Sparks Middle School Shooting 10/21/13
On this daily episode, I look into the Sparks Elementary School Shooting on October 21st, 2013. 12 year old Jose Reyes took a Ruger 9mm handgun to Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada, wounding two students and killing one teacher before turning the gun on himself. There was many factors which occurred that made this a perfect storm even from the beginning of Jose's life. At birth, he nearly died from the umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck. From there, development was difficult for the young boy especially when he began school. At home, the language was Spanish and at school, he had to speak English. According to some reports, he didn't even speak until the age of five and in kindergarten was placed in speech therapy. By sixth grade, his math level was at first grade level and in reading, he was at second grade level which caused many of his classmates to call him names. Socially and behaviorally, he was to believed to be on the autism spectrum with many of his teachers stating that did not make friends easily and had a hard time understanding social situations. If there were any changes in plans or if lessons were going too quick, he'd become frustrated. During class, he seemed disconnected from everything around him, often giggling and laughing to himself. At home, the situation was not stable as well. The family owned a restaurant which helped financially but created stress and tension within the family. At one point according to a school report, Jose's mother, Liliana, told them that Jose had witnessed a violent fight between her and her husband, Horacio. Reportedly, the violence even moved to little Jose who got hit by Horacio giving him a black eye. Horacio had gone as far as to have an affair with a waitress at the restaurant, separating from his wife, cutting ties with the children, and moving in with the woman. However, they eventually reconciled and Horacio moved back in with the family. On the morning of the shooting, Jose stole one of his father's guns and his mother dropped him off at school. 10 minutes later why talking with a group of students, he asked "Why are you people making fun of me? Why are you laughing at me?" At this moment, he pulled out the handgun and shot at the students, hitting one in the shoulder. He then walked to the basketball court where eighth grade math teacher, Michael Landsberry, tried to intervene before being shot in the chest, killing him. He shot a few more rounds at the building before hitting a student that ran to Landsberry's aid, hitting the student in the stomach. Students began fleeing the area and Jose attempted to enter the building but the doors were locked. When police arrived, they found Jose with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head and Michael Landsberry not even 20 feet away. An investigation began right away as police looked for a motive. They found that young Jose had many violent first person shooter games and had looked up revenge, murder, and other school shootings including Columbine. Seven months later, a 1300 page report had been compiled with witness statements, interviews with Jose's peers and former teachers, as well as two letters that Jose had left that horrible day. One addressed to his parents, stated "...this shooting is not because of the shooting games, the bullying, or other stuff, is because of the past cause there were some bad things in the past because of me. And now I'm just a monster." However, in a letter addressed to teachers and students, "today is the day is the day when I kill you bastards. You say mean things in school. That I'm gay. That I'm lazy, stupid, idiot, and also say that I pee my pants and steal my money." Sadly, the police could not find one definitive reason for the shooting, however, with all the details available, it appears that there were many factors to what lead to 12 year old, Jose Reyes, on a dark path that ended in tragedy.
