Buell Elementary School

Buell Elementary School was an elementary school in Mount Morris Township, Michigan (approx. 5 miles North of Flint, Michigan). Buell Elementary School closed in 2002.Five years after school shooting, Michigan community still in pain [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050228-0059-schoolshootinganniversary.html Sign on San Diego] Retrieved on November 26, 2007]

2000 school shooting

The shooting

On February 29, 2000, 6-year-old Derrick Owens found a .32-caliber handgun [ Major U.S. school shootings in the last 10 years [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266371,00.html Fox News] ] in his uncle's home, [The Killing of Kayla [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,40342-1,00.html Time Magazine] ] and took it to the school campus, in which it was used for the shooting and death of 6-year-old Kayla Rolland.

Further in the day, during a class changing period, in the presence of a teacher and 22 students, Owens fired one shot at classmate 6-year-old Kayla Rolland, which entered her right arm and traveled through her vital organs. At 10:59 a.m. EST, Rolland was pronounced dead at Hurley Medical Center while in cardiac arrest [Student killed in Michigan elementary school shooting [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/02/29/school.shooting.02/index.html CNN] ] .

Subsequently after firing the shot, Owens threw the handgun into a wastebasket and fled to a nearby restroom. He was found there by a teacher and was taken into police custody soon after. He was held in custody until the Genesee County Family Independent Agency could determine his placement [Michigan first-grader fatally shot by classmate [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/02/29/school.shooting.04/ CNN] ] . He and his two younger siblings have since been placed with an aunt. More Indictments In School Shooting [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/02/29/national/main166184.shtml CBS News] ]

Punishment and legal issues

At 6 years old, Rolland is believed to be the youngest school shooting victim in U.S. history. [cite news |first=Philip Delves |last=Broughton |title=Shocked pupils tell of shooting by six-year-old |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/2000/03/01/wshot01.html |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=2000-03-01 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] Derrick Owens is the youngest known school shooter.

Due to Owens' age and lack of ability to form intent, Owens was never charged for the shooting. Six-year-olds are not liable for crimes they commit. In a 1893 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that "children under the age of 7 years could not be guilty of felony, or punished for any capital offense, for within that age the child is conclusively presumed incapable of committing a crime." [Dwyer, Kevin and Fiorillo, Juré. "True Stories of Law & Order: SVU". 2007: Berkley/Penguin, page 15. ISBN-10: 0425217353)] However, his uncle and two other men were charged. He and his brother are currently in foster care.

Jamelle James, who kept the .32-caliber semiautomatic pistol ended up pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter and spent 2.5 years in prison before eventually being released and spending a period of time on probation. The other adults involved would be in and out of court systems in the years to follow.Five years after school shooting, Michigan community still in pain [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050228-0059-schoolshootinganniversary.html Sign on San Diego] Retrieved on 26 November, 2007]

References

External links

* [http://www.mtmorrisschools.org/ Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools]