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Coordinates: 39°33′6″N 119°46′6″W / 39.55167°N 119.76833°W / 39.55167; -119.76833
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Sparks Middle School shooting
LocationSparks Middle School
Coordinates39°33′6″N 119°46′6″W / 39.55167°N 119.76833°W / 39.55167; -119.76833
DateOctober 21, 2013 (2013-10-21)
Attack type
School shooting, murder–suicide
WeaponsRuger SR9C semi-automatic handgun[1]
Deaths2 (including the perpetrator)
Injured2
PerpetratorJose Reyes
Defender1

A shooting occurred at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada, on October 21, 2013. Two people, including the perpetrator, were killed, and two others were injured. Sparks Middle School is part of the Washoe County School District.[2]

Weapon

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Jose used a Ruger SR9C semi-automatic handgun during the shooting. He took the gun from his home where his parents had gotten the gun from a family friend. Although there was no background check done for the Reyes family to have the gun in their home, they both would have qualified and passed the background checks.[3] Jose had two magazines that held 17 rounds and 10 rounds, neither were completely full. [4]

Events Leading To The Shooting

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Bullying:

Jose Reyes was a victim of bullying within his middle school. His peers would make fun of his speech impediment. When he had an accident at school which resulted in peeing his pants the other students would point and laugh at him and call him a “loser”. [5] The days following they would pour water on his pants to make it look like he had peed his pants again. The faculty and staff of Sparks Middle School stated they had no knowledge of the bullying taking pace. They also commented that they had a no tolerance policy when it came to bullying. An analysis by officials at the US Secret Service of 37 premeditated school shootings found that bullying, which some of the shooters described "in terms that approached torment", played the major role in more than two-thirds of the school shootings.[6] [7]

Letters:

The morning of the shooting Jose left two separate letters on his bed. The first talked about how what he was going to do was not because he played violent video games. He did not want people to think that the video games were what lead him down the path that he chose and ignore what was really the problem, bullying. He mentions in this letter that “things were going to change”.[8] He also talked about the regret he had for not being a better son and for not being everything they had ever wanted in a child. [9] The second letter was about his peers and his school. He talked about how his peers and “friends” were bullies. They made fun of him constantly and always put him down no matter the situation. He also expressed his anger he felt towards the school for not helping him when he was being bullied. He expressed that he told his teachers and they did nothing to help him and they let it continue. Both of the letters he left for his parents to find on his bed doesn’t say anything exactly about taking the gun to school and shooting people, they simply state something was going to happen. Within the two notes there was not any sign that he was going to commit suicide therefore, the letters were not suicide notes to his parents.[10]

The shooting

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12-year-old seventh-grade student Jose Reyes opened fire with his dad’s semi-automatic handgun at the basketball courts of Sparks Middle School, injuring a 12-year-old student in the shoulder, KJ Kersey. A math teacher, Michael Landsberry, who was trying to intervene with the gunman was then shot and killed by Reyes, as he was standing on a playground trying to prevent the shooting. Reyes then shot and wounded a 12-year-old student, Mason Davis, who tried to come to Landsberry's assistance after he fell onto the ground. Davis suffered an injury to his abdomen. Reyes then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head inside the school. There was no one else hurt during this encounter. [11] The shooting happened before classes had begun, and was over before the police got to the school. When the police arrived on scene they evacuated the school and it was closed for the remainder of the week. [12]

Motive

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When the police looked at this case they determined that there was not one incident that set the shooting into place but in fact there were multiple events leading to multiple motives. [13]

People Injured

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There were two fatalities: the suspect, Jose Reyes (suicide) and Landsberry who died on the basketball court outside. There were two other injuries to the classmates, one boy who was unnamed and another boy, Mason. Jose had no contact with any of the victims prior to the shooting, he was not in any classes with them or had Mr. Landsberry as his math teacher.[14]

The shooting started with a boy who was shot in the shoulder outside of the school on the playground. The damage that was done to his shoulder was repairable by the doctors who did emergency surgery when he got to the hospital. [15]

