E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
TODAY
Danny Parmertor, who was killed in the Ohio school shooting.
Five months before the high school shooting in Chardon, Ohio, Danny Parmertor did what many boys do when they turn 16: He went out looking for his first job. He dreamed of saving up enough money to buy a car.
It took time, but eventually, Ernst Lanes hired Danny as a lane captain. For the last month, Danny spent his weekends helping bowlers with scoring and making sure their bowling balls fit correctly, said his boss, Joe Ernst.
This week, Danny, a junior, was supposed to pick up his first paycheck – $273.50. It wasn’t a lot of money, but he was on his way – maybe just a fraction of the way – to owning his first car.
Instead, on Monday morning, Danny was killed in the Chardon High School cafeteria. Thomas “TJ” Lane, 17, is accused of pulling out a semi-automatic gun he had stolen from his uncle and firing 10 shots. Five students were hit, all at random, prosecutors said. Three were killed, one was paralyzed, and another was wounded.
Parmertor died almost immediately. Russell King, 17, and Demetrius Hewlin, 16, died on Tuesday.
The three who died were friends. Family and friends said Danny loved Xbox and wing night; Russell loved to fish; Demetrius was a cuddly mama’s boy who loved tinkering with computers.
Tim Ferguson, Demetrius Hewlin’s stepfather, told ABC News that all three played pee-wee football.
Demetrius’ mother, Phyllis Ferguson, said she has forgiven Lane, because she doesn’t believe he knew what he was doing. She tries not to dwell on the details of that morning, or to think that her son, who normally ran late, was on time that Monday morning.
Chardon, Ohio grieves for the three students who died following Monday's shooting rampage: Danny Parmertor, Demetrius Hewlin and Russell King.
"I don't know what [his] final moments were like, but I can't worry about it," Phyllis Ferguson told ABC News. "You have to accept things done and move on."
Both Demetrius and Russell’s parents said they will donate their sons' organs.
"He will live after his death," Phyllis Ferguson told ABC. "For one Demetrius, there's eight people he can help."
Within a day of the shooting, grim details emerged about Lane's life. His parents are divorced, and his brother was a heroin addict, NBC News reported. Court records show that his father has had run-ins with the law. Lane was enrolled at an alternative school for at-risk youth – a term used on the school’s website.
In 2009, following a fistfight at his uncle’s house, Lane was charged with assault; he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
On Monday, after the shooting in the cafeteria, police and witnesses said, Lane was chased out of the high school by an assistant football coach.
Lane appeared in juvenile court on Tuesday. Geauga County Prosecutor David Joyce said he may be tried as an adult. He likely faces three counts of aggravated murder.
Back at Ernst Lanes, Joe Ernst has fielded calls from bowlers who met Danny during his short time at the bowling alley.
“We had people calling here and asking, 'That young man – we saw his photo on television – is that the same boy that helped us?'” Ernst told msnbc.com. “They were very uncomfortable calling and asking but they had to know. He was such a nice boy. He helped us.”
On Wednesday, Danny's brother picked up his paycheck. It was part of a plan.
Holding back tears, Bobby Parmertor, Danny's father, told the "TODAY Show": "We’re going to pick up the paycheck and we’re going to bury the paycheck with him."
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
Leave a Comment:
Is it me or is this crazy s@#* happening more often people have no problem blowing away innocent bystanders, I think public hangings should be brought back and once convicted carried out immediately maybe that would discourage some of these idiots.
My thing is it says he " May Be " tried as an adult... They have no problem trying 10 year olds but only may be on this kid. Just put him into a room, let the family and friends of those hurt and killed take care of him, swift quick justice. I saw on the new about an hour ago it said, bullying and something else had nothing to do with why he did this. Hes old enough to know better, right from wrong, good & bad.
Texas law, a student reported that he was bullied. Of course, though, the school staff is going to deny it. If they admitted to it, they would be opening themselves to possible lawsuits. After all, this is a middle-class quiet town. We all know things like this just can't happen in that type of environment, right?! (sarcasm dripping)
Yeah, screw the rest of the constitution. Let's just live by the second amendment.
