Jeffrey Weise

Summary

Jeffrey Weise, a 16-year-old student at Red Lake High School in Red Lake, an unincorporated section of Beltrami County, Minnesota, killed seven people including a teacher and a security guard during a school shooting on Monday, March 21, 2005. Weise also killed two people earlier the same day at home on the Red Lake reservation: his grandfather, Daryl “Dash” Lussier, and Lussier’s girlfriend/partner, Michelle Sigana. Weise was armed with a .22 handgun, a 9 mm Glock 17, and a shotgun, and he wore a bullet-proof vest.

When police cornered Weise inside the school, he engaged in a brief shoot-out with police, retreated to a classroom, and then committed suicide. In the aftermath, another student, believed to be involved in planning, was arrested one week after the shootings. Louis Jourdain was charged with conspiracy to commit murder based on several email messages exchanged with Jeff Weise involving plans for the Red Lake High School massacre. The conspiracy charge was eventually dropped, though Louis Jourdain pled guilty to transmitting threatening messages through the Internet.

Timeline

• March 21, 2005 — Weise shot his grandfather, Daryl “Dash” Lussier, while Lussier was sleeping; he then stole Lussier’s police-issue weapons and shot Lussier’s girlfriend/partner, Michelle Sigana, when she returned home. Weise drove to Red Lake High School in his grandfather’s squad car and fatally shot unarmed security guard Derrick Brun at the school’s metal detector; he then killed five students and a teacher and injured seven others before exchanging gunfire with police and committing suicide.
• March 28, 2005 — Louis Jourdain was arrested in connection with the shootings and charged with conspiracy.
• March 29, 2005 — Prosecutors were reported to be contemplating charging Louis Jourdain with conspiracy to commit murder; it was also reported that Louis Jourdain had exchanged e-mails with Weise and that at least two ninth-graders told Star Tribune that when the shooting started Louis Jourdain yelled that the shooter was Weise.
• March 25, 2005 — Armed security guards and metal detectors were stationed at all entrances of the school.
• March 26, 2006 — President Bush praised security guard Derrick Brun.
• April 9, 2005 — Red Lake High School was searched after police received information that guns still remained in the school, ostensibly placed there by Jeff Weise.
• March 25, 2005 — A makeshift memorial was set up in front of the school.
• Saturday (first funerals scheduled) — The first funerals were scheduled for Daryl “Dash” Lussier and his companion, Michelle Sigana.
• July 13, 2004 — In an online post attributed to Jeff Weise, he wrote about cultural dominance, interracial mixing, and why he was pro-Nazi.
• Feb. 6 (post date) — In a posting attributed to Jeff Weise, he agreed to continue contributing to a story line but wrote that things were “kind of rocky right now so I might disappear unexpectedly.”
• January 4 (blog posting) — In a Jan. 4 blog posting attributed to Jeff Weise, he wrote:

  "... I don't know, but what I do know is I'm a retarded (expletive) for ever believing things would change for me. I'm starting to regret sticking around, I should've taken the razor blade express last time around. ... Well, whatever, man. Maybe they've got another shuttle comin' around soon?" "I should've taken the razor blade express last time around. ... Well, whatever, man. Maybe they've got another shuttle comin' around soon?"

• February 21 (event date) — Jeff Weise was said to have seen a mental health professional at Red Lake Hospital on the same day his prescription was refilled for 60 milligrams a day of Prozac.
• 1995 — Red Lake High School had installed metal detectors and hired a security guard.

The offence

Killing at home (Red Lake reservation)

The incident began on the afternoon of March 21, 2005, when Weise shot his grandfather, Daryl “Dash” Lussier, with a .22 pistol while Lussier was sleeping. It was not known how Weise got the pistol, but he was believed to have possessed it for as long as a year before the shooting. Weise then stole Lussier’s two police-issue weapons: a 9 mm Glock and pump-action shotgun. Weise shot Michelle Sigana, Lussier’s girlfriend and (police) partner, when she returned home.

Shooting at Red Lake High School

Weise then drove his grandfather’s squad car to school, arriving at around 2:45 p.m. Central Standard Time (19:45 UTC). Passing through the building’s main entrance, he encountered unarmed security guard Derrick Brun, who was manning the school’s metal detector. Weise fatally shot Brun and then proceeded down a hallway firing at students, killing five students and a teacher (Neva Rogers) and injuring seven others. Witnesses said he smiled and waved as he shot at people.

One witness said that, before killing a victim, he asked the victim if they believed in God. Another account described classroom events where teachers herded students from one room to another trying to move away from the sound of the shooting.

