WALPOLE, N.H. — A 14-year-old shot himself in the face in a New Hampshire elementary school cafeteria filled with dozens of students eating lunch, officials said Friday.
The teen, identified by a relative and fellow students as Hunter Mack, was hospitalized after shooting himself around 11 a.m. at Walpole Elementary School in southwestern New Hampshire. Police locked down the school for several hours, but no one else was injured.
Cheshire County Attorney Peter Heed told The Associated Press the student might have been upset about a “relationship issue” with a girl.
“It clearly involved a relationship issue; I think that is fair to say,” Heed told the AP.
As of Friday afternoon, the student was in serious condition in the intensive care unit.
“Our hearts go out to the family of this young man and our thoughts go out to all of the students that were in the school at this time,” Heed said at an afternoon news conference.
He did not say what kind of gun the student used or where he might have obtained it.
“We’re all just waiting to hear about our little boy,” said Cindy Mack, whose cousin is the boy’s father. “He’s a wonderful little boy. He’s an avid hunter — like his name. He is very smart. He won prizes at school. He shot his first deer last year. He’s a great, great kid.”
Ethan Symonds, a seventh-grader who was sitting at a table near the boy in the cafeteria, said he heard something “a little bit louder than a chip bag popping.” He said he did a double-take, saw blood and ran.
Seventy of the school’s approximately 170 students were in the cafeteria at the time. Nick Phillips, an eighth-grader in the student’s home room, said he had been passing notes during the week saying he was depressed, but it wasn’t clear why.
Parents received automated calls about the lockdown at about 1 p.m. They were allowed to come to the school to pick up their children, some of whom were interviewed by police.
“The state of New Hampshire is offering whatever assistance it can to the community, along with all of our thoughts and prayers,” Gov. John Lynch said in a statement.
Walpole, a town of about 3,000, is several miles from the Vermont state line and about 15 miles northwest of Keene.
Walpole Elementary School, which includes grades 5-8, is one of five schools that recently began participating in an experiment aimed at reducing bullying and meanness in New Hampshire schools.
The Courage to Care curriculum, developed at the University of New Hampshire, includes videos, activities and games emphasizing empathy, caring for others, understanding power, courage and being respectful in cyberspace. Half of the seventh graders in each participating school are enrolled in the program initially, while the other half serve as control groups to compare the curriculum’s effects.
Associated Press writer Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.
Pray for this young man
Yeah, that’ll help.
It must be a hard life to live when someone is as negative as you appear to be. Would you have the guts to stare in his parent’s eyes and make that comment?
I have the guts but not the inclination. My point is that “praying” does NOTHING to change the current course. How about teaching children about guns, teaching parents to lock them securely away when not in use, Letting children know that perhaps things are not as bad as they seem.
Praying encourages thinking, is there anything wrong with that?
No, except I don’t believe it does, Praying “excuses” people from actually doing something
you don’t know that it won’t.
…and you don’t know that it will
my point. too complicated for you to figure out obviously.
There are many of us who ‘know’ that it will.
C’mon, Harry. I don’t pray, don’t believe in god, none of that nonsense. But I at least had the decency to like the comment and keep the boy in my thoughts.
Not the time nor place, man.
Nice reply Aly, all except the ‘nonsense’ part. By using that term to describe one’s relationship with God is almost as bad as Harry’s comment.
Nonsense is subjective, with a meaning of little to no value. Meaning, little or no value to me.
To even bring up religious debate right now is nonsensical.
A terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to this young man and his family/friends. Seems he told the wrong people he was depressed. His classmates were not prepared or qualified to help him.
its too bad one of the other students whom was aware this child was depressed didnt have enough education to go to a teacher with those notes and get some help and might have been able to prevent this tragedy. my heart goes out to this child’s family and friends and may he recover from the injuries.
The person mentioned in the article (Nick Phillips) who said the shooter was depressed was his cousin. Hopefully the young lad will recover from the gunshot and then will be able to get the help he needs.
this is terible. please Pray that this young boy recovers and gets help with his ” depression.”
I was thinking that same thing. in reply to jklab’s comment.
Noticed the references to the child hunting, killing his first deer and now shooting himself. Guns should be kept away from children. There is no reason for children to learn to hunt at that age.
Oh please….there are millions of kids that target shoot and hunt that don’t intentially shoot themselves.