I'm sure if he murdered your son or daughter you wouldn't mind him doing a few years in juvie and then being released.
Statistics say that the incidence of school shootings has been decreasing in recent years, but the much more prevelant media sure makes it seem as if it's on the rise.
And for Mike757:
Sane people don't buy into vengeful justice, that's why we have a court system. It doesn't matter who the victims were, we have a Constitution for a reason.
Coracii, If you had kids and found they were murdered in cold blood, you would trust a court system to bring justice? Not me, I am going to find a way to get my hands on that person and take care of it myself....
"we have a Constitution for a reason" - explain that to our lawmakers....they have forgotten!
Don't let your personal feelings cloud your judgment.
And the whole eye-for-and-eye idiocy continues. So, after you get your hands on the person that you believe committed murder and take care of them yourself, should the family members of that person get in touch with you or some of your family members and take care of them? What happens when in your fit of rage it turns out that you've attacked the wrong person because your spur of the moment information was incorrect? Do you just commit public suicide as a consolation for your mistake? I've had a family member killed in a shooting incident and two very close friends killed in separate incidents by drunk drivers and somehow I managed to restrain myself against vigilante killings, just as any sane person would.
And, as for your little quip about our lawmakers, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you mean the ones on both sides of the aisle and not just the ones that disagree with your political leanings.
Wait - Does this literally mean the bowling alley will put a CHECK in his coffin? Gee, how generous.
The check will be put into his casket, however it has no value at all since it would eventually pass by the void date and the pay will be forfeited. My hope is that the bowling alley will void the original check and the family will put it in his casket and then his former employer can issue a new one to be donated to a worthy cause. The story doesn't go into enough specifics to know whether this will be the case.
This is a ridiculous story. The kid is dead, and we want toa talk about a piece of paper? Nobel Prize for journalism, garbage..
@Coracii
I believe Gandhi said it best.
It's actually on the decline. FBI's crime statistics show that violent crime has been steadily decreasing since the early 90's.
Someone once posted an interesting statistic, and I have no idea whether it's true or not, but they contended that they had found it while researching for a sociology paper in college. They said that while violent crime had decreased by 43 percent since 1991 (that's from the FBI statistics-- I just checked), media reporting of violent incidences increased somewhere north of 400%. So even though violent crime has been reduced to levels not seen in decades (2009 marked the lowest per capita murder year in America in 45 years), the media makes it appear as though America has never been more violent and out of control. I've often criticized the media for sensationalism, so that statistic makes perfect sense to me.
Try him as an adult. He is 17; that's close enough. Find him guilty, execute him, preferably in public. Too bad the last part won't happen and this thug will be a burden on society for the rest of his life.
What we really need is severe restrictions on who can reproduce. His loser parents should not have reproduced at all.
The angry guy,
No. READ the article with a little comprehension. It says his brother stopped by to pick up his check and his parents plan to put it in his coffin.
All this means is that my rhetorical question still stands. The check will never be cashed, so the bowling alley never has to make good on it.
I saw this done in a movie or on TV once, and it was "black humor": friends and relatives of the deceased were so cheap (or maybe the deceased had been cheap) they were putting checks instead of cash or other gifts into the coffin.
Sadness written all over. They were all victims, including T.J. Lane.
Thank you for your comment. You are absolutely right!
My heart aches to hear the stories about these victims. I've shed many tears, everytime I hear more about them on the news or read it here online, but the fact is TJ Lane seems to be a victim in this as well... He is a 17 year old boy... Just that, a boy... It's been a well accepted fact in this country for many, many years that a 17 year old teenager is NOT CAPABLE of making a rational decision. That is why we don't let them vote, we don't let them buy cigarettes, we don't let them join the military, we don't let them buy guns and we don't let them get married (without a parent's consent)... It's an accepted fact that they are mentally incapable of making a rational decision at that age. We don't let them buy alcohol until they're 21 in most states because the common perception is that they're not mature enough to deal with the responsabilities nor consequences until then (and even that is questionable - most research seems to indicate that the brain still isn't done developing till mid-20's).
