Students warned head of threats
11/10/2007 17:24  - (SA)  

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'I got something for you all' US school shooter kills himself Shooter was called worthless pig Students call for guns in class

Cleveland - A high school student said on Thursday that he and classmates had warned their principal about threats by a classmate who shot and wounded four people before killing himself. The student said he believed that the attack could have been prevented.

The student, Rasheem Smith, said on CBS' television's "Early Show" that despite the warnings about Asa H Coon, the student who opened fire on Wednesday, principal Johneita Durant told them that she was too busy.

Smith, 15, said: "I told my friends in the class that he had a gun and stuff. He was talking about doing it last week. I don't know why they didn't say nothing.

"We talked to the principal. She would try to get us all in the office, but it would always be too busy for it to happen," Smith said.

Coon was armed with two revolvers

Schools CEO Eugene Sanders said on the show that the district would investigate.

The Associated Press made several attempts to reach Durant at SuccessTech Academy after the shootings, but she did not make herself available for comment.

Armed with two revolvers, Coon opened fire at the alternative school, wounding two students and two teachers. He had a history of mental problems and was known for cursing at teachers and bickering with students.

Police chief Michael McGrath said they found a duffel bag stocked with ammunition and three knives in a bathroom, but no suicide note.

The incident was the latest in a rash of school shootings in the United States.

In April, a South Korean student killed 32 people at Virginia Tech university before killing himself in what was the worst mass shooting in modern US history.

All classes in the city school district were cancelled on Thursday, and school officials said counselling would be available for students at recreation centres throughout Cleveland.

Coon, who was suspended on Monday for fighting with a classmate and was under suspension at the time of the shootings, had warned classmates of an attack, but none took him seriously.

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