Shooting in Discovery Middle School!!! (Madison: house, luxury, school district)

[Elizabeth_G]

Gangs? Good lord. I'm sorry, if my daughter was in a gang by golly I WOULD KNOW IT. I read her text messages randomly, facebook, emails,etc. SHE HAS NO FREEDOM. She is 16, but still a child. These parents need to wake up and smell the damn roses. This just makes me sick. Parents need to get involved and stay there!!! I was a single mother of 2 very loved adopted children. My son was 7 when I got him and had been "around the block" already, suffering abuse at the hands of his "birth parents". Gee, they don't even deserve that title. Anyway, my son was a handful, to say the least. I sat on him HARD, because I had to. He had every sign of heading down the wrong road during his teen years. He pulled through, because I didn't give up on him and stayed ON him. I sacrificed my life for his, as a parent should!!! If I could do it by golly, anyone can.

Don't get me wrong...I do give my daughter reasonable privacy. However, she knows at any time I WILL read her text messages, etc.

Being a parent should NOT be a God given right...the kids suffer in the end. Oh wow...don't even get me started. Rant over.

[macwell]

Updated: Feb 09, 2010 5:44 PM CST
Defense gives revealing interview about school shooting - WAFF.com: North Alabama News, Radar, Weather, Sports and Jobs-





Madison police chief says 10 students at Discovery Middle School wanted to affiliate with national gang | Breaking News from The Huntsville Times - al.com
By Lee Roop
February 09, 2010, 4:36PM
MADISON, AL -- Madison Police Chief Larry Muncey confirmed today that a group of fewer than 10 students at Discovery Middle School -- including the two involved in last Friday's fatal shooting -- had attempted to affiliate themselves with a national gang.

Muncey said both the victim, Todd T. Brown, 14, and the alleged 14-year-old shooter, whose name has not yet been released, were a part of this group that sought to join a gang, but didn't know how to do it.
"They went online and learned how to walk, how to talk and how to dress," Muncey said at a news conference today at Discovery Middle School.

Bruce Gardner, the lawyer for the student charged with murder in the fatal shooting, said both considered themselves to be members of the national gang, the Crips.

The parents of all the students involved have been brought in and told of their children's membership in the group, Muncey said. "(The students) thought it was cool, but when their parents came in, I don't think they thought it was cool anymore," Muncey said.

Muncey said they don't believe there are any other such groups at any other Madison schools, and these students were "kids searching for an affiliation."

Muncey also confirmed that there were surveillance cameras in the hallway at Discovery Middle, but he would not confirm or deny that a camera caught the shooting on tape.

[rmepilot]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth_G

Gangs? ......................... Rant over.

Excellent rant E_G, you really hit the nail on the head.

I applaud you for going the extra mile for your kids!

[Reactionary]

Not funny, but as an example of how clueless adults can be - the pray for Todd pages got messages saying wear blue to school on Monday (solidarity, Todd's favorite color, etc.) Even adults chimed in saying 'good idea'. Those people got played if they unknowingly wore gang colors to school on Monday.

[tammie2]

I tried to rep you Elizabeth, but it won't let me grrrrr. Great post, you hit the nail on the head. I have always wondered how parents can be so clueless. I know if I was stockpiling guns in the basement(Columbine), my mother would have known(somehow she knew everything and I hated it then but I love her for it now), and I think I will know with my 2 also.

[ConfusedinMadison]

Dee Fowler still has not answered question as to whether shooter attended Patriot Academy (Alternative School on Discovery Campus).

Also...

Shooter was enrolled in Discovery this school year, but his parents residence remains in Liberty School zone. Why was he attending Discovery in the first place.

Did Shooter have any disciplinary issues at Liberty Middle (i.e. Gang-related Graffiti, bringing a knife to school, threatening a student, etc) prior to "transferring" to Liberty? If so, was this info shared with Discovery Middle or was it hidden because his parents plead with Liberty Middle administration and agreed to disenroll him from Liberty?

[friday13]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Not funny, but as an example of how clueless adults can be - the pray for Todd pages got messages saying wear blue to school on Monday (solidarity, Todd's favorite color, etc.) Even adults chimed in saying 'good idea'. Those people got played if they unknowingly wore gang colors to school on Monday.

Seen the "call for blue" myself, however, also big white ribbons were shown on TV, at that time I was wondering what had happened with the blue?

[RogueMom]

That old excuse "but he is really such a good boy" is REALLY getting old. "Good boys" don't take the lives of other people. Ever.

[Elizabeth_G]

Originally Posted by ConfusedinMadison

Dee Fowler still has not answered question as to whether shooter attended Patriot Academy (Alternative School on Discovery Campus).

Also...

Shooter was enrolled in Discovery this school year, but his parents residence remains in Liberty School zone. Why was he attending Discovery in the first place.

Did Shooter have any disciplinary issues at Liberty Middle (i.e. Gang-related Graffiti, bringing a knife to school, threatening a student, etc) prior to "transferring" to Liberty? If so, was this info shared with Discovery Middle or was it hidden because his parents plead with Liberty Middle administration and agreed to disenroll him from Liberty?

My understanding was he had sold drugs at Liberty. LCTMadison knows the true scoop. If you watch the video someone posted by the defense attorney, he makes no mention of drugs....but then, why would he.

[LCTMadison]

Here's what I know.....

1. The kid painted gang related graffiti on a bunch of fences in the neighborhood he lives in. The police were contacted, but believed it was just kid pranks, since the graffiti was not what the real "crips" would paint (symbols and such). They did paint "crips" and "southside crips" on the fences. It is still there on one.
2. He was placed in the Patriot Academy (which is at Discovery) for selling dope at Liberty
3. Other than the dope, I do not believe he was ever in "major" trouble (it's news to me about the knife/violence rumors). We never knew him to be a violent kid, just troubled.
4. He told a lot of kids that his dad was "abusive" and beat him. That is not something we ever witnessed, just something he told many kids. I do know the kids, including his young siblings, were very rarely supervised when outside playing, and are much too young to be left out by themselves.

A lot of this stuff is things I knew BEFORE this happened, so this info is not based on rumors that have been circulating since last Friday. All of this is second hand info, but from people who are in the "know". I would trust their info to be correct.
While this event was SHOCKING, I was not at all surprised when I heard he was involved.
Another rumor is circulating that the family are illegals. That is absolutely not true.

I truly believe that, at least in the accused kid's case, that they turned to this "gang" lifestyle to fulfill something that they were MISSING elsewhere in their life, whether it be their homelife or something else. I feel very badly for his siblings, they are very sweet children. There has always been something "off" about this family IMO.

And also, I am a card carrying member of the NRA, I believe in gun rights. My husband purchased a 22 calibur rifle for my son when he was 5 years old and began teaching him about gun safety and a respect for guns from a young age. I was taught to shoot by my father, and my husband's father always taught all three of his kids about gun safety and the responsibility that comes along with having a weapon. We have several guns in our home, all which are put away and our pistol is kept in a locked case. Please, if you are going to keep guns in your home, be upfront and open with your kids. Kids are going to have a natural curiosity regarding guns, but if you teach your children from an early age, they will quickly learn a respect for these weapons and what they are meant for.