We don't know what troubled this boy so much that may have pushed him to this horrendous act. By the available accounts so far, he was a "good kid". No one has given any indication that he was "evil" by any means... Obviously, he was troubled - and then, he "snapped"...
My point is this: It is not our place to judge him (Leona, TexasLaw, etal)! That is up to the court and God Almighty. Instead of people spewing hate and self-righteous venom on these boards, it would be nice if they would spend just a fraction of their time doing something constructive: like tutoring or mentoring some kids, volunteering at a charity, reaching out to their neighbors, trying to understand someone who is different from you (another religeon, race, nationality or sexual identity) or even just trying to improve their own outlook on the world!
I believe we all need to be working toward a better tomorrow for everybody = There is no need for HATE!
Chuck-a-friend, thank you for so eloquently saying what I was thinking. I agree completely with you.
We were all 17 once, and we know the trials and tribulations of being a teenager. This kid is a nut, and people defending him or his actions disgust me.
He is NOT a victim of anything.
Mike 757, the kid (TJ) had a rough life...but you are correct, please don't defend a person that takes a gun to school to kill people that did nothing to him...if he had killed his dad then kudos to him, but not kids trying to get an education....
TJ Lane must pay for his crime. You can't just run around killing people because your life is not as pretty as others. And for those defend him, I wonder what would you said if the victim was your son or daughter? You are the reason why TJ Lane felt it was okay to kill others.
You can blow it out your ass with the "TJ is a victim, too" angle.
Burying the check with their son is just stupid. Why not donate it to some good cause, or give it to the families of the other victims?
Way to ruin a touching story.
It's being buried with him because that's what his family wants to do with it. Burying a $273.50 check might seem pointless to you but it's a symbolic act to his family. It's this young man's first paycheck and he earned it so he should have it.
I would suspect the employer now that he knows the check will never be cashed will not keep the money. Maybe he and the family have plans that they do not want to share with the media.
That is what I am hoping too John. That the employer will still give them the money in a second check...it would make sense.
It's a nice sentiment but here's what will happen behind the scenes with the accounting: If the check is never cashed, it will become stale and the former employer will be forced by law to either reissue it or turn over the funds to the state as unclaimed money. Companies are not permitted to keep the money if employees fail to cash paychecks. This is why you see those ads on tv telling you that your state may have money that is owed to you.
What they should do is void the paycheck and reissue it to the estate of the young man. Then his family can bury the original check with him and donate or use the reissued funds as they see fit.
Logical, or they could simply be proactive: Issue the check for burial, stop payment on it, and issue the replacement.
I agreed, just donate the money to a local charities or something....much better idea.....
It seems to me that we hear about these kind of mass shootings about 3-4 times a week, but I can't seem to find a resource that tabulates them. Every time I dare to suggest even the most minor of the additional gun control measures we could take to try to remedy this trend, I get shouted out by a bunch of folks who seem to fail to appreciate the number that are actually nationally reported--much less just how many and how often gun murders occur in the US.
I'm going to start counting shooting stories. #1
Thank you "Alo41009". They were all victims, including TJ Lane. I'm sure that that there is a lot that no one will ever know about what circumstances troubled him, so much that he felt compelled to do what he did or is alleged to have done. He isn't a monster, anymore than someone like "Leona-3232301" or "TexasLaw". It's not their place, nor ours to judge... A 17 year old boy is still just that, just a boy... It's well known, by almost everyone, that teenagers do not have the mental capacity, stability or maturity to make the "right" or rational decisions sometimes... I'm not trying to make excuses for him or teenagers in general, but they do make stupid, irrational decisions sometimes... That's why we don't let them vote! That's why we don't let them smoke! That's why we don't let them join the military! That's why we don't let them drink until they're 21! Which raises the next point: It's also a widely accepted fact that their brains and social skills aren't even fully developed until several years past that (in many cases, mid-20's, if ever...)