This unfortunate incident happened because of something a little deeper than the fact that he hunts.
We don’t give a driver’s license to a child until they’re 16. We should wait even longer to give a gun to a child.
That’s because the right to bare arms is in the Constitution, the right to drive is not.
I like to have my arms bare too, but usually in summer, February is a bit too cool…
Ha Ha, My mistake, That’s what I get for relying on spellcheck!
this comment is laughable. because there were cars in 1787, right?
Per NH law, no youth under the age of 16 is able to hunt without a hunting-licensed adult present. The same goes for driving, so there’s really no difference. We live in states where hunting is a way of life for many people. Unfortunately, this child would have found another way to attempt suicide if not by gun.
I disagree. The knowledge of firearms usage and safe handling should be ingrained by age 16.
I understand your concern for safety, but that applies to all hunters, regardless of age. I’m sure there are lots of people who committed suicide whom also happened to be hunters. If someone is depressed, s/he shouldn’t have access to weapons.
I don’t think 14-year-olds should be responsible for judging if another child is truly depressed or suicidal. Kids have enough to worry about in this day and age. The adults in a child’s life should be doing that.
There was no judging about this. The child said he was depressed. At the age of 14, kids don’t want to “tattle” on their friends for one reason or another. The adults in a child’s life may not know they are depressed. The child may make everything seem to be ok
Honestly, even when a person says they are depressed it is hard to know what the best thing to do for them is. It doesn’t matter if you’re 14 or if you are an adult. This is always just a hard situation all around..it’s easy to look back and say that’s it obvious someone should’ve said something…but you already know he was suicidal, at the time they didn’t…they didn’t know how serious his depression was. Hind-sight is twenty-twenty, but I’m sure that if you were in the same difficult situation that they people in this teen’s life were in you wouldn’t see an obvious answer you would find depression just as confusing and troubling to deal with as everyone. Depression is the problem here, it’s not something anyone has an easy time helping with.
Well said. I am honestly tired of reading “the kid that knew he was depressed should have said something”
Hind sight is 20-20. I am sure he is carrying some guilt with him for this, and hope that he too recovers.
The article states that the boy had been telling other students that he is depressed. Maybe we should be worrying about educating school children that if a classmate says they are depressed it’s important to go to their teacher or guidance counselor. I started hunting younger than this boy did. Kids who are taught to hunt learn gun safety and responsibility in the process. The problem here is that this boy was depressed and didn’t get help.
I got my first gun at age 6, got my first deer at age 13 and I have never shot myself or anyone else. Lets not blame the tool he used but the problem he had.
You typically hunt deer with a rifle, it would have been awful hard to get a rifle into a school without raising a huge amount of attention. The age to own a rifle is 16 and the age to buy one is 18.
The age to own a handgun is 18 and the age to buy a handgun is 21, 18 and 21 year olds are not children.
There is no need for your concern about children owning firearms as there are laws that prevent this. Theft is also illegal, so as you can see, more laws did nothing in this instance.
This morning’s Boston news said he was depressed about a girl and that it was a sawed off shotgun in his backpack. Regardless of the comments here of what gun he used, or whether he was old enough to hunt, etc. are completely irrelevant. ‘Love lost’ to a hormonal 14 year old can be a big deal.
I agree with your comment to Howdy completely (as if I matter) :)
Seems to me that a “sawed off shotgun” would make more noise than the described; “a little bit louder than a chip bag popping.”
I’m thinking auditory exclusion, I was in the same room when a primer went off in a reloading press and the bang didn’t sound nearly as loud as it does when you’re expecting it.
My thought too, but we all know the news to always be completely accurate…..
Don’t fall of your chair Buz, but I agree with you! :)
You mean that I really DO matter? :)
A bantering conversation is what it’s all about!
LOL I didn’t say you mattered (j/k)…..I said I agree with you! :P I’m sure we’ll banter on other things. :)
What about a law concerning locked gun cabinets with children in the home?
When I was a child, growing up in NH actually, my mother would not let me go to any of my friends’ houses if their parents had guns out or in an unlocked cabinet.
Seems like common sense to me…keep your guns locked up and away from children. :/
Not arguing that owning a gun dosen’t come with some responsibility to keep them secured, theres a lot of great options nowadays with electronic safes that are safe but also can be opened quickly.
