2006 Platte Canyon High School hostage crisis: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Platte_Canyon_High_School_hostage_crisis.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Platte Canyon High School students are evacuated.]] |
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The '''Platte Canyon High School |
The '''Platte Canyon High School shooting''' was an incident that occured at [[Platte Canyon High School]] in [[Bailey, Colorado|Bailey]], [[Colorado]] on [[September 27]], [[2006]], in which [[Dwayne Morrison]], a 54-year-old man<ref name"cnn">{{cite web | author = CNN | title = Colorado Sheriff: High School Assault of Sexual Nature | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/28/school.shooting/index.html | accessdate = September 28 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref>, entered the school building reportedly saying that he had a [[bomb]]. He was initially reported as a bearded 35-year-old man with a [[camouflage]] backpack<ref name="cbs4">{{cite web | author = CBS | title = Student, Gunman Die In Bailey Standoff | url = http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_270191531.html | accessdate = September 27 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt<ref name="denverpost">{{cite web | author = The Denver Post | title = Gunman, hostage die | url = http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4407535# | accessdate = September 27 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> who had taken six students, both female, as hostages and released four of them while keeping the other two. One of the hostages was shot, wounded critically and taken away by a helicopter. The other was not wounded. [[Paramedics]] at the scene confirmed that the hostage-taker shot and killed himself. The [[hostage]] that was wounded, Emily Keyes, was pronounced dead at 4:32 p.m. MDT at Saint Anthony's Hospital in [[Denver, Colorado]] after undergoing emergency surgery.<ref name="rmn">{{cite web | author = Rocky Mountain News | title = High school hostages were sexually assaulted | url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5024828,00.html | accessdate = September 27 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> |
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== Entry and hostage-taking == |
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About 11:40 a.m. [[Mountain Daylight Time|MDT]],<ref name="denverpost" /> [[Dwayne Morrison]] entered the school carrying a gun and a backpack, which he claimed contained [[explosives]]. One report attributed to the local police stated that the man fired a single shot using his [[handgun]] when a teacher did not do what he asked. The man then took six students hostage inside a classroom on the second floor. <ref name="bbc">{{cite web | author = BBC World News | title = US school siege ends in bloodshed | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5387062.stm | accessdate = September 27 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> |
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After entering the classroom, where teacher Sandra Smith taught honors English, the man shot his handgun into the air and instructed all of the students to stand facing the [[chalkboard]]. He then told all of the male students to exit the room. It is unclear whether the man sexually assaulted any of the female students in the room, but student Cassidy Grigg, without elaborating, stated, "There were some really bad things that happened in that classroom." <ref name="denverpost" /> |
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== Negotiations and evacuations == |
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A "code white" alert was sounded over the intercom and students were instructed to remain in their classrooms. <ref name="theage">{{cite web | author = The Age | title = US school hostage dies in hospital | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/US-school-hostage-dies-in-hospital/2006/09/28/1159337244606.html | accessdate = September 27 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> Negotiations with the man began with the goal of allowing the six remaining hostages in the room to be released.<ref name="denverpost" /> ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'' reported that the six hostages were [[sexual assault|sexually assaulted]], citing a "knowledgeable law enforcement source ... An unknown number were sexually assaulted before they were released."<ref name="rmn" /> The man spoke via telephone and used the student hostages as relayers between the [[negotiators]] and himself, who did not want to speak directly with officials. After four of the six girls were released, negotiators heightened the intensity of their indirect discussions with the man. <ref name="denverpost" /> |
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A total of 800 students from both [[Platte Canyon High School]] and the nearby [[Fitzsimmons Middle School]] were rapidly evacuated. <ref name="bbc" /> The man's demands were unknown, although police confirmed that his primary concern was a request for the police to back away. All students were safely evacuated by 12:10 p.m. <ref name="cnn">{{cite web | author = CNN.com | title = Gunman, hostage dead after high school siege | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/27/school.shooting/index.html | accessdate = September 27 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> and by 3:00 p.m. all had been taken to Deer Creek Elementary School. <ref name="denverpost" /> |
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== The shooting == |
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By the time the four student hostages were released, a [[bomb squad]], [[SWAT]] team from [[Jefferson County, Colorado|Jefferson County]], and agents from the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]] were sent to the scene.<ref name="cnn" /> Ambulances parked in the end zone of the high school's football field. <ref name="theage" /> A four-mile stretch of [[U.S. Route 285]] was closed.<ref name="denverpost" /> The man explicitly stated that he would stop negotiating at 4:00 p.m.<ref name="denverpost" /> |
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[[Park County, Colorado|Park County]] sheriff Fred Wegener (whose son was in the school building at the time of the incident)<ref name="rmn" /> said that police had chosen to storm the second-floor classroom after the man ended negotiations.<ref name="bbc" /> The police burst through the door at approximately 3:45 p.m. After using the hostages as [[human shields]] against the [[Jefferson County]] [[SWAT]] team, the suspect shot at the policemen,<ref name="rmn" /> then one of the hostages (16-year-old junior Emily Keyes)<ref name="denverpost" />, committing [[suicide]] thereafter.<ref name="cnn" /> After police entered the classroom, the injured girl was taken to a hospital in [[Denver]], where she later died. The other survived. <ref name="bbc" /> Investigators found no sign of explosives in the man's backpack.<ref name="cnn" /> |
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The coroner of Park County, Sharon Morris, confirmed that the body of the man was still in the second-floor classroom as of 6 p.m., and district officials stated that both the high school and [[Fitzsimmons Middle School]] would be closed for [[September 28]] and [[September 29]], and that a counseling center set up at a local church would open at 7:00 a.m. for students. <ref name="rmn" /> |
