Heritage High School shooting
Encyclopedia
The Heritage High School shooting occurred May 20, 1999, at Heritage High School located in Conyers, Georgia
. The gunman was 15-year-old, high school sophomore, Thomas Solomon, Jr. He shot six students in the school's common area before getting subdued.
This shooting occurred one month after the Columbine High School massacre
in Littleton, Colorado. Following the Columbine shooting, staff members sent a notice to the parents of the students at Heritage High stating that an attack of that magnitude was considered impossible at Heritage.
On the day of the shooting, Thomas Solomon stole a .22 caliber long rifle and a .357 caliber revolver from his stepfather's firearm cabinet. He concealed the rifle in the pant-leg of his baggy jeans and concealed the handgun in his backpack. Solomon arrived at Heritage High around 7:55 a.m. by school bus; the incident began at 8:03 a.m. Solomon entered the common area, brandished his rifle, and began indiscriminately firing at students, wounding six. While leaving through an exit door, he dropped the rifle and extracted the handgun from his pack. Once outside, he placed the barrel of the handgun in his mouth in a suicidal gesture. Before he fired the weapon, assistant principal Cecil Brinkley dissuaded Solomon from committing suicide.
Six students were wounded during the shooting. One, 15-year-old Stephanie Laster, was in severe condition and underwent surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital
after a bullet entered her hip and passed through her intestines. The remaining five, four boys and one girl, had far less serious wounds. Solomon was arrested and placed on suicide watch
at a juvenile reformatory. The incident was jointly investigated by the GBI and the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office with assistance from other State and Federal agencies.
Eddy Regnier, who taught psychiatry
at Harvard University
, and was hired by defense attorneys to examine Solomon, said Solomon had suicidal thoughts and was believed to hear voices giving him commands. "He heard voices telling him to do strange things, but they were robotic voices, not human voices", said Dr. Regnier. "On the one side is this really nice guy, but on the other side is a kid harboring angry feelings, who had made two suicide attempts, who spent his time thinking of death. He’s bringing guns to school. He’s talking to friends, and what are they talking about?" Solomon talked about shooting people at school and showed off the guns his stepfather kept in his basement.
Thomas Solomon faced 10 charges against him: six counts of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm on school property, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. On Aug. 11, 1999, the judge ruled that Solomon was to be tried as an adult. On Oct. 2, 2000, T.J. Solomon entered two pleas of guilty but mentally ill. On Nov. 9, 2000, Solomon was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 65 years of probation. Solomon's attorney, Ed Garland said "I'm very sad; I'm very disappointed T.J. will not be provided treatment for his mental illness," after the sentence was announced.
On August 17, 2001, Solomon's sentence was commuted to 20 years. He remains on suicide watch at Arrendal. He will be eligible for parole in 2017, when he is 33 years old.
Conyers, Georgia
Conyers is the only city in Rockdale County, Georgia, USA. It is twenty-four miles east of Atlanta. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,689. Census estimates of 2005 indicate a population of 12,205. The city is the county seat of Rockdale County. By 2009, the reported population was...
. The gunman was 15-year-old, high school sophomore, Thomas Solomon, Jr. He shot six students in the school's common area before getting subdued.
This shooting occurred one month after the Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
in Littleton, Colorado. Following the Columbine shooting, staff members sent a notice to the parents of the students at Heritage High stating that an attack of that magnitude was considered impossible at Heritage.
The shooting
| Shooting victims |
| 1. Brian Barnhardt, age 16 |
| 2. Stephanie Laster, age 15 |
| 3. Jason Cheek, age 17 |
| 4. Cania Collins, age 15 |
| 5. Drake Hoy, age 18 |
| 6. Ryan Rosa, age 18 |
On the day of the shooting, Thomas Solomon stole a .22 caliber long rifle and a .357 caliber revolver from his stepfather's firearm cabinet. He concealed the rifle in the pant-leg of his baggy jeans and concealed the handgun in his backpack. Solomon arrived at Heritage High around 7:55 a.m. by school bus; the incident began at 8:03 a.m. Solomon entered the common area, brandished his rifle, and began indiscriminately firing at students, wounding six. While leaving through an exit door, he dropped the rifle and extracted the handgun from his pack. Once outside, he placed the barrel of the handgun in his mouth in a suicidal gesture. Before he fired the weapon, assistant principal Cecil Brinkley dissuaded Solomon from committing suicide.