A brief shoot-out with police occurred when Weise returned to the entrance where he had opened fire and engaged in gunfire with police. FBI special agent Paul McCabe stated that Weise had been wounded in the hip and leg by at least two bullets and retreated to a classroom.

Weapons used

Weise was armed with:

• .22 handgun — Unknown where Weise got this weapon from; he may have possessed it for up to a year before the shooting.
• 9 mm Glock 17 — Stolen from Daryl Lussier (police-issued weapon).
• Shotgun — Taken from Lussier’s home; possibly police-issued, presumably 12 gauge.

Investigation

FBI special agent Paul McCabe stated that at some point Weise returned to the entrance and engaged in a brief shoot-out with police, which ended when he retreated to the classroom after being wounded.

Michael Tabman, an FBI agent in charge of the Minneapolis office, stated that authorities had not established a motive for the shootings.

After the shootings, investigators began investigating Louis Jourdain after determining he and the gunman had exchanged e-mails. The e-mails suggested Weise and Louis Jourdain planned an attack on the school, including walking through the building to discuss details of the assault; it was also reported that it was not clear why Jourdain did not participate. Jourdain told investigators he never intended to go through with the plan and did not believe Weise would either.

Arrest and charges

Louis Jourdain, son of Floyd “Buck” Jourdain Jr., Tribal Chairman of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Native Americans, was arrested in connection with the shootings on March 28, 2005, and charged with conspiracy. He was charged with conspiracy to commit murder based on several email messages exchanged with Jeff Weise involving plans for the Red Lake High School massacre. The conspiracy charge was eventually dropped.

Louis Jourdain pled guilty to transmitting threatening messages through the Internet.

Trial and pleas

Sentencing

No sentencing details appeared in the provided material.

Outcome

Deaths and injuries

There were a total of seven fatalities and 14 injuries in the school on March 21; in total, seven people were killed at the school. The perpetrator also died by suicide.

Fatalities at Red Lake High School (school shooting)

• Neva Wynkoop-Rogers, 62 — Teacher.
• Derrick Brun, 28 — Unarmed security guard.
• Dewayne Lewis, 15 — Student.
• Chase Lussier, 15 — Student.
• Chanelle Rosebear, 15 — Student.
• Thurlene Stillday, 15 — Student.
• Alicia White, 14 — Student.

Injuries at Red Lake High School

• Ryan Auginash, 14 — Gunshot wound to the chest.
• Steven Cobenais, 15 — Shot in the forehead; airlifted to Fargo, North Dakota.
• Lance Crowe, 15 — Gunshot wound to the hand and chest.
• Jeffrey May, 15 — Tried to wrestle shooter; shot in the neck.
• Cody Thunder, 15 — Gunshot wound to the hip.

Additional wounded mentioned in the material included:

• Cody Thunder, 15 — shot once in the hip.
• A description of another wounded student in serious condition and another in critical condition.

Fatalities prior to the school shooting

• Daryl Lussier, 58 — Killed by several .22 shots to the torso.
• Michelle Sigana, 32 — Killed by at least one 9 mm shot to the chest.

Perpetrator

• Jeffrey Weise, 16 — Committed suicide by self-inflicted shotgun blast to the head after being cornered inside the school.

Aftermath

Armed security guards and metal detectors were stationed at all entrances of the school.

The school was temporarily shut down and computers were seized. During that time, a makeshift memorial was set up in front of the school, made up of flowers, dolls, cards and candles.

The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians chairman Floyd “Buck” Jourdain Jr. stated that the shootings were “one of the darkest and most painful occurrences in the history of our tribe.”

A number of memorial and funeral activities were described, including wakes that had begun for some victims and funerals scheduled for Saturday for Daryl “Dash” Lussier and his companion, Michelle Sigana, with Gov. Tim Pawlenty scheduled to attend.

President Bush called Floyd Jourdain Jr. for five minutes on Friday to offer sympathy for victims and pledge to provide federal assistance.

Presidential praise of Derrick Brun

President Bush praised Derrick Brun on March 26, 2006. He said:

“Derrick's bravery cost him his life, and all Americans honor him... ...Although he was unarmed, Derrick ignored the pleas of a colleague to run for his life... ...by engaging the assailant; he bought vital time for a fellow security guard to rush a group of students to safety.”

Movie reference and subsequent coverage

The massacre was briefly blamed on the 2003 film Elephant, about a school shooting that was watched by Jeffrey Weise 17 days prior to the shooting. Sky Grant said Weise brought the movie to Grant’s house on March 4, and that the teens watched and discussed the movie without anything that made them think Weise planned to do something.

