'Die all of you': Chilling letter written by student who shot dead two and injured three in Ohio spree found showing his troubled thoughts

  • Second victim was Russell King Jr., 17, who was shot in the back
  • First victim identified as Daniel Parmertor, 16
  • Shooter opened fire in cafeteria around 7.30am Monday
  • Police said gunman, identified as TJ Lane, 17, was student at the school
  • Suspect reportedly Tweeted that he would bring gun to school, but no one took post seriously
  • He also posted a threatening letter on Facebook two months prior
  • Authorities used K-9 unit to track down Lane, who was found by his car
  • Suspect chased out of school by two brave teachers, students said
By Beth Stebner

Last updated at 1:25 AM on 28th February 2012


The teenage killer who shot two students dead at his Ohio high school and left another three injured left a chilling note on his Facebook page weeks before the shooting.
TJ Lane, who classmates described as a bullied outcast, ranted about 'a man with a frown. No job. No family. No crown. His luck had run out. Lost and alone.'
The last line reads: 'Now! Feel death, not just mocking you. Not just stalking you but inside of you. Wriggle and writhe. Feel smaller beneath my might. Seizure in the Pestilence that is my scythe. Die, all of you.'
The news of the letter came comes as it emerged the death of a second victim was announced, a classmate who had started dating Lane's ex-girlfriend.
Local news reports said Monday evening that a second student has died in the wake of this morning's shooting Chardon High School where 17-year old student Lane began shooting fellow pupils.
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Face of a killer: T.J. Lane, 17, is being widely reported as the killer who went on a shooting rampage at his Ohio high school Monday morning which resulted in two deaths and three serious injuries
Face of a killer: T.J. Lane, 17, is being widely reported as the killer who went on a shooting rampage at his Ohio high school Monday morning which resulted in two deaths and three serious injuries

A portrait: Conflicting reports from other students range from calling Lane an outcast, a goth, and a bullying victim
A portrait: Conflicting reports from other students range from calling Lane an outcast, a goth, and a bullying victim
A portrait: Conflicting reports from other students range from calling Lane an outcast, a goth, and bullied
Local reports identified the second victim as Russell King Jr., a sociable 17-year-old who had started dating an ex-girlfriend of the shooter.
After being shot in the back while sitting at a table in the cafeteria, Mr King was airlifted to MetroHealth Medical Center where he later died.
The Center identified the first slain student as 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor, who was shot when Lane allegedly targeted a group in the high school cafeteria at Chardon High School.
Victim: Daniel Parmertor, 16, died today after being shot this morning
russell
Victims: Daniel Parmertor, 16, was the first victim (left) and Russell King Jr., 17, died later after being taken to hospital to treat the gunshot wound he had in his back from the shooting

In the wake of the shooting, other students have said that Lane was known as an outcast who had apparently been bullied. He had Tweeted that he would bring a gun to school, but nobody took the threat seriously.
Now investigators hope to gain some insight into the mind of the killer, and have found a chilling note he wrote about his dark thoughts two months before the shooting spree.

'Now! Feel death, not just mocking you... Die, all of you,' he wrote in the note that he posted to Facebook on December 20.

 

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Freshman Danny Komertz, 15, said he was just about to leave for his first-period health class when he heard a loud popping sound and then saw the gunman open fire.
The freshman said that the person who died was trying to get under a cafeteria table to protect himself and shield his face.
Mr Komertz says that there were at least 100 students in the cafeteria at the time and that most fled immediately as shots were fired.
MetroHealth Medical Centre identified the slain student as 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor.
Mr Parmertor’s family issued the following statement through the hospital : ‘We are shocked by this senseless tragedy.
'Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him. This family is torn by this loss.’
Arrested: Video footage shows student TJ Lane getting arrested next to what is presumably his car; he was tracked down by a K-9 unit after the alleged shooting
Arrested: Video footage shows student TJ Lane getting arrested next to what is presumably his car; he was tracked down by a K-9 unit after the alleged shooting