I typically have my long guns in a safe with a keypad lock and simply concealed carry a handgun at all times, after all it wont do any good during a home invasion if its in a drawer. I see nothing wrong with leaving it on my nightstand when I’m sleeping a foot away from it.
I just hope for your children’s sakes, if you have any, that you sleep as lightly as you think you do.
IDK, just my opinion. I know if I had kids, they’d never know I had a gun at all let alone leave it out in the open while I’m asleep.
No reason for kids to ever learn hunting.
Leave the animals in peace!
You would take away the joy of hunting from, potentially, millions of children because a few of them may be miswired? Not good public policy.
Normal people commit suicide.
Not just those that are “miswired”
Nice to know that your version of “right and wrong” is the one you would foist on the whole society. Hunting trips of my youth in Oklahoma were some of the best times. Children who learn about guns early in life from experienced hunters will be less likely to misuse these “tools”.
My rule is “stay out of other people’s business unless invited in.
WOW. This is always the reaction blame a tool. I personally have taught thousands of children under the age of 16 to shoot. Those that know and understand a thing are less likely to use it unwisely. My grandson is 3 and he can shoot and knows the four rules. The law about hunting states a age but this has no bearing on a kid shooting a firearm for non hunting reasons. DO I let my 3yo grandson run around with a firearm unsupervised NOPE.. That will happen when he shows he can do so safely.
Juts for the sake of asking I will. IF this young man had taken a rope and hung himself as many young people have would you be so keen on pointing out the tool he used then?
Lastly the thing that this society has taught is pass the blame. This child has parents ( maybe ) and friends but nobody was clued in he was in such a state?
If one take statistics alone those kids who are taught to shoot or hunt at a young age vs those who are not those who are not are 99+ percent more likely to be involved in misuse of a firearm.
It is sad when ANY child or person come to harm. Putting blame on the tool used solves nothing. Learning what the problems this child had and preventing them will.
this is very very sad thank god no one else was harmed… but why did this boy have the abilty to obtain this weapon,get ammo for this weapon,get this weapon to school,and use this weapon on himself
I would bet money that bullying is behind this. They need to start punishing the bullies or this will never stop!
I never understood bullies. When I was in school they use to play this punch you in the arm Game. I did not want to play . I told the kid if you punched me again I would punch you in the mouth. He did so i punched him in the mouth. I was the one who got in trouble. The teacher condoned the arm punch game.
This story says NOTHING about this boy being bullied. The reporter decided to insert her pet project in the story, but there is NO indication that this child was bullied.
Advocacy for one’s pet projects seems so inappropriate here. The story says NOTHING about this child being bullied.
Having cared for many children of this age, I know that they do tend to get depressed about things that an adult might skim over, such as losing a dog, poor performance during a sporting event, or just the idea that he has four more years of school after this one.
Teenagers look strong, and try to appear tough, My experience is they need more attention paid to their perceived problems than younger children.
“they do tend to get depressed about things that an adult might skim
over, such as losing a dog, poor performance during a sporting event, or
just the idea that he has four more years of school after this one.
Teenagers
look strong, and try to appear tough, My experience is they need more
attention paid to their perceived problems than younger children”
yes.
The story says that the school was just ”
participating in an experiment aimed at reducing bullying and meanness in New Hampshire schools.” But Michelle one would assume he was being bullied but I hope not!
Fortunately for this young man Walpole is very close to Hanover, NH which has one of the best hospitals in New England, Mary Hitchcock Medical Center at Dartmouth. CHaD (Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth) is incredible. He’ll get the best care there is. The neurosurgeons there are amazing as well. Although the article didn’t say where he was taken, I would bet a helicopter took him there.
I was thinking the same, hopefully he’s at DHMC getting the best of care.
Not that it matters, but it’s in Lebanon, NH. And yes CHaD and DHMC is an incredible organization (the Doctors, Nurses, etc………. the business side, not so much, but that is what medical cartels has become). I partake in several CHaD charity fundraisers and it is truley a worthy cause. It’s pretty amazing to see a hospital and other buildings that rival a major city hospital, while in a town of 13,ooo.
Technically, yes, it’s in Lebanon…but it’s about on the border of Lebanon and Hanover and it’s part of Dartmouth College, which is in Hanover. The incredible folks at Hitchcock has helped our family immensely.
very sad indeed.
14 year old in elementary school?
