
August 17th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
look…i have ways in which i can relate to asa. yes i am a HUGE marilyn manson fan and i claim to worship him. I’ve also had problems in my schools with alot of people. big gans going for me and everything. just because im different and well, a loner. i’m a gothic girl of also 14 years and i understand that he was troubled and pushed to his limit. i feel sorry for him though. because he had to take his life, that is unfortunate but life is one fucked up place. asa may have been a violen person, and always shouting but im sure he was a nice, good person deep inside. i wish he hadnt lost his life. but yeah, what can you do. and for the record. anyone who blames manson for this tragic inncident must get a life. :/
shit i wish i could blow my school up :/ i wouldn’t feel a thing. to watch them go to hell. stupid fuckers.
well..wishing asa’s family all the best.
athena.
x
August 17th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
gahh shit….all my love to asa as well. i know how you felt :/
hope you have a good afterlife…
xox