One teen shoots another at Oregon school, surrenders

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP)– A high school freshman armed with a handgun shot and wounded a sophomore this morning and then walked to a restaurant, where customers watched in horror as he stood outside and put the gun to his head.

The 14-year-old shooter then surrendered to police.

Students milling around the courtyard at Roseburg High School watched in shock as the teen — using what doctors said was a large-caliber handgun — shot sophomore Joseph Monti, 16 in the chest and abdomen just before classes were to begin, hitting him four times. A doctor reported he was shot from behind.

The school was immediately locked down.

The shooter and the victim are students at the high school, said Detective Lt. Pat Moore of Roseburg Police Department.

The suspect, who was not identified, is a 14-year-old freshman, said Sgt. Aaron Dunbar. Police had initially put his age at 16. Dunbar said no decision has been made about charges.

Dunbar said the shooting wasn't random and that the two knew each other. "We're trying to come up with what the beef was. But there's indication there was some problem at some level," Dunbar said.

According to witnesses, the shooter walked away from the scene. Dunbar said two students followed him down the street, shouting at him to stop, but he continued to walk and at one point aimed the gun at them.

Police cars followed the teen about 500 yards to Charley's BBQ restaurant, their sirens blaring, said Kenny Russell, the restaurant cook.

The 35 customers in the restaurant "were all freaking out. Some of them were getting under the tables," Russell said.

"When he looked at me with the gun to his head, he looked really distraught, really upset," the cook said.

Police officers confronted the teen, their guns drawn, Russell said. The teen was then led away in handcuffs.

The victim "is doing very well, better than can be expected considering the bullet wounds," Vic Fresolone, CEO of Roseburg's Mercy Medical Center, told Northwest Cable News.

Since the victim is only 16, Fresolone said, "he can tolerate this better than the rest of us can."

He said surgeons had repaired intestinal damage caused by the most serious of the wounds.

Kathleen Nickel, the hospital spokeswoman, said the victim was shot twice in the abdomen and once in the chest, and a bullet grazed his left elbow. She said surgeons believe he was shot from behind. Dunbar said police aren't sure how many rounds were fired, and there's a possibility the shot that grazed Monti's elbow continued into his torso.

A surgeon talked to the victim, who was conscious when he got to the hospital, Nickel said. "He didn't have any recollection of what occurred," she said.

A nearby elementary school in the Southern Oregon town also was locked down as a precaution.

When asked about possible motives, Moore, the police detective, said police are working on three different theories, but he said at the moment he couldn't divulge them.

A town of about 20,000, Roseburg like much of Southern Oregon was once dominated by the now-faltering timber industry and has gained economic strength in recent years through retirees, fueling a real estate boom.