It is an extremely sad situation, all around. I have been heartbroken hearing about this incident and have shed many tears, especially hearing about the victims... It would be good if everyone would think about them, the victims and their families... Grieve with them, celebrate the good things that they had, cry over the things that they won't, but for "God's sake", it is not our place to judge, nor to rant and rave like we know what's what!
Chuck... sorry your post is nice, but doesn't wash..
A 17yo although not legally an adult, he or she fully comprehends right and wrong, life and death and what it means to shoot a firearm at another person with the intent to kill.
Oh, and we DO allow them to join the military with parental permission. We DO train them as warriors and we do and HAVE sent them to war, to capture, wound or kill an enemy combatant.
I'll agree that is is a VERY sad and tragic situation. However, my sympathies go to the families and friends of the VICTIMS of this young murderer, and that is exactly what he is a murderer.
Hopefully, he will be tried as an adult, and if the laws of the state permit, and he is found guilty (which should be a foregone conclusion considering the evidence against him including video footage), he should be sentenced to death.
Chuck is spouting this "the shooter's a victim" bullsh!t all over the place. I sure hope his multiple comments gets collapsed.
There were a few people I wanted to kill when I was in highschool, but luckily for them they made it out alive. These kids were blatantly racist, my teachers didn't know how to handle it, and I was just an awkward African immigrant who was still trying to figure out how to adjust to my new life. Life was already difficult and I didn't need their bullsh*t, but I got it anyway. Yet at that tender age of 15, I realized that being tried for murder would overwhelmingly jeopardize my ability to get into college, so I never did it. If I thought I could get away with it, I can't tell you I wouldn't have tried.
If this Idiot had shot his bullies, I would be lobbying for his extrication. Instead, he killed innocent kids. People who were just minding their own business. Don't let your own experiences move you into sympathy for him. This guy is a monster in kids' clothes. A psychopath, possibly. Do him a favor and send him back to his maker. God made a mistake on this one. His wiring is messed up.
Good post Baldman.
Baldman, it was a good post in that it is thought provoking. No necessarily the content. I was also bullied in high school. Where I came from, it was all the football players that bullied everyone that was not a part of the football team. They learned quickly that simply being in good shape by playing football was not enough to get away with their bullying. They had to do it as a team and they did it well. This had an affect on my high school experience that affected the rest of my life. I don't dwell on their bullying, just like someone that has a finger chopped off by a lawnmower when they are a kid. However, the kid that loses the finger does face a limitation on what they can do the rest of his life. A kid that is bullied will bear the remnants of that bullying the rest of their life.
While it is unclear to what extent the shooter was bullied by the people he shot, it is a probability that "The three who played pee-wee football together" decided that the "Outcast" that goes to a different school needed to be reminded on a daily basis what a dork he was and possibly how he was going to get his ass kicked because he was a dork. What a nice thing to have to face each and every day that you go to school.
So here is my take: Bullying sucks. It is more painful and debilitating than people who have not been bullied will ever know. If it comes out that he was bullied by any or all of these kids, I look at the shooter as a martyr. Maybe there is a chance that the next bully might think twice about threatening the "Outcast" that is going to come back and lodge a bullet in his spine. I say, if he was bullied like many kids are, use self-defense as his defense in court and I hope he walks.
Remember Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold? They were bullied and killed 13 people at Columbine in 1999. Why did TJ Harris leard from that?
Not to kill himself when it was over. It may have been the bullys that did not learn anything.
Terrorists are everewhere!
Cash the check, preferably in coins, then bury with Danny.
I lost my own son 4 1/2 years ago to an accidental shooting--it was strictly an accident, and his best friend was the one who fumbled the .9mm semi-automatic and hit the trigger, so that poor young man has to live with what happened for the rest of his life.
To all the families of the three boys who died; my heart goes out to every one of you. I know firsthand what the pain is, what it's like to lose a child this way. If any of you lost an only child, it's even harder--my son was my only child, and I miss him so much to this day. Reading about this, about your losses, brings back all the grief and memories of that time.