Loner: A fellow student described TJ Lane as a person who was often bullied and was an outcast
Loner: A fellow student described TJ Lane as a person who was often bullied and was an outcast
Inconsolable: Students comfort each other as they leave the scene of the shooting
Stone faced: Sombre students leave with parents from Maple Elementary School, which is across the street from Chardon High School
Inconsolable and in shock: Students comfort each other as they leave the scene of the shooting
Mr Parmertor had aspired to be a computer repairman, according to AP, and was shot while waiting for the bus bound for a vocational centre.
Parmertor's teacher at Auburn Career School had no idea why Parmertor, 'a very good young man, very quiet,' had been targeted, said Auburn superintendent Maggie Lynch.
At least one other victim, a 17-year-old boy, was listed in serious condition.
Reports on Lane's personality and social status have been shaky, as each student interviewed paints a different picture of the alleged shooter.
Some say he was a loner, others say he was bullied, and yet another said Lane was 'gothic.'
After hearing news of the shootings, anxious parents thronged the streets around the school as they heard from students via text message and cellphone long before official word came of the attack.
By midday, officers investigating the shooting blocked off a road in a heavily wooded area several miles from the school. Federal agents patrolled the muddy driveway leading to several spacious homes and ponds, while other officers walked a snowy hillside.
A time for grief: Distraught sophomore Ava Polaski, right, was consoled by her mother Misty after the shootings
A time for grief: Distraught sophomore Ava Polaski, right, was consoled by her mother Misty after the shootings

Precautions: Students were evacuated to Maple Elementary School following the attacks; here, Chardon police checked each student's bag before they were allowed to enter
Precautions: Students were evacuated to Maple Elementary School following the attacks; here, Chardon police checked each student's bag before they were allowed to enter

Keeping watch: FBI and police guarded the entrance of the high school
Keeping watch: FBI and police guarded the entrance of the high school
According to Ms Lynch, the two males shot were both 17, and a third was 16.
A spokesman confirmed that one of the 17-year-old boys and an 18-year-old girl were both in stable conditions at Hilcrest Hospital.
Students’ accounts echo the terror and uncertainty immediately following the attack.
Transformation: Friends of TJ Lane said he went through a 'gothic' period and became reclusive
Transformation: Friends of TJ Lane said he went through a 'gothic' period and became reclusive
Junior Nate Mueller, who said he was once friends with Lane, was hit in the right ear as bullets went flying.
‘My friends were crawling on the floor…It was almost like a firecracker went off,’ he told the paper, adding that Lane was silent the entire time.
‘That’s what made it so random,’ he said.
The reality of the situation hasn’t set in for many students. ‘It all feels like a movie,’ he said. ‘I am sure tomorrow I’ll be devastated.’
He managed to run from the cafeteria and hid behind a car before dialing 911.
Mr Mueller said he had been a friend of Lane’s until high school, when he entered what Mr Mueller called a ‘gothic’ phase.
Police say that Lane is now in custody.
Though the day was immersed in tragedy, the heroics of one teacher have already been praised.
Teacher Frank Hall, who also coaches the school’s football team the Hilltoppers, reportedly chased the shooter from the building.
He was joined by fellow teacher Joseph Ricci, according to reports tweeted by students. The shooter apparently  tried to aim his gun at Mr Hall, but they kept charging him.
News of Mr Hall’s heroics first began on Twitter as students expressed their gratitude. One student wrote: ‘Doesn’t surprise me coach put his life on the line today, always been selfless and put others (sic)lives infront (sic) of his.’
Authorities used a K-9 unit to track down the suspect, who was found about a half mile from the school, not far from his car.
A soft side: In a photo from just over a week before the incident, alleged shooter Lane poses with a stuffed animal
A soft side: In a photo from just over a week before the incident, alleged shooter Lane poses with a stuffed animal

Evacuated: Students were evacuated after at least one shooter opened fire in Chardon High School's cafeteria around 7:30 this morning
Evacuated: Students were evacuated after at least one shooter opened fire in Chardon High School's cafeteria around 7:30 this morning
A time for family: Samantha Kimball (left) consoles her younger brother Daniel Kimball (right), who is also a Chardon Middle School student
A time for family: Samantha Kimball (left) consoles her younger brother Daniel Kimball (right), who is also a Chardon Middle School student
Authorities initially believed was carried out by more than one gunman, though it was later discovered  the student acted alone.
FBI officials confirm the believe that Lane was allegedly the only person involved in the attack. They are currently doing a sweep of Lane's home and the surrounding area for any evidence that could be helpful in the investigation.
However, they will not speculate on the motive for the shootings.
Student Evan Erasmus told officials that the alleged shooter posted a message to Twitter that he was going to bring a gun with him to Chardon, but that no one took him seriously.
Others said that Lane texted people in the days and weeks before the attack.
The FBI and local authorities are now searching the suspect's house, which is being treated as a crime scene. They will be looking for any notes or additional evidence.
Extreme case: SWAT members arrived at the scene to secure the location
Extreme case: SWAT members arrived at the scene to secure the location
Emergency: The SWAT team arrived approximately an hour after the shooting was reported
Emergency: The SWAT team arrived approximately an hour after the shooting was reported
Flying out: An Ohio State Highway patrol helicopter is seen leaving Chardon High School
Flying out: An Ohio State Highway patrol helicopter is seen leaving Chardon High School
Student Joshua Roth was in the cafeteria this morning and told his mother Jeannette that a boy ‘stood up and started shooting, and then it was chaos,' Fox8 News reported.
Another parent told Fox8 news that five to ten shots were fired in total, according to his son. The boy was in the cafeteria at the time.
'(He) stood up and started shooting, and then it was chaos.'
-Student in Chardon cafeteria
Students were quickly evacuated to a middle school across the street.
More than 1,100 students attend the high school, which is 30 miles east of Cleveland.
Police chief Tim McKenna confirmed the first student's death in a news conference at noon.

