looks like a friendly kid.
A heavily armed 14-year-old boy shot and killed his school principal inside a crowded junior high cafeteria Thursday morning, then killed himself, authorities said.
The shootings happened about 15 minutes before the start of classes at Red Lion Area Junior High School.
"Everyone ran out of the cafeteria yelling, 'He has a gun!'" said eighth-grader Danny Dulin.
The shooter, also an eighth-grader, had multiple weapons and fired at least two shots with a handgun, said Red Lion Borough Police Chief Walt Hughes. Police do not believe anyone else was involved and were investigating where the boy got the guns.
The principal, Eugene Segro, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. Segro had been at the school for more than a decade and was believed to be in his early 50s, said Terry Robinson, the school district's business manager.
The suspect's parents were helpful and said they had no reason to think anything was wrong, according to police.
"They're upset, distraught," Hughes said.
Neither he nor Robinson was aware of any recent turmoil at the school, about 30 miles southeast of Harrisburg in south-central Pennsylvania.
Police and schools Superintendent Larry Macaluso declined to identify the teenager, but said he was not known for disciplinary problems. They did not know of any disputes between him and Segro.
Other students said the principal was well-liked.
"He was fair and wasn't mean to anyone," said seventh-grader Matt Templeton.
Mike Baublitz, 19, recalled Segro's kindness on the day he graduated from the school.
"He shook my hand and said, 'If you ever need anything, come and talk to me,'" Baublitz said.
The school's approximately 875 students were taken to nearby Red Lion Area Senior High School after the shooting, and students from both schools were later dismissed for the day. Students who witnessed the shooting met with counselors, police said.
Robinson said the school does not have metal detectors but does have security cameras.
The same school district was the site of a machete attack on a kindergarten class that injured a principal, two teachers and 11 of the 23 pupils in 2001. A Tennessee man angry about his divorce and allegations he had molested his stepdaughters pleaded guilty to the attack and was sentenced to 132 to 264 years in prison.
sad
