Police:
teen with gun, shot by officers intended
suicide
SPOKANE,
Wash. (AP) -- A troubled teenager who was
critically wounded by officers after he
fired a gun at school was trying to commit
suicide, police said Tuesday.
Sean
Fitzpatrick, 16, left a page-and-a-half
suicide note at home before Monday's shooting,
police Chief Roger Bragdon said. He also
made suicidal statements during the 20 minutes
he talked with a police negotiator, Bragdon
said.
''There
is no doubt in my mind that the young man
intended to commit suicide by having us
do it,'' Bragdon said.
''He
was talking suicide from the very beginning.''
Bragdon
declined to reveal the contents of the note,
saying only the teen was explicit about
his emotional pain and depression. Bragdon
could not say why the student chose his
high school for the showdown.
Fitzpatrick
was shot three times by SWAT team officers
who fired almost simultaneously when the
student raised a 9mm semiautomatic handgun
toward them, Bragdon said. Fitzpatrick was
shot in the jaw, stomach and arm and was
in critical condition Tuesday at Sacred
Heart Medical Center.
Bragdon
said the suicide note was clear Fitzpatrick
did not intend to harm others.
The
gun was obtained from the boy's home, he
said.
Fitzpatrick's
parents, Angel Fitzpatrick and Linda Schearing
of Fairfiled, a town 30 miles south of Spokane,
were brought to the school but had not spoken
to their son, officials said.
Bragdon
said Fitzpatrick entered a science classroom
shortly after 11 a.m. Monday, ordered a
student teacher and several students to
leave and fired once into a wall. He took
no hostages.
The
boy also sprayed the room with retardant
from fire extinguishers. Officers could
see the boy because he had propped open
a door, and they talked with him, Bragdon
said.
However,
Fitzpatrick suddenly stopped talking, put
on his jacket, and drew the pistol from
a pants pocket, Bragdon said.
''They
knew it couldn't be stopped,'' Bragdon said
of the shooting.
Authorities
said it is too early to say if Fitzpatrick
will face criminal charges if he recovers.
School
Superintendent Brian Benzel cited privacy
laws in refusing to release any information
about Fitzpatrick's school performance and
activities.
Crisis
counselors were on hand Tuesday morning
as some 2,000 students returned to classes.
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