Asa Coon

14-year-old SuccessTech Academy student Asa Coon brought two guns to campus on October 10, 2007, and opened fire. He wounded several classmates and teachers before turning a gun on himself.

• David Kachadourian, a math teacher, was shot in the back, but was released from the hospital on October 11, 2007.
• Michael Grassie, a teacher, was shot close to his heart but survived.
• Trinnitta McGrady, a 15-year-old student, injured her knee and was knocked unconscious while trying to escape.
• Michael Peek, a student, was shot while trying to disarm Coon and was released from the hospital on October 11, 2007.

• Google News: Asa Coon
• ABC News: Cleveland School Shooting Video Released (October 25, 2007)
• Cleveland.com: Photo of Asa Coon's body taken by Cleveland policeman (October 20, 2007)

• The New York Times: "Short but Troubled Life Ended in Shooting and Suicide" (October 12, 2007)
  • "Mr. Coon's troubles started early. In 1997, he was 3 and living with his family in Cortland, N.Y., in a house strewn with garbage, according to a report by a caseworker for the Cortland County Social Services Department."

• ABC News: School Shooting Prompts Security Review (October 12, 2007)
  • "Despite 26 security cameras, Coon was able to walk down the hallway of his school with two guns and start shooting."

• MTV News: Cleveland School Shooter Fit Sadly Predictable Profile: Bullied Loner From Troubled Home (October 11, 2007)
  • "In a press conference on Thursday (October 11), Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath described some of the chaos in Coon's home, which he said police had visited five times since last year for incidents involving domestic violence, assault and a hit-skip accident."

• Cleveland.com: Asa Coon's brother arrested (October 11, 2007)
  • "Cleveland police officers arrested Asa Coon's brother, Stephen, about 1 p.m. today at the family's home on West 43rd Street."

• ABC News: Transcript: "A Real Angry Kid," Wounded Teacher Talks to Nightline (October 11, 2007)
  • "He did behave in a way that suggested he was angry, yes. He seemed like a real angry kid."

• Cleveland.com: Asa Coon MySpace page a fake (October 11, 2007)
  • A Utah teenager has admitted to creating a fake MySpace page for Asa Coon as a way of letting visitors vent their feelings about the crime. He also created a fake page for Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui.

• Think MTV: 14-Year-Old Gunman Shoots Four, Commits Suicide At Cleveland High School (October 10, 2007)
  • "A friend of Coon's told CNN that the 14-year-old often talked about how he 'worshiped the devil' and said if he shot up the school he would let the young man and another friend go. Fox News reported that he had a criminal and domestic-violence history."

• Associated Press: 5 Hurt, Gunman Killed in Ohio School (October 10, 2007)

• Cleveland.com: Who was Asa Coon? (October 10, 2007)
  • "'In the end, you never know who is going to snap,' classmate Aaron King said while heading home through a cold afternoon drizzle. 'You have to watch who you make mad.'"

• Cleveland.com: School shooter had history of mental problems (October 10, 2007)
  • "Asa did stints in two juvenile facilities stemming from a domestic violence incident."

• Cleveland.com: Witness saw school shooter loading gun in bathroom (October 10, 2007)
• Cleveland.com: Neighbor describes SuccessTech shooter as "hyper" (October 10, 2007)
• Cleveland.com: Shooter "pushed too far" (October 10, 2007)
• CNN: Police Chief: Teen shoots four; kills self at Cleveland high school (October 10, 2007)
• Cleveland.com: SuccessTech parents wanted metal detector (October 10, 2007)