Six students were wounded during the shooting. One, 15-year-old Stephanie Laster, was in severe condition and underwent surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital
Grady Memorial Hospital
Grady Memorial Hospital, frequently referred to as Grady Hospital or simply Grady, is the largest hospital in the state of Georgia and the public hospital for the city of Atlanta. It is the 5th largest public hospital in the United States, as well as one the busiest Level I trauma centers in the...
after a bullet entered her hip and passed through her intestines. The remaining five, four boys and one girl, had far less serious wounds. Solomon was arrested and placed on suicide watch
Suicide watch
Suicide watch is an intensive monitoring process used to ensure that an individual does not die by suicide. Usually the term is used in reference to inmates in a prison, hospital, psychiatric hospital, or military bases...
at a juvenile reformatory. The incident was jointly investigated by the GBI and the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office with assistance from other State and Federal agencies.
Trial
When the police searched Solomon's room, they discovered he had carefully planned the shooting. A note found under his bed made reference to the Columbine massacre and the Trench Coat Mafia, along with three pages of bomb recipes. The note read, "One big question I leave behind for you to find is why." The note was read by GBI Agent Gary Nicholson during a juvenile court hearing for Thomas Solomon. The note also read, "...but for the sake of my brothers and sisters related to the Trench Coat Mafia, those answers will have to remain out of the public eye." The backside of the note read, "I am laughing at the victims who are getting down on their knees screaming, ‘Please, dear God, please don’t let this crooked fuck murder me.’" Teeunia Stroud, who ate lunch with Solomon everyday testified that he had brought bomb-making instructions to school after the Columbine massacre. Stroud stated, "He said that the kids at Columbine were aiming at certain people, and that slowed them down. He said that if he ever shot up Heritage High, he would shoot everybody and not aim. He said he would even shoot me, but I didn’t pay any attention to him."Eddy Regnier, who taught psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and was hired by defense attorneys to examine Solomon, said Solomon had suicidal thoughts and was believed to hear voices giving him commands. "He heard voices telling him to do strange things, but they were robotic voices, not human voices", said Dr. Regnier. "On the one side is this really nice guy, but on the other side is a kid harboring angry feelings, who had made two suicide attempts, who spent his time thinking of death. He’s bringing guns to school. He’s talking to friends, and what are they talking about?" Solomon talked about shooting people at school and showed off the guns his stepfather kept in his basement.
Thomas Solomon faced 10 charges against him: six counts of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm on school property, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. On Aug. 11, 1999, the judge ruled that Solomon was to be tried as an adult. On Oct. 2, 2000, T.J. Solomon entered two pleas of guilty but mentally ill. On Nov. 9, 2000, Solomon was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 65 years of probation. Solomon's attorney, Ed Garland said "I'm very sad; I'm very disappointed T.J. will not be provided treatment for his mental illness," after the sentence was announced.
Motives
One possible motive for the shooting was the separation from his girlfriend. Some of Solomon's friends spoke of his resentment of Jason Cheek, a popular boy two years older who was advanced in three sports. Cheek had teased Solomon, they said, but it was unclear if Cheek was a primary target. Cheek, who was shot twice in the leg denied taunting Solomon. "He really picked on T.J. just because T.J. was so quiet", says another friend of Solomon's. "You know, like being quiet made him weird in the eyes of that little clique of theirs." Solomon took the teasing hard, and even though he had friends, he seemed to become convinced that he was destined to be the campus pariah, "and that idea kept building inside him until he picked up a gun", says Stacey Singleton. To make matters worse, the kids say, Solomon believed his girlfriend had recently turned her charms on Jason, of all people. T.J. and the girl had bickered recently, and he thought the relationship had ended. Her friends say she denies they had broken up. Solomon had become increasingly uninterested in school, and the day before the shootings, he got in a fiery argument with two classmates during fourth-period study hall; it ended when Solomon said he would "blow up this classroom". That same day, T.J. told one of his friends he had no reason to live.Aftermath
On January 30, 2001, T.J Solomon, was found unconscious in his jail cell at Arrendal State Prison. He had passed out after taking an antidepressant called Elavil, which was not prescribed to him. Drug experts say Elavil is sometimes taken recreationally by people who hope it will enhance their mood. Randall Tackett, a pharmacy professor at the University of Georgia, said the drug might have reacted with another medication Solomon might have been taking. The police treated it as an attempted suicide.On August 17, 2001, Solomon's sentence was commuted to 20 years. He remains on suicide watch at Arrendal. He will be eligible for parole in 2017, when he is 33 years old.