Internet activities

According to The Smoking Gun, Weise created a 30-second Flash animation called “Target Practice” and another, 50-second animation called “Clown” weeks before the shooting and posted both at newgrounds.com. “Target Practice” depicted a character shooting four people and blowing up a police car before committing suicide, and “Clown” ended with one character being strangled by a clown.

Weise described himself on an MSN Profile page as:

“16 years of accumulated rage suppressed by nothing more than brief glimpses of hope, which have all but faded to black.”

A Connecticut Post report said Weise used the alias “Regret” and created the “Target Practice” and “Clown” Flash animations. A report also stated that one of Weise’s web postings included the handles “nativenazi” and “todesengel,” which was described as translating to “angel of death” in German.

The material included additional detail about internet postings attributed to Weise, including content related to neo-Nazi and Nazi admiration, and other violent drawings and stories.

Survivor accounts and quotes

Cody Thunder, a 15-year-old wounded in the hip, said he reached out to gunman Jeff Weise before the attack because the boy seemed to have no friends. Thunder said:

“He looked like a cool guy, and then I talked to him a few times,”

Thunder said he initially thought the weapon was a paintball gun and that he believed Weise was aiming at him:

“At first, 'I thought he was messing around, I thought it was a paintball gun or something,'”

Thunder described expression during the attack:

“It was a mean face.”

Thunder said:

“He was aiming at me,”

Sondra Hegstrom, identified in the material as a witness describing events, said classmates pleaded with Weise to stop shooting, and she said:

“You could hear a girl saying, 'No, Jeff, quit, quit. Leave me alone. What are you doing?'”

Other details

School security

Red Lake High School had installed metal detectors and had hired a security guard in 1995.

Compensation, health, and medication details (as described)

The material stated that Jeff Weise was taking the anti-depressant Prozac following a suicide scare last summer and was hospitalized in Thief River Falls after he frightened another friend with suicidal computer messages. It stated Weise told Sky Grant that he took 40 milligrams a day of Prozac: 20 in the morning and 20 at night.

A Washington Post-related account said Weise saw a mental health professional at Red Lake Hospital on Feb. 21, 2005, the same day his prescription was refilled for 60 milligrams a day of Prozac, which he had been taking since last summer.

The material also included an account that Prozac dosage had been increased a week earlier, and stated Weise had attempted suicide by cutting his wrists, according to internet postings attributed to him.

Background and family details (as described)

The material described Weise as living on the Red Lake reservation with his 58-year-old grandfather, Daryl “Dash” Lussier. It stated his father, Daryl “Baby Dash” Lussier, Jr., committed suicide in July 1997 during a police stand-off on the reservation. It stated his mother, Joanne Weise, suffered brain damage in 1999 after an alcohol-related car accident and lived in a nursing home.

The material stated that his troubled behavior led the school to put him in a home schooling program in 2004.

People described as victims in additional detail

The material provided additional biographical details for several victims:

• Derrick Brun was described as a divorced father of Courtney, a little girl who died at age 4, and as someone taking classes to become an emergency medical technician.
• Dewayne Lewis was described as a passionate basketball player who played point guard on his ninth-grade school team.
• Chase Lussier was described as caring for a son born just months before the shooting and trying to balance that responsibility with basketball, homework, and friends.
• Daryl Lussier was described as a lifelong tribal police officer known around the reservation by his nickname Dash.
• Neva Rogers was described as an English teacher at Red Lake High School, adviser to yearbook and student newspaper staffs, who returned to the community six years before the shooting.
• Chanelle Rosebear was described as a ninth grader and the third of seven children, with plans for a basketball camp that summer.
• Michelle Sigana was described as a cashier at Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls, killed while with Daryl Lussier, her boyfriend, and described as making sure her pre-teen son had what he wanted.
• Alicia White was described as the oldest of six children who lived with her ill grandmother, and as helping her grandmother raise younger siblings.
• Thurlene Stillday was described as coming from a large family and being happy and looking forward to good things in high school and beyond.

Unarmed security guard and focus on time

An account stated that a quicker-thinking teacher locked the door of an English classroom, thwarting an attempt to break into the classroom and saving many lives. Another account said police officers engaged Weise briefly and that he retreated after being wounded in the hip and leg.

Video and drawing descriptions (as described)

The material described that Weise created comic books with drawings of people shooting each other and stories about zombies, and dressed in black with eyeliner. It also described a sketch shown in an English class accompanied by a caption: “March to the death song 'til your boots fill with blood.”