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Investigators: Teen 'reloaded 4 times'
Detectives seize computer hard drive from shooting suspect's home
SANTEE, California (CNN) -- Investigators are trying to figure out what caused a 15-year-old high school freshman to bring a gun to school and shoot 15 schoolmates and adults, killing two. The Associated Press reported that the boy will be charged as an adult with murder, assault with a deadly weapon and gun possession, said San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst, who identified the suspect as Charles Andrew Williams. Students said they knew him as Andy Williams.
Williams was isolated under 24-hour visual observation to ensure he does not hurt himself at the County of San Diego Juvenile Hall, a hall official said. The boy underwent a preliminary medical and mental health evaluation, standard for all juvenile detainees in the state, the official said. He would not discuss the results of those evaluations. Using a search warrant, Sheriff's and FBI officials descended on the apartment where Williams lived with his father. They removed a computer hard drive about 30 minutes after entering. Williams appeared to fire randomly and reloaded his .22-caliber handgun "at least four times," said Det. Jerry Lewis, head of homicide detail for the San Diego Sheriff's Department. When the shooting was over, two students were dead, and 11 others and two adults were wounded. Authorities and witnesses said Williams had talked over the weekend about taking a weapon to school but he later said he was joking. Williams "was picked on all the time," student Jessica Moore said. "He was picked on because he was one of the scrawniest guys," Moore said. "People called him 'freak,' 'dork,' 'nerd,' stuff like that." Neil O'Grady, 15, said Williams talked to him and other friends over the weekend about a shooting at the school. "He was telling us how he was going to bring a gun to school ... but we thought he was joking," O'Grady said. "We were like, 'Yeah, right.' " "He always gets picked on. He's scrawny, he's little," O'Grady said. "People think he's dumb." Recently, two skateboards had been stolen from the boy, O'Grady said. 'Someone who would never do something like this'Shannon Durrett, a 15-year-old freshman, said she has known Williams since school began in September. She said he liked skateboarding and hung out with his skateboarding friends. "He was nice, he was funny, someone who would never do something like this," Durrett said. Lewis said Williams has been "cooperative with our investigators." California laws protecting juveniles kept him from discussing what Williams said. No family members had visited him, an official said Monday night. The visitors' log showed that two people who identified themselves as public defenders -- Henry Coker and Randy Mize -- signed in to see Williams, though there was no indication that they met the boy. The shooting occurred about 9:20 a.m. Monday (12:20 p.m. EST) at Santana High School in Santee, California, about 10 miles northeast of San Diego. Terrified parents flocked to the school after hearing about the shootings. Weeping students fled the building, holding onto one another for comfort. A student, Alicia Zimmer said, "I was probably about 10 feet away from some of the victims ... I saw a boy laying on the floor with his face downward" and a girl with "blood all over her arm." "I know in your minds is the overriding question: `Why?"' Pfingst said. "The suspect has made statements. I will not share the contents of the statements with you at this time, but there is no real answer. I am not sure in any real way we will ever know why." Lewis said Williams picked his victims randomly. "We do have information that it's an indiscriminate shooting," said the police lieutenant. "Most of our victims are white. As you know, there are some males and some females in the group. So we don't think any specific gender or race or creed was intended victim." 'Evil kind of sadistic demeanor'Monday's attack was the nation's deadliest school shooting since the April 1999 bloodbath at Columbine High in Littleton, Colorado, where two teen-agers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before committing suicide. Student John Schardt said Williams was smiling when he emerged from a restroom in the school's social sciences building. (see video) "He was looking around, smiling, with his weapon. He fired two more shots and went back in," Schardt said. He said authorities with guns drawn arrested the boy in the bathroom. "He had an evil kind of sadistic demeanor to him," Schardt said. Chris Reynolds, Stevens' mother's boyfriend, said he had heard the boy and other friends "talking about it and kind of like joking about it." Reynolds said that Williams' mother lives out of state. He said the boy stayed at Reynolds' house Saturday night and talked about starting a shooting spree. "Sometimes I kind of took them seriously, the way they were talking, and then other times it seemed like they were just joking because these kids like to joke a lot," Reynolds said. "I even mentioned Columbine to him. I said I don't want a Columbine here at Santana. But he said, 'No, nothing will happen, I'm just joking,"' Reynolds said. 'I kinda feel like I'm to blame'"I kind of feel like I'm to blame for some of this because I could have done something," Reynolds added. "And I've had kids before I've known get hit by drunk drivers and things like that, and here's where I could have done something to prevent it."
"This is my worst nightmare," said Karen Degischer, principal of Santana High School. "I'm very concerned about the students. I'm very concerned about their families right now, and I'm concerned about my staff." Pfingst said investigators are now putting together the case and are interviewing "literally hundreds, hundreds of witnesses." Santana High School will be closed Tuesday and counselors will be available at a nearby church, Degaschir said. The school has about 1,900 students and 80 faculty and staff. One of the wounded was a sheriff's deputy assigned to the school, department spokesman Ron Reina said. California Gov. Gray Davis said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the shootings. Davis' wife Sharon is a Santana High School graduate. In Washington, President Bush offered his condolences "to the teachers and the children whose lives have been turned upside-down right now." Bush called the shooting "a disgraceful act of cowardice," adding, "When America teaches our children right from wrong and teaches values that respect life in our country, we'll be better off." But, he said, "First things are first. And our prayers go out to the families that lost a child today." The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said local law enforcement officials have asked them to assist with the investigation. The Associated Press contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: Detroit high school shooting injures 3 RELATED SITES:
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