School’s Out…Forever: The Frontier Middle School Shooting

In this month’s series, I detail crimes that happened on school campuses. In 1996, a 14-year-old walked into his 8th-grade math class and opened fire.  This early school shooting would shock his community and spark a nationwide debate about violence in the media, school bullying, mental health, and gun control.  But what was the real reason Barry Loukaitis brought terror to his classroom? 

Sources: 
State v. Loukaitis, Appeal from the Superior Court for Grant County, Decided July 2, 1996. 
https://casetext.com/case/state-v-loukaitis

Teacher Tells Court Of Classroom Horror Witness Describes Negotiating With An Armed Loukaitis, Finally Subduing Him, The Spokesman-Review, Sept. 5, 1997. 
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/sep/05/teacher-tells-court-of-classroom-horror-witness/

A teacher and two students die in shooting rampage at Frontier Junior High School in Moses Lake on February 2, 1996, HistoryLink.org, 2/7/2020
https://www.historylink.org/File/20965

Full letter from Jon Lane, the teacher who tackled Moses Lake school shooter, KIRO7.com News, 2/28/2018
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/full-letter-from-jon-lane-teacher-whotackled-moses-lake-school-shooter/708789938/

Scarred By Killings, Moses Lake Asks: ''What Has This Town Become?'' | The Seattle Times 

Media Links: 
Natural Born Killers - Trailer
https://youtu.be/XpLKNclOtLg?si=XAJxF31AkCcRJTWN

Natural Born Killers - Copycat crimes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Born_Killers_copycat_crimes

Rage by Richard Bachman/Stephen King: 
https://archive.org/stream/standthe/Rage_djvu.txt

Stephen King: Why the U.S. must introduce limited gun controls, Feb 7, 2013
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/feb/01/stephen-king-pulled-book-gun-controls

Links: 
Once Upon a Crime on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OnceUponACrimePodcast

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