Ohio school shooter charged with three counts of murder... as family of teen survivor says he is paralyzed and has two bullets lodged in his body

 

The teen who opened fire in the cafeteria of his high school on Monday has been charged with three counts of murder, as it was learned that one of his wounded victims is paralysed and has a long road to recovery.
The filing in Geauga County juvenile court charges T.J. Lane, 17, with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault in the shooting at Chardon High School, about 30 miles east of Cleveland.
Children convicted of juvenile crimes in Ohio are typically behind bars only until they turn 21 in the most serious cases.
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Charged: T.J. Lane has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder in Monday's shooting at Chardon High School

But prosecutor David Joyce has already said he plans to charge Lane as an adult, meaning he could face life in prison without parole if convicted of similar adult charges.
Minors are not eligible for the death penalty in Ohio, whether they are convicted as juveniles or adults.

Wounded: Nick Walczak, 16, was left paralysed in the shooting, but doctors are hopeful that he will walk again

Lane admitted taking a .22-calibre pistol and a knife to the school and firing 10 shots at students sitting in the cafeteria, killing Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr., 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16.
Two other students, Joy Rickers and Nick Walczak, were wounded.
The motive for the shooting is unclear, though Joyce has appeared to rule out theories involving bullying or drug-dealing.
While Ms Rickers was released from the hospital, Mr Walczak’s injuries were much more serious.
His family told ABC News that the 16-year-old is paralysed and has bullets lodged in his cheek and neck.
His mother, Holly Walczak, told the network: 'He's just getting feeling back in his legs. It's going to be a really slow process, they said. He's going to need spine therapy. The surgeon said they're cautiously optimistic'.
Doctors are hopeful that Mr Walczak will walk again.
Students and parents gathered this morning outside a memorial remembering the victims of the Chardon High school shootings before returning to school for the first time since the shootings.
Yesterday, the mother of Demetrius Hewlin said she forgives the gunman.

 

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And while she says she is still coming to grips with her son's devastating death two days after the shooting, Phyllis Ferguson says she is not dwelling on the past - just as she taught her son.
Ms Ferguson told ABC News: 'I taught Demetrius not to live in the past, to live in today and forgiveness is divine. You have to forgive everything. God's grace is new each and every day. Until you've walked in another person's shoes, you don't know what made him come to this point.'

Remembrance: Students and parents gather outside a memorial remembering the victims of the Chardon High school shootings before returning to school for the first time since the shootings

Grief: Two students embrace during a march on Thursday attended by hundreds of children and parents

Support: Faculty members from the school joined their pupils on Thursday's demonstration

Asked what she would say to the suspected gunman, Ms Ferguson added: 'I would tell him I forgive him because, a lot of times, they don't know what they're doing. That's all I'd say.'
She said her son was often late to school. But unfortunately, he was not running far behind on that fatal morning.
'He wasn't a morning person and he was late for school. But that one day he wasn't late. We were running a little late, but we weren't late enough. But it's okay. It's in God's hands. Let his will be done.'
'I don't know what [his] final moments were like,' she added, 'but I can't worry about it. You have to accept things done and move on.'

Strength: Phyllis Ferguson's son, Demetrius Hewlin, was killed after a gunman opened fire at his Ohio school on Monday

A portrait: Suspected gunman TJ Lane, left, is accused of firing the shot that killed his classmate Demetrius Hewlin, right, and two others

Support: Ms Ferguson, right, and her husband, Demetrius' step-father, Tim Ferguson, said they are still coming to grips with his death

Ms Ferguson, who was joined by Demetrius' stepfather, Tim Ferguson, for the ABC interview, said her son was good friends with Russell King Jr, 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16 - the two other boys killed in the shooting rampage.
The parents told the network they are honouring their son's wishes by having his organs donated.
Ms Ferguson's message of forgiveness came as it was revealed yesterday that the alleged gunman may have used a gun that disappeared from his grandfather's barn.

Victims: Daniel Parmertor, 16, was the first student killed (left), and Russell King Jr., 17, (right) died on Tuesday

Appearance: This video grab shows the alleged Chardon High School shooter arriving at court in Ohio

The gun was noticed as missing after Monday's shootings and fits the description of the pistol that was reportedly used in the high school shooting said Carl Hendersen - a retired police officer and former Geauga County sheriff, as well as a longtime neighbor of Lane's grandparents.
Mr Hendersen said he has spoken to the grandfather, Thomas Lane, about the gun.
The suspect's grandfather believes the gun is the same, 'because the gun was there the day before, in the barn,' said Mr Henderson, 74, who says he's been friends with the boy's family for nearly 50 years.
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said the gun used in the shooting, a Ruger .22-caliber Mark III target pistol, was bought legally in August 2010 from a gun shop in Mentor, Ohio.

Tragedy: A group of students and parents pray for victims of the shooting on a square in Chardon on Tuesday

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said Lane told authorities he stole gun from his uncle.
It wasn't clear on Wednesday whether the gun might have been the same one missing from the grandfather's barn.
The grandparents feel terrible about what happened and have no explanation for the teen's alleged role in the shootings, Mr Henderson said.
Lane came from a broken family but seemed to heal over time, said Henderson, who added that the boy began living with his grandparents off and on several years ago.
'TJ was a very fine person,' Henderson said. 'Nice-looking man, very friendly, spoke to you, carried a conversation with you.'

Sadness: A student places a bouquet of roses at the base of the Chardon High School sign on Monday

Another neighbour on Wednesday described TJ Lane as a normal boy who excelled in school and played outside often with his sister, building snow hills and skateboarding.

Hero: 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

Steve Sawczak said he never would have allowed his own grandchildren to play nearby if he thought anything was wrong with the teenager. Mr Sawczak lives next door to Lane's other grandfather, Jack Nolan, who has familial custody of the suspect and attended his court hearing Tuesday.
'We're all absolutely stunned,' Sawczak said. 'He's an average kind of kid.'
Mr Sawczak, 58, a pastor who has worked with troubled children, said he never saw hints of what was coming.
A next-door neighbor of Lane's grandparents for almost 25 years, he said the couple, who have custody of the teen, gave Lane a healthy place to live. They often took them to school events.
'They are in shock,' Sawczak said. 'They are absolutely devastated.'
At Chardon High, the faculty parking lot was jammed Wednesday as teachers returned to the school for the first time since Monday's shooting, with grief counselors on hand if needed. Parents and students are encouraged to return to the school Thursday, and classes resume Friday.

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

A police report said 33 officers from around the area responded to what was first described as a 'shooting accidental.' Emergency crews from four fire departments also responded.
Lane, a thin young man described by other students as extremely quiet, appeared briefly in juvenile court on Tuesday. He spoke little, and a judge ordered him held for at least 15 days.

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

Joyce described suspect Lane as 'someone who's not well' and said the teen didn't know the victims but chose them randomly.
Both sides in the legal case are under a gag order imposed by the judge at the prosecutor's request. The judge also barred media outlets from taking photos of the faces of the suspect and some of his relatives, an order which was expected to be challenged on Wednesday.

THE MIND OF A KILLER: THE FULL LETTER LANE POSTED TO FACEBOOK

The following was allegedly posted by TJ 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.