Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson reports from Bemidji, where ten people are dead after a shooting rampage on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. At least 14 people were reportedly wounded in the shooting which happened yesterday afternoon. Tribal police closed the reservation to reporters late yesterday. Red Lake police and the FBI are working together to investigate the shootings.
DAN GUNDERSON: Police were called to Red Lake High School about 3:00 in the afternoon. Some people inside the school had called to report that shots had been fired. But according to FBI spokesman Paul McCabe, the shooting apparently started sometime earlier.
PAUL MCCABE: We believe the juvenile who's responsible for the shooting at the school was also responsible for a shooting at a Red Lake Reservation residence.
DAN GUNDERSON: A Red Lake official says the teenager shot his grandparents at a home on the reservation. They later died at a hospital. The grandfather was reportedly a longtime Red Lake police officer. A law enforcement official says the boy then took his grandfather's police car and his guns and drove to the school.
At Red Lake High, he reportedly shot and killed a security guard near the front door. A law enforcement source says security guards at the school do not carry guns. Reports indicate the teenager walked down a hallway and continued shooting.
He was heard to ask, "Do you believe in God?" before opening fire in a classroom. He shot and killed a teacher. More than 20 students were hit by gunfire. Many were taken to North Country Hospital in Bemidji. At least two were transferred to MeritCare Hospital in Fargo.
Red Lake firefighter Roman Stately says the teen carried two handguns and a shotgun into the school. Most of the students shot were reportedly in the same classroom. Roads to the reservation were closed while authorities began their investigation. Phone calls to the reservation went unanswered last night. Many were constantly busy.
Police prevented reporters from talking with family members waiting at the Bemidji Hospital. FBI spokesman Paul McCabe initially released few details about the investigation.
PAUL MCCABE: Well, we're still-- it's still a very fluid investigation, and we're not going to go into too much detail. But I wanted you to get the facts. We'll keep you apprised as the investigation continues and as we have more facts.
DAN GUNDERSON: The Red Lake School shooting is the nation's most deadly since the shooting in Columbine in 1999. The most recent fatal school shootings involving a student also happened in Minnesota in September of 2003. That's when two students were killed at Rocori High School in Cold Spring. Classmate John Jason McLaughlin, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, awaits trial in the case.
Governor Tim Pawlenty issued a statement offering prayers to those who lost loved ones. The governor called the shooting "a senseless tragedy." Buck Jourdain, Chairman of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, called it "without a doubt the darkest hour in the history of our tribe."
The Red Lake Reservation is Minnesota's most isolated. Just over 5,000 people live on the reservation. About 300 students attend the reservation high school where the shootings happened. Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio, Bemidji.
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