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Parents were able to gain little information from authorities, who remained silent regarding the issue. <ref name="theage" /> |
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==See also== |
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*[[List of hostage crises]] |
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*[[Columbine High School massacre]] |
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==References== |
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<div class="references-small"> |
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<references /> |
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</div> |
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==External links== |
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*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5387062.stm US school siege ends in bloodshed] ([[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]]) |
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*[http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/27/school.shooting/index.html High school siege ends; one hostage shot, gunman dead] ([[CNN]]) |
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*[http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_270191531.html Hostage dies at hospital] ([[KCNC]]) |
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*[http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/US-school-hostage-dies-in-hospital/2006/09/28/1159337244606.html US school hostage dies in hospital] ([[The Age]]) |
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[[Category:2006 in the United States]] |
[[Category:2006 in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Hostage taking]] |
[[Category:Hostage taking]] |
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[[Category:Sieges]] |
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Revision as of 16:54, 28 September 2006
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
The Platte Canyon High School shooting was an incident that occured at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colorado on September 27, 2006, in which Dwayne Morrison, a 54-year-old man[1], entered the school building reportedly saying that he had a bomb. He was initially reported as a bearded 35-year-old man with a camouflage backpack[2] and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt[3] who had taken six students, both female, as hostages and released four of them while keeping the other two. One of the hostages was shot, wounded critically and taken away by a helicopter. The other was not wounded. Paramedics at the scene confirmed that the hostage-taker shot and killed himself. The hostage that was wounded, Emily Keyes, was pronounced dead at 4:32 p.m. MDT at Saint Anthony's Hospital in Denver, Colorado after undergoing emergency surgery.[4]
Entry and hostage-taking
About 11:40 a.m. MDT,[3] Dwayne Morrison entered the school carrying a gun and a backpack, which he claimed contained explosives. One report attributed to the local police stated that the man fired a single shot using his handgun when a teacher did not do what he asked. The man then took six students hostage inside a classroom on the second floor. [5]
After entering the classroom, where teacher Sandra Smith taught honors English, the man shot his handgun into the air and instructed all of the students to stand facing the chalkboard. He then told all of the male students to exit the room. It is unclear whether the man sexually assaulted any of the female students in the room, but student Cassidy Grigg, without elaborating, stated, "There were some really bad things that happened in that classroom." [3]
Negotiations and evacuations
A "code white" alert was sounded over the intercom and students were instructed to remain in their classrooms. [6] Negotiations with the man began with the goal of allowing the six remaining hostages in the room to be released.[3] Rocky Mountain News reported that the six hostages were sexually assaulted, citing a "knowledgeable law enforcement source ... An unknown number were sexually assaulted before they were released."[4] The man spoke via telephone and used the student hostages as relayers between the negotiators and himself, who did not want to speak directly with officials. After four of the six girls were released, negotiators heightened the intensity of their indirect discussions with the man. [3]
A total of 800 students from both Platte Canyon High School and the nearby Fitzsimmons Middle School were rapidly evacuated. [5] The man's demands were unknown, although police confirmed that his primary concern was a request for the police to back away. All students were safely evacuated by 12:10 p.m. [7] and by 3:00 p.m. all had been taken to Deer Creek Elementary School. [3]
The shooting
By the time the four student hostages were released, a bomb squad, SWAT team from Jefferson County, and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were sent to the scene.[7] Ambulances parked in the end zone of the high school's football field. [6] A four-mile stretch of U.S. Route 285 was closed.[3] The man explicitly stated that he would stop negotiating at 4:00 p.m.[3]
Park County sheriff Fred Wegener (whose son was in the school building at the time of the incident)[4] said that police had chosen to storm the second-floor classroom after the man ended negotiations.[5] The police burst through the door at approximately 3:45 p.m. After using the hostages as human shields against the Jefferson County SWAT team, the suspect shot at the policemen,[4] then one of the hostages (16-year-old junior Emily Keyes)[3], committing suicide thereafter.[7] After police entered the classroom, the injured girl was taken to a hospital in Denver, where she later died. The other survived. [5] Investigators found no sign of explosives in the man's backpack.[7]
The coroner of Park County, Sharon Morris, confirmed that the body of the man was still in the second-floor classroom as of 6 p.m., and district officials stated that both the high school and Fitzsimmons Middle School would be closed for September 28 and September 29, and that a counseling center set up at a local church would open at 7:00 a.m. for students. [4]
Parents were able to gain little information from authorities, who remained silent regarding the issue. [6]
See also
References
- ^ CNN. "Colorado Sheriff: High School Assault of Sexual Nature". Retrieved September 28.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ CBS. "Student, Gunman Die In Bailey Standoff". Retrieved September 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i The Denver Post. "Gunman, hostage die". Retrieved September 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e Rocky Mountain News. "High school hostages were sexually assaulted". Retrieved September 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d BBC World News. "US school siege ends in bloodshed". Retrieved September 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c The Age. "US school hostage dies in hospital". Retrieved September 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d CNN.com. "Gunman, hostage dead after high school siege". Retrieved September 27.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)