You will get through this, but it isn't easy. I had nobody to help me through, my parents having died together just one year before; those of you who have family to help you, turn to them! God is my Comforter now, but I didn't know Him at that time--and I wish I would have.
My condolences to you jayloelm. God Bless
Sorry for your loss, but no such thing as an accidental shooting...
Ray, yes there is.
In legal terms (with respect to a defense that the gun fired inadvertently) it is the difference between an "Accidental Discharge" and a "Negligent Discharge." An accidental discharge means that the gun fired due to some unforeseen mechanical issue or other problem not directly under the control of the individual holding or manipulating the firearm. A negligent discharge arises from misuse of the firearm, using it unsafely or in a manner not specified by the manufacturer (using it to pound nails on your baseboard, not clearing the chamber before cleaning), etc. -- basically any act that causes the firearm to discharge a live round when the user didn't intend it to that could have been prevented by the user is a negligent discharge.
The problems in the young man's family are a reason for his actions, but not an excuse for them. He still made a decision to take the gun to school. His father, uncle, brother, gun laws, and anything else are not to blame for that. I'm sure there were many points where he could of just put the gun down and gone home prior to arriving on school grounds, walking into the school, and pulling the trigger. Everyone is a victim of something. We all have war wounds. But everyone is also responsible for their own actions.
This same story will never go away. I don't even listen when I hear it on the news, never did. After all, "it's in the constitution" just perpetuates the conception. If a person wants to commit genocide, they will. No blaming the media, parents or society. I am a member of society but don't blame me for this. The easy accessibility to firearms is the sole reason for the death of thousands in this country every year but yet we cry when one is killed in Afghanistan. Ridiculous, just ridiculous.
There's no way to fix people like this. Society has created monsters that don't care about the consequences of their actions. It's a shame and a big problem that won't soon go away.
First, my heart and my prayers go out to everyone affected in this senseless act of violence.
Second, tighter gun control will not make a difference because:
A - The perpetrator cannot legally own a firearm under current laws
B - Tightening of gun control laws would have made no difference whatsoever in this case
C - Responsible gun ownership includes restricting access to them and securing then when not in use
D - More people of the ages
Please do not let emotions cloud the critical thinking process and lead to further restrictions of a basic birth-right of every American.
Restricting sales of guns may or may not make a difference, but I bet that if you make the gun owner liable for any murders committed by another person with his gun would work.
If you own a gun, you and you alone are responsible for securing it. For those that own guns that are used to murder, the death penalty should apply to them just as much as the person that actually pulled the trigger.
You want your guns and your 2end amendment? Fine, you take full responsibility when your weapon is used by someone else...
Again, my sincere condolences to the victims and their families of this senseless murder.
I would hope that the former employer utilize the monies not paid in wages to assist the families of the victims.
"...his first paycheck – $273.50. It wasn’t a lot of money..." I bet it would have been a lot to Danny! I got my first job at a fast food restaurant at 17 in 1967 and made the minimum wage of $1.25/hr. I used to tell friends to throw their garbage on the lot because it meant I'd work an extra 1/2 hour sweeping it up before being told to clock out for the night! Gasoline was about 33 cents/gallon then and a cheap date at the drive-in cost $3-$4 for 2, including food & drink from the concession stand. My first paycheck was in the neighborhood of $20. I thought I had it made!
Headline: School shooting victim never got first paycheck! Who gives a sh*t! The poor kid is dead! The media has nothing better to write about? How about a little respect for the dead? First paycheck buried with him....you people are morons.
Lazy morons and certainly not journalist.
Funny to me how many posters always know what to do with other peoples money.
Yeah, that's sad but it's not really a news story. What's next? How he never bought that first car or how he's never going to get laid. His life was cut short and that's a tragedy but articles about all the things he never did or will never do is NOT news. Even for MSNBC this is a new low in laziness. But the only thing that really surprises me about it is that there was no big red 'breaking news' banner on it!
The uncle who left his gun in an unsecured location should be prosecuted and spend time in Prison IMHO.