After witnessing the first shooting 45 year-old Mr. Michael Landsberry, former Marine, ran to try and reason with Jose and told him to put the gun down, but instead Jose shot and him in the chest which killed him instantly. [6] Michael Landsberry had been apart of the Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan twice before becoming a Math teacher. [16]

The other classmate that was shot was Mason, he was shot in the stomach. He was trying to run back inside the school when he turned around and saw Jose with the gun. He describes the scene and remembers looking at him and saying “please don’t shoot me”. Mason was rushed to the hospital and had to have major surgery to repair the damage that was done by the bullet. [17]

The Aftermath

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After the shooting, the school closed down for three weeks. During that time students and faculty had time to grief over the deaths and had time to move forward putting the tragic event they went through behind them. The incident has been a continuing subject of public concern and discussion.[9][10][11] Hillary Clinton discussed the shooting at Sparks Middle School during her campaign for the presidency, as part of her campaign for gun control.[12]

Prosecution

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Jose Reyes was not convicted or charged with any crimes because he shot and killed himself during the shooting. Jose’s parents were looked at and questioned by the police as to why their son had their gun. [18] The parents admit they had a gun within their home however, they deny any prior knowledge of their son taking the gun or his plan to use it at the school. Although the police questioned the parents the police department decided not to charge Mr. and Mrs. Reys with child endangerment due to lack of evidence. [19]

References

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[edit]

Category:Deaths by firearm in Nevada Category:Murder in Nevada Category:Murder–suicides in the United States Category:School shootings in the United States Category:Sparks, Nevada Category:Crimes in Nevada Category:2013 in Nevada Category:2013 murders in the United States Category:Washoe County School District Category:Attacks in the United States in 2013

  1. ^ Staff reports (May 13, 2014). "Police: Sparks Middle School shooter said he was teased". Reno Gazette-Journal.
  2. ^ "Schools in Sparks, Nevada". www.city-data.com. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  3. ^ "Sparks Middle School Shooting News, Photos and Videos - ABC News". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  4. ^ CNN, By Stephanie Elam Jason Hanna and Paul Vercammen. "'Please don't shoot': Wounded boy, 12, recalls Nevada school attack - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-10-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ CNN, By Stephanie Elam Jason Hanna and Paul Vercammen. "'Please don't shoot': Wounded boy, 12, recalls Nevada school attack - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-10-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ "Sparks Middle School Shooting News, Photos and Videos - ABC News". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  7. ^ "Police: Sparks Middle School shooter said he was teased". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  8. ^ "Police: Sparks Middle School shooter said he was teased". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  9. ^ "Police: Sparks Middle School shooter said he was teased". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  10. ^ "Police: Sparks Middle School shooter said he was teased". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  11. ^ CNN, By Stephanie Elam Jason Hanna and Paul Vercammen. "'Please don't shoot': Wounded boy, 12, recalls Nevada school attack - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-10-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "Sparks Middle School Shooting News, Photos and Videos - ABC News". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  13. ^ CNN, By Stephanie Elam Jason Hanna and Paul Vercammen. "'Please don't shoot': Wounded boy, 12, recalls Nevada school attack - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-10-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ "Police: Sparks Middle School shooter said he was teased". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  15. ^ CNN, By Stephanie Elam Jason Hanna and Paul Vercammen. "'Please don't shoot': Wounded boy, 12, recalls Nevada school attack - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-10-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ "Sparks Middle School Shooting News, Photos and Videos - ABC News". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  17. ^ CNN, By Stephanie Elam Jason Hanna and Paul Vercammen. "'Please don't shoot': Wounded boy, 12, recalls Nevada school attack - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-10-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ Press/Staff, Associated. "No Charges in Sparks Middle School Shooting". Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  19. ^ Press/Staff, Associated. "No Charges in Sparks Middle School Shooting". Retrieved 2016-10-24.
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