Prosecutors today alleged that the shooting of 15-year-old eighth-grader at an Oxnard campus by a classmate was a hate crime.
The 14-year-old defendant was charged with premeditated murder with a special allegation of using a firearm in the commission of a hate crime. The victim, Lawrence King, was declared brain dead on Wednesday and will be taken off a ventilator today so that some organs can be removed for donation, officials said.
Prosecutors will ask that the boy be tried as an adult once King is taken off a ventilator, said senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox. She declined to discuss the hate-crime allegation.
"We've never had a violent shooting like this in Ventura County," Fox said. "It's very tragic."
Defense attorney Brian Vogel said the defendant and his family, who were in court for his arraignment hearing, were also hurting.
The boy and his "family are terribly sad to learn that [King] is brain dead," Vogel said.
He said the defendant, whose name is being withheld because of his age, did not have a prior criminal history and was generally a good student. Vogel said the boy just turned 14 on Jan. 24.
King was shot in the head early Tuesday in a classroom full of students at E.O. Green Junior High School.
Police said the suspect shot King at least twice at the beginning of their first-period English class and then fled the campus. The boy was apprehended by police a few blocks away.
Several students at the south Oxnard campus said King and his alleged assailant had a falling-out stemming from King's sexual orientation. The teenager sometimes wore feminine clothing and makeup, and proclaimed he was gay, students said.
"He would come to school in high-heeled boots, makeup, jewelry and painted nails -- the whole thing," said Michael Sweeney, 13, an eighth-grader. "That was freaking the guys out."
Student Juan Sandoval, 14, said he shared a fourth-period algebra class with the suspect, whom he described as a calm, smart student who played on the basketball team.
"I didn't think he was that kind of kid," Sandoval said. "I guess you never know. He made a big mistake."
"Their lives are both destroyed now," said student Hansley Rivera, 12.
Several students said that a day before the shooting, King and several boys had some kind of altercation during the lunch period.
Jay Richard Smith, executive director of Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, a nonprofit group which advocates gay and lesbian rights, attended today's court hearing and said his group would be keeping a close eye on the trial.
"This is an equality issue," he said. "Every child should be able to go to school and be safe. We want to make sure that happens."
Bullying in schools has long been a problem. But recent studies show that a student who comes "out" as gay or lesbian is far more likely to suffer abuse than others, said Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network based in New York.
A student thought to be gay was five times as likely to be threatened or injured by a weapon, a 2002 California Department of Education study said.
Jennings said other studies have found similar results. His group advocates more teacher training on how to handle bullying and harassment, specifically of gay students.
"This Oxnard shooting is very upsetting but not surprising," Jennings said. "The real issue is not the kid coming out, but the kid sitting next to him. Schools must teach that we may not like one another, but we must respect one another."
Teachers and counselors at E.O. Green Junior High, meanwhile, sought to calm fears about escalating violence at the south Oxnard campus. Hueneme School District Supt. Jerry Dannenberg said the school would have extra staff and police on campus for the next few days.
Counselors will be on hand as long as needed, Dannenberg said. The school district will hold a meeting for parents next week to discuss concerns.
This week's shooting was a first, not only for the school but for all of Ventura County, which has never before seen a classroom fatality.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,7663055.story
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