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Wisconsin teen charged in deadly school shooting

Saturday, September 30, 2006

September 30, 2006 (WLS) -- A 15-year-old Wisconsin boy has been charged as an adult for murdering his principal. Police say Eric Hainstock went to his Cazenovia school armed with a pistol and a shotgun Friday morning where he shot the principal, John Klang, three times during a struggle. Klang later died at the hospital.

Hainstock is at the Sauk County Jail. In the police report, Hainstock says students teased him and teachers did nothing to stop it but students say they didn't think he would go this far.

According to a witness, the 15-year-old freshman came to school Friday morning saying "I'm here to kill somebody." The school principal was not reportedly the intended target, but when he tried to intervene to stop the boy he was shot three times.

Police and paramedics rushed to the school moments after shots were fired at Weston High School in Wisconsin. Police say the boy was armed with a shotgun and a pistol.

"Truly is a shock. It's an extremely unfortunate situation," said Sheriff Randy Stammen, Sauk County, Wisconsin.

"It's very difficult to stop someone from harming other people if they have no thought or care about their own life," said Charley Cohn, District 102 assistant superintendent.

This is the second deadly high school shooting within a week. In Bailey, Colorado, a 16-year-old girl was shot and killed before her killer shot himself.

This week's shootings have school administrators on high alert all over the country. In Chicago, security is a high priority in schools. Most schools have metal detectors and x-ray machines at student entrances. There is also controlled building access and guards are posted at all unlocked entrances, but school officials go beyond watching what goes in and out of the buildings.

"It's more than just security, it's providing a loving and caring atmosphere in the school and training teachers to identify situations that could get out of hand," said Charley Cohn, Asst. Superintendent Dist. 102.

Schools are also practicing for lockdown situations with code red drills to be prepared for worst case scenarios.

The head of security for the Chicago Public Schools said Friday that these recent shootings are an urgent reminder that the drills could be preparing Chicago schools for a real crisis.

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