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[Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>]

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               TEEN KILLS 2 AT SCHOOL; MOTHER FOUND DEAD AT HOME
                                       
     Woodham October 1, 1997
     Web posted at: 3:38 p.m. EDT (1938 GMT)
     
     PEARL, Mississippi (CNN) -- A Mississippi teen-ager slashed his
     mother's throat Wednesday morning before going on a shooting rampage
     at his high school that left two students dead and at least six
     wounded, authorities said.
     
     The high school junior, Luke Woodham, was arrested and charged with
     three counts of murder shortly after the shooting at Pearl High
     School, about three miles east of the state capital, Jackson.
     
     Police Chief Bill Slade choked back tears as he told reporters,
     "This was a disgruntled girlfriend-boyfriend thing... We talked to
     the youth. He gave us a statement and his manifesto was that he felt
     he had been wronged."
     
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     A L S O :
     
     Message Board: Violence in U.S. Schools 
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     Pearl Mayor Jimmy Foster describes what happened icon 308K/27 sec.
     AIFF or WAV sound Pearl Police Chief Bill Slade explains what
     measures will be taken to help traumatized students icon 219K/20
     sec. AIFF or WAV sound One student's mother is shocked icon 255KB/19
     sec. AIFF or WAV sound
     
     A former girlfriend of the suspect was one of two students killed at
     the school.
     
     Slade also said police suspect that the student had killed his
     mother, Mary T. Woodham, 50, at home earlier Wednesday by slashing
     her throat.
     
     The shooting happened about 8:10 a.m. as buses were arriving at the
     school. David Williams, a sophomore, said the gunman walked into the
     commons area inside the front of the school, pulled a rifle from his
     jacket and opened fire.
     
     "He was shooting anybody he could find. He shot at me and hit the
     staircase," said Mark Wilkerson, a freshman. "I saw fragments going
     everywhere." Medic offering help
     
     One student described the accused youth as reserved. "He was a very
     quiet person," said Alan Burrow.
     
     Four wounded students, ranging in age from 14 to 18, were taken to
     Rankin Medical Center in Brandon, Mississippi, where one student had
     already been treated and released. Grieving students gathered in
     hospital waiting rooms.
     
     "The injuries are non-critical gunshot wounds," hospital spokesman
     Mark Lee said. "In layman's terms they are flesh wounds."
     
     Officials shut down the school almost immediately after the shooting
     and sent all students home.
     
     Rhonda Marks, a spokeswoman at River Oaks Hospital, said two
     students had been brought into the hospital for treatment. Marks did
     not know if the hospital would receive any more wounded.
     
   
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