Shots were fired on Monday, February 27, at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio. Three of the five students injured were killed. Charged as a juvenile, 17 year old suspect T.J. Lane, has given no indication of his motive for the shooting, though it has been passed around that he initially aimed for a table where his ex girlfriend’s boyfriend was sitting.
Lane posted a Facebook status just before the shooting expressing his anger and frustration through a gruesome poem. The product of a broken home Lane’s his father was incarcerated for assault and mother was in and out of the household. He later was put under the custody of his grandparents, along with his older brother and sister, and police were often called due to his brother’s alleged substance abuse.
The murder of these three high school students was not Lane’s first brush with the law; he was charged with assault over a quarrel with his uncle and got off with community service. Surprisingly, Lane was said to have known his victims quite well. His case will be transferred to an adult criminal court, but he will not face the death penalty due to his young age.
“The best possible plea deal on an aggravated murder charge would likely net him at least 30 years in prison, maybe with the possibility of parole, “a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University’s Law Clinic Center said.
