'We need help badly! We don't know where he is!': Chilling 911 calls reveal terror after 'outcast gunman' began shooting at Ohio high school
- Terrified student tells dispatcher 'he's quiet and doesn't talk to anyone'
- Ohio court heard how TJ Lane chose victims randomly
- Third dead victim was revealed on Tuesday morning as Demetrius Hewlin
- First victim in Monday's shooting in Cleveland was Daniel Parmertor, 16
- Another shot, Russell King Jr, had started dating shooter's ex-girlfriend
- Town holds candle-lit vigil for students killed in shooting spree
Last updated at 6:08 AM on 29th February 2012
Chilling 911 calls reveal the terror suffered by staff and students after a 17-year-old boy began shooting victims randomly in the cafeteria of an Ohio high school on Monday.
TJ Lane allegedly used a .22-calibre pistol to fire 10 shots at a group of students sitting at a table in Chardon High School. Three of the five students he hit have died from their injuries.
Authorities released recordings of emergency calls made by teachers and students at the school as they desperately sought help to capture the teenager on his deadly rampage.
Scroll down for 911 calls and video
Remembered: Students and Chardon community members attend a candlelight vigil at a church on Tuesday night to remember the victims gunned down by 17-year-old TJ Lane on Monday
'We’ve got multiple gun shots,' explains one caller. 'It sounded like it came from the gym, cafeteria area.'
'We need help badly!' another begs, as the dispatcher assures him police are on their way. 'We don't know where he is!'
A third caller, who identifies himself as a student, adds: 'I was right by the shooter when he pulled the gun. I saw a couple of students get hit. They were laying on the ground in blood.
'His name is Thomas Lane. He's somewhere in the building. As soon as he started shooting, I ran outside. I saw him take out two and then I was gone.'
The caller added that Lane had began shooting at the 500 students in the cafeteria 'at random'.
When asked for a description of the shooter, the student added: 'He's very quiet and he doesn't really talk to anyone.'
Mourning: Thousands gathered at St Mary's of the Assumption Church to remember the three killed students
Shock: The vigil came hours after authorities released chilling 911 calls from students and staff begging for assistance at Chardon High School after students were shot in the cafeteria and the shooter fled
Loss: The callers identified the killer to the dispatcher and described him as 'a quiet kid who doesn't talk to anyone'
The eerie calls come as thousands of residents and students remembered the victims at a candle-lit vigil at a Chardon church on Tuesday night.
Three students - Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr., 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16 - were killed in the attack.
911 CALL: 'HE TOOK OUT TWO KIDS'
One 911 call was made by a young man who identified himself as a student at the school:
Dispatcher: Did you see the shooter? Are you a student?
Student: Yes. Yes I am a student. I was right by the shooter when he pulled the gun.
Dispatcher: Who was the shooter?
Student: His name is Thomas Lane.
Dispatcher: Is he a student?
Student: Yeah.
Dispatcher: Where is he at now?
Student: He's somewhere in the building. As soon as I saw him pull the gun and start shooting, I ran outside.
Dispatcher: Did he shoot anyone?
Student: Yes. I saw a couple of students get hit.
Dispatcher: Where was all this taking place at?
Student: In the lunchroom at Chardon High School.
Dispatcher: And you saw him shoot how many?
Student: I saw him take out two and then I was gone... they were laying on the ground in blood.
Dispatcher: What was his beef with these kids, do we know?
Student: I have no idea. It's a kid that, generally like I try to talk to, he's very quiet and he doesn't really talk to anyone.
Dispatcher: Was he picking students randomly?
Student: Yeah, he just pulled out a gun and started firing upon, like 500 kids, all in the lunchroom.
Dispatcher: So he just pulled out the gun and started shooting students in the cafeteria?
Student: Yes. At random.
Together, the mourners, some of whom were wearing remembrance pins and holding pictures of the murdered youngsters, sang, listened to biblical readings and partook in prayers.
School principal Andy Fetchik's voice broke as he told the crowd: 'We'll mourn together, we'll struggle to understand together, we'll work hard to heal.'
The service came after TJ Lane appeared in an Ohio court on Tuesday, where he admitted taking a gun and knife to school before firing 10 shots at the group in the cafeteria.
‘He did not know the students but chose them randomly,’ said David Joyce, prosecuting.
Lane's face twitched lightly while the prosecutor recounted the attack, and the slim young man sniffled and half-closed his eyes as he walked out of the room with sheriff's deputies.
His grandfather, who has custody of the teenager, and two aunts joined him in court. The women reached over and lightly embraced the grandfather as the hearing began.