A female student told Fox8 that said she saw the gunman chasing a male student down one of the school’s hallways. She ‘ducked’ out of the way into a nearby classroom to avoid him.
According to Fox News, students were alerted when a reverse 911 call went out, alerting all parents in the school district of the shooting.
Students were said to have adhered to lockdown drill policies, meaning they stayed in place, and locked themselves into classrooms until police arrived.
Per lockdown policy, they also texted their parents instead of calling them, so as to keep air ways clear.

Superintendent Joseph Bergant II told WKYC that the culprit is in custody in a juvenile detention centre, but added that he didn’t know the extent of the students’ injuries.


Clean sweep: Investigators began searching the area around Lane's house for more clues about the shooting
Clean sweep: Investigators began searching the area around Lane's house for more clues about the shooting
Heather Ziska, 17, said she was in the cafeteria when she and other students heard popping noises in the hall. She said she saw a boy she recognized as a fellow student come into the cafeteria and start shooting.
She said she and several others immediately ran outside, while other friends ran into a middle school and others locked themselves in a teachers' lounge.
'Everybody just started running,' said 17-year-old Megan Hennessy, who was in class when she heard loud noises. 'Everyone was running and screaming down the hallway.'
Television news footage showed anxious parents escorting children away from the school building, and ambulances, as well as a medical helicopter, could be seen outside.
District Community Coordinator Ellen Ondrey said the Chardon Police Department has the school on lockdown as they secure the area.
Media: Chardon City police chief Tim McKenna detailed what happened in the cafeteria for members of the press today
Media: Chardon City police chief Tim McKenna detailed what happened in the cafeteria for members of the press today
Informing the public: Chardon Schools superintendent Joseph Bergant spoke at a news conference hours after the incident
Informing the public: Chardon Schools superintendent Joseph Bergant spoke at a news conference hours after the incident
She added that all classes within the school district have been cancelled after a SWAT team arrived on the campus around 8.45am.
Students at the high school and middle school had already started their day when the shooting happened, but bus runs for elementary school children were stopped, Ms Ondrey said.
Parents of high school students were told to go to Maple Elementary School to pick up their children.
'We want to make clear that the students are safe,' she said, advising parents not to rush to pick up students because the area is 'extremely congested. The lines are very long.'
A local church is planning to hold a prayer vigil tonight in light of the shootings. Another will be held tomorrow night.
The service this evening will be held at First Baptist Church of Painsville, and is to be led by Rev Peter McCurdy, who was himself a victim of a shooting as a child, WKYC reported.
Grief counselors have also been made available to students as they come to terms with all that has happened today.
Chardon is a city of about 5,100 residents.

Injured: At least five students were injured in the shooting; their conditions are unknown
Injuries: Five students were injured in the shooting; one of them later died
Frantic: Parents anxiously waited outside the high school, trying to call their children to make sure they were all right
Frantic: Parents anxiously waited outside the high school, trying to call their children to make sure they were all right

Injured: At least five students were injured in the shooting; their conditions are unknown
Injured: At least five students were injured in the shooting; their conditions are unknown

INSIDE THE MIND OF A KILLER: THE FULL LETTER HE POSTED TO FACEBOOK

The following was reportedly posted by T.J. Lane on his Facebook page on December 20, 2011:

In a time long since, a time of repent, The Renaissance. In a quaint lonely town, sits a man with a frown. No job. No family. No crown. His luck had run out. Lost and alone.
The streets were his home. His thoughts would solely consist of "why do we exist?" His only company to confide in was the vermin in the street. He longed for only one thing, the world to bow at his feet.
They too should feel his secret fear. The dismal drear. His pain had made him sincere.
He was better than the rest, all those ones he detests, within their castles, so vain. Selfish and conceited.
They couldn't care less about the peasents they mistreated. They were in their own world, it was a joyous one too. That castle, she stood just to do all she could to keep the peasents at bay, not the enemy away.
They had no enemies in their filthy orgy. And in her, the castles every story, was just another chamber of Lucifer's Laboratory. The world is a sandbox for all the wretched sinners.