I support the right to own guns but with that, I believe, also comes the responsibility to keep them out of the hands of other people and if you don't do so you should be responsible for what those people do with the gun.
It amazes me that people are so concerned with them burying the check and not cashing it. It's a lousy $273.50. It's that poor little boy's first paycheck. I can't imagine caring about that money or whether the employer then gets to keep in, when I'm in the wake of losing my child. My heart aches just reading this story. But may his family have some comfort in the fact that Danny, Russell, and Demetrius are still having fun together up in heaven!
For the most part, I think teens can be saved from themselves. Let's say they got involved in drugs, stole money, got into a fight, stole a car, skipped school a lot etc. I am ALL FOR REHABILITATION for young people. But what's sad about this, is it wasn't a mere fight, it wasn't a drug deal gone wrong, he didn't steal a car (he stole a DEADLY weapon) he wasn't skipping classes. INNOCENT STUDENTS DIED in a RANDOM MASSACRE by a teen intent on doing evil. It wasn't accidental, it was planned.
TOTALLY SAD for all involved. Parents of the kids who died will be tortured, while thinking about their child's last moments. The child who is now disabled will need attention until the day he dies. The family of the shooter is also in torment,
People pretend to give a dam* about this 17 year old kid but no one could have helped him and the scary thing about this is that there are hundreds more out there just waiting to explode. Nothing will be done unless one of these lost kids kills a polititicion's or rich persons child. Then millions of dollars will suddenly come out of nowhere to try to do something. As long as we allow the pimps,drug dealers,sex abusers,homosexuals to exist the children will be at risk. Also let me say the same thing about the scum bags who perment the top of our society, the doctors, lawyers,police, teachers who are in the position to abuse children with almost immunity. WE must start executing these things, thye are not human beings. The only reason human beings have survived this long is because we are at the top of the food chain, one of these days something will come along no matter if animal or microbe and will end our days. WE must start executing these slugs of society and to hell with the leftist liberals who think these things can be saved, and as I have said until it happens to one of their's nothing will be done. The only cure for murderers and people who abuse children is execution, if they are not here they will not be abusing or killing anymore.
I can understand shooting someone to protect your family or yourself. I can't fathom shooting someone just because they happen to be there. I feel sure that the shooters family may be responsible for at least a pat of his behavior! I think it was a huge mistake to take prayer out of schools. If someone doesn't beleive then don't listen to the prayers. Why take it away from the majority of people that do believe for the sake of a small monority? That makes no sense whatsoever! It looks like our society is in desperate need of something to keep these kids from randomly killing others! Red
I think TJ Lane should be dropped off on Mckean island. There he will be unable to harm anyone, but he will be responsible for his own survival. This way the people who are all "Aww, he was just a victim too" can be happy knowing that he is still alive, yet still punished for his crimes and that others will be safe from him.
There are millions of people who have horrible childhoods. They lose parents, are the victims of bullying, have alcoholic or drug addicted parents, etc. etc. Fortunately for society, most of those people are able to become productive citizens, who do not take up guns to kill the innocent.
There is NO EXCUSE for what this kid did. NONE. I am angered when every time there is a tragedy like this, the first thing reported is the "suffering" of the perpetrator as a child, or the "reasons" he turned to be a vicious killer. This boy was 16, he was not a three year old who could not understand his actions, he had the capacity to reason and make choices.
Although I believe that there is a link between escalating violence in the schools and streets and violent video games, restricting gun ownership and outlawing video games is an "easy" fix will not help, as anyone who wants to circumvent the system will find a way to do so. Rather, actually paying attention to your child's behavior and if you are a friend/teacher/relative, becoming involved to solve any problems is the key. Many parents ignore their children and are not aware of what is wrong with them until it is too late.
I just wonder: How can there ever be justice for something as senseless as random killings? Can we mete out a punishment fitting the crime, yet still retain our sense of morality? I only hope that perpetrator is tried as an adult, and they take away his life through incarceration, as he has taken away the lives of three others. And yet, this still would not be "justice."