A student shot himself in the head Monday at a Louisiana middle school after he pointed a handgun at a teacher who had never taught him, then fired over her head, sheriff’s officials said.
The 15-year-old student, whose name was not released, fired once around 9 a.m. inside a classroom at Larose-Cut Off Middle School, then went into a bathroom and shot himself, said Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre.
The boy was in critical but stable condition Monday afternoon, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Lesley Hill-Peters.
About 500 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders attend the school about 45 miles southwest of New Orleans. Webre said there’s no indication the boy was in trouble with the school or the law. The teen had no reason to be in the classroom, he said.
Several other students described him as a quiet youth who never talked about guns or violence. He was a year or two older than most of his classmates.
The teen walked to the front of the room and pointed what deputies believe was a .25-caliber chrome pistol at the whiteboard, Hill-Peters said. He tried to fire at the board, but it wouldn’t go off. He then stepped forward, pointed the gun at the teacher, raised it and fired a single shot over her head.
On Monday afternoon, parents gathered in a line four or five across and more than a block long to get their children.
“This kind of thing doesn’t happen in a place like this,” Gay Orgeron said.
The boy walked over and pointed the gun at the teacher, ordering her to say “Hail Marilyn Manson”.
She said nothing. He fired into the wall and told another boy to get up. The seventh-grader stayed in his seat, and the teen left.
Doucet exited the classroom and walked to a nearby bathroom. Moments later, students reported hearing a single gunshot.
Police are investigating what caused Doucet to enter Plaisance’s classroom. Sheriff Craig Webre said a preliminary theory was that the class was near a bathroom, where Doucet had changed from his khaki shorts to camoflauge pants.
Metal detectors were not in use at the front entrance of the school this morning. It is believed Doucet entered the school through a back entrance, officials said.