They simply create what they want and make themselves the winners. But the true winner, he has nothing at all. Enduring the pain of waiting for that castle to fall. Through his good deeds, the rats and the fleas.
He will have for what he pleads, through the eradication of disease. So, to the castle he proceeds, like an ominous breeze through the trees. "Stay back!" The Guards screamed as they were thrown to their knees. "Oh God, have mercy, please!"
The castle, she gasped and then so imprisoned her breath, to the shallow confines of her fragile chest. I'm on the lamb but I ain't no sheep. I am Death. And you have always been the sod. So repulsive and so odd.
You never even deserved the presence of God, and yet, I am here. Around your cradle I plod. Came on foot, without shod. How improper, how rude. However, they shall not mind the mud on my feet if there is blood on your sheet.
Now! Feel death, not just mocking you. Not just stalking you but inside of you. Wriggle and writhe. Feel smaller beneath my might. Seizure in the Pestilence that is my scythe. Die, all of you.
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Don't blame guns, I'm English and saying that. You can't lay all the blame on the bullies either. I've got mental illnesses but I am still able to control my behaviour towards others. I may hurt myself regularly, but I know if I did what I wanted to do to the people who caused my issues, I'd be in a worse situation. If people use depression as an excuse for their horrible actions, it makes mental illness even more taboo. Yes he'd be going through hell, but taking a gun to other kids wont solve anything.
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Google 'GANG STALKING' and you will find out why there has been an exponential increase in in both school and workplace mass shootings in the past 20 years
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2nd death has not been confirmed. Can't we just leave the count at one until more information is made public. The news stations are stating the 2nd death is a rumor.
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Well, I suppose the guilty wont be bullying this kid any more.
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2nd death has not been confirmed. Can't we just leave the count at one until more information is made public. The news stations are stating the 2nd death is a rumor.
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Just a note...local news has yet to confirm that there was any "bullying" going on. The motive for this young man's actions are still unknown and the investigation is still ongoing. - AmyinOhio, Cleveland, USA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Agreed. In fact, the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer is reporting that one of the students sitting at the table the gunman aimed at is currently dating the gunman's ex-girlfriend, who is homeschooled. This, like the bullying rumors, is unsubstantiated (the same article quoted a student as saying the gunman wasn't a loner, had friends, etc). Also according to the same article, the gunman was also waiting for his bus- to a school for at-risk students.
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I love how much we are willing to excuse and forgive and how everyone seems to be projecting their own agendas and experiences. Based on the rant that this lunatic posted, it sounds to me like he just felt like an outcast and might have been craving the attention of a girl who was not noticing him. It’s not new and it’s not bullying. Many of us have felt, lost, confused or alone when we were in high school, not many of us however decided to kill a few people we didn’t like to make ourselves feel better.
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- jimb, carmel, ca, usa --- Great point and very well said!! "The debate about guns, America's propensity for violence and bullying will continue ad infinitum et ad nauseum; however, monthly school-wide assemblies which drum into teens' heads "See something (or hear something), say something" might avert another shooting. Too often these young shooters telegraph their intentions to friends as a final "last chance to stop me" kind of message. Too often these very serious comments or declarations are written off as "I thought he was joking". Obviously, teens forget, because this pattern has repeated itself. "See something, say something" has to take the place of "don't be a snitch"."
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We need to get bullying under control in this country. Teachers do NOTHING...and I mean nothing to curb it. You can't tell me they don't hear when someone is being picked on. It's always the kid that is "different" that is bullied to death or until he explodes. I think a lot of the teachers have labeled these kids as strange as well and do nothing to stop it. Then, we have a violent episode like today and we blame the shooter but don't talk about what drove the shooter to it. I would hate to go to school today...these bullies are horrible. It used to be you went home and could get away from it but with the internet it's constant. People, teach your kids that if they don't have anything nice to say...keep your yap closed. The justice system will take care of the shooter...but I'd love to know what led up to this horrible event.
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Just another day in in the land of the gun happy.....their will be many more to deaths to come this week.
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