Judge Timothy Grendell ordered the boy, who is considered a juvenile, to be held for at least 15 days. He is expected to face at least three counts of aggravated murder when eventually charged.
It comes after revelations that Lane, whom classmates at Chardon High School described as a bullied outcast, posted a chilling note on his Facebook page just weeks before the shooting on Monday.
Lane ranted on Facebook about 'a man with a frown. No job. No family. No crown. His luck had run out. Lost and alone… seizure in the Pestilence that is my scythe. Die, all of you.'
Demetrius’s relatives said he was a happy boy who loved life and his family and friends. ‘We are very saddened by the loss of our son and others in our Chardon community,’ a family statement said.
‘Demetrius was a happy young man who loved life and his family and friends. We will miss him very much but we are proud that he will be able to help others through organ donation.’
News of the letter comes as more details emerged about how Lane specifically targeted one group of students in the cafeteria, including one who had started dating Lane's ex-girlfriend.
Local reports identified one of the victims as Russell, a sociable 17-year-old who had started dating an ex-girlfriend of Lane.
Bulletproof vest: TJ Lane, a suspect in Monday's shooting of five students at Chardon High School is seen leaving juvenile court with Geauga County deputies in Chardon, Ohio, on Tuesday
After being shot in the back while sitting at a table in the cafeteria, Russell was airlifted to MetroHealth Medical Center. He was declared on Tuesday morning as the second dead victim.
The Center identified the first fatally slain student as 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor, who was shot when Lane targeted a group in the high school cafeteria at Chardon High School, police said.
In the wake of the shooting, other students said Lane was known as an outcast who had apparently been bullied. He allegedly tweeted about bringing a gun to school, but nobody took this seriously.
'Now! Feel death, not just mocking you... Die, all of you,' he wrote in the note that he posted to Facebook on December 20.
A portrait: Students called Lane an outcast, a goth, and bullied. Demetrius Hewlin, right, was one of three killed
Victims: Daniel Parmertor, 16, was the first student killed (left), and Russell King Jr., 17, (right) died on Tuesday
The 911 calls give insight into the fear felt along the corridors of the school on Monday morning. Other students have recounted their horror at hearing Lane open fire.
Freshman Danny Komertz, 15, said that 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.
Danny said that there were at least 100 students in the cafeteria at the time and that most fled immediately as shots were fired.
'He was aiming right at them as he was two feet away ... He wasn't shooting around the cafeteria at all. He was directly aiming at the four of them,' Danny said.
Tragedy: A group of students and parents pray for victims of the shooting on a square in Chardon on Tuesday
Sadness: A student places a bouquet of roses at the base of the Chardon High School sign on Monday
Another student saw the entire incident because he was right in the middle of it, so much so that his ear was grazed by a bullet.
'All of a sudden we heard a loud bang, almost like a firework. We turned around and I saw T.J. standing at the table behind us with his gun pointed and firing,' said witness Danny Mueller.
'His first shot made me look. His second shot I watched him take, which hit somebody behind me, and his third shot hit me as I was turning away. There was no warning or anything. He just opened fire.'
The shooting ended when the school's assistant football coach Frank Hall chased Lane out of the building, with many saying that the heroic move is just in keeping with the coach's nature.
'Coach Hall, he always talks about how much he cares about us students, his team and everyone.
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
'And I think today he really went out and he proved how much he cared about us. He would take a bullet for us,' said student Neil Thomas.
Hero: The shooting ended when assistant football coach Frank Hall chased Lane out the building
The first victim'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.’
Daniel Parmertor had aspired to be a computer repairman and was shot while waiting for the bus bound for a vocational centre.
His teacher at Auburn Career School had no idea why Daniel, 'a very good young man, very quiet,' had been targeted, said Auburn superintendent Maggie Lynch.
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'.
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.
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
Federal agents patrolled the muddy driveway leading to several spacious homes and ponds, while other officers walked a snowy hillside.
There are mixed reports as to whether Lane was enrolled at Chardon High School or whether he was just there while waiting to be transferred to Lake Academy Alternative School.
On their website, the school says it handles students with a variety of issues, including 'substance abuse /chemical dependency, anger issues, mental health issues, truancy, delinquency, difficulties with attention/organisation, and academic deficiencies'.
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.
INSIDE THE MIND OF A KILLER: THE FULL LETTER HE POSTED TO FACEBOOK
The following was allegedly 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.
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.
See below for 911 calls and video
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2108013/Chilling-911-calls-reveal-terror-TJ-Lane-began-shooting-Ohio-school.html#ixzz1nkj0w0B4
