A paranoid schizophrenic returned to his childhood middle school with a shotgun and opened fire in the hallways, killing a custodian and wounding three other men before he too was shot and arrested.
None of the 500 students at Wickliffe Middle School was injured. A police officer and a teacher were in critical condition, and an assistant principal and the gunman also were wounded, police said.Keith A. Ledeger, 37, will be charged with murder and attempted murder, Police Chief Jim Fox said. A judge will determine when and where Ledeger will be arraigned, either in the hospital or later when he is able to appear in court, Fox added.
Eleven-year-old Tanya Krishack said she was in the school's office when the gunman arrived shortly after 2 p.m. Witnesses said he was wearing a dark jacket, possibly from a camouflage outfit.
The gunman asked for Assistant Principal James A. Anderson, 51, and shot him in the lower back and buttocks. He was treated and released.
Custodian Peter Christopher, 41, confronted the gunman and was killed.
Officer Thomas Schmidt, 47, then pursued the gunman down hallways and was shot several times. He was in critical condition Tuesday.
The gunman pushed aside a seventh-grade girl. Teacher Lowell Grimm pushed her to safety inside a gymnasium. The gunman then turned on Grimm; he was in critical condition early Tuesday with gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen and arm.