He was in the 8th grade.
when I was in 8th grade it was called Jr High. Not elementary school.
Walpole is a pretty small town. It’s really common for schools in small towns to be K-8. It’s very normal in NH.
A lot of schools now a days have K-8 in one school building and it is called elementary school. Some of the bigger, inner cities may still have middle or Jr high school. At this point I don’t think it matters what kind of school this child attends. I just hope he will be ok and gets the help he needs. And I hope his friends and family get the help they need to try and understand why this happened.
The Whiting village school has been K-8 since 1825.
Nice to know I cannot state the truth when I stated at least he did not shot anyone else. I know I’m not the only person that is glad he didn’t start shooting random people before turning the gun on himself.
I agree
The first time I posted this my comment was removed.
Ya I saw it on earlier and agreed with it then.
I do hope he lives but it could have been a lot worse.
Completely agree
Lives like what? a vegetable? a cripple, in a coma and a drain on society?
This story doesn’t tell me enough to make me “wish he lives.”
You’ve been black-listed, haven’t you? Why is it people are so afraid of offending people? Don’t they realize there’s always someone who’s going to be put off by a comment someone makes?
Some comments are just plain ignorant . Most that get removed are just opinion some are just plain facts . Not a lot of people want to here the truth. I have many comments removed .
I’ve had posts removed, also. Some, yeah prob should have…….but I have seen ppl post much worse than I have. One of the guidelines is, “no personal attacks” and Lord knows, I have seen a lot of those, and the posts don’t get deleted. I’ve even “flagged” them, or pointed out that they are personal attacks, yet, they don’t get deleted.
Its called… toooo much time on your hands….
:) Is cause you are so special !!! lol
I’ve been told that Valerie!! lol :P
That’s odd. I have to say that you usually make common sense remarks and not a one I’ve read has been worthy of removal (even when you’re on the beer!).
Yes BDN loves to censor the comments, you should have made it sound more liberally biased.
Best wishes to all involved. Very sad & disturbing.
I went to the schools in that area in the late 80’s & early 90’s… Great school system, amazing teachers. Mr Jacobs was my teacher in high school ( agriculture & natural resource management). He was a great teacher that truly cares about the lives & education of his students.
I guess the Sue Rainy song is wrong suicide is not painless.
You are the essence of goober’s.
Technically it wouldn’t be a suicide because he isn’t dead..
;|
It is now time for metal detectors at schools. Tragic that this young man was evidently depressed and took this action but with the proliferation of handguns these days, kids need better security.
It was a shotgun…
….
How absolutely horrible! Poor child, to do such a thing to himself.
If you are a school official and you are offended by these statements, I am sorry but this needs to be said aloud, enough is enough. If this is damaging for you (as a school official) to hear this, think about how damaging it is for a student to have to live through this:
I am sick and tired of hearing about bullies in schools and that teachers, guidance counselors, and school administrators are overlooking bullying and writing it off as “a part of life”, “a dilemma in which they have no formal way to control it”, and some school officials belittle the student by calling them a “tattletale”. YOU (as a school official) have every right and authority to address and correct a child’s demeanor that occurs on or within school grounds. If a student comes to a school official for advice, console, or guidance, don’t assume they’re being dramatic or tattling… Be an adult and listen to the needs of that student because that is half the reason why you even have a job. I really wish that schools would start teaching psychology before attempting to teach Spanish or Chinese. As impressive as it may seem to teach a 10 year old a foreign language, it’s just not practical at the age of 10 to know how to say “hello” in Spanish. It is evident that students ranging from kindergarten to high school do not understand their own actions and how it affects others. They do not understand the stages of development as we do, but what good is it to learn about adolescent development after we’ve already evolved from the adolescent stages? The point in case is that school officials need to assume their responsibilities not only as a teacher, but as an adult in society, a “role model” if you will, and start focusing on combating issues like bullying rather than worry about their paychecks or budget cuts. Worry about your students well being before worrying about yourself. After all, they are the future, they are the ones who have to suffer the affects of being bullied. Take a stand, you expect your students to listen to you but give your students a voice and listen to them once in awhile. Thank you.
Of course, bullying appears not to be the issue in this case!
With all due respect UVSHTSTRM, clearly no one really knows exactly why this 14 year old decided to bring a firearm to school and proceed to fire a round into his own face during his lunch period along with 70 other students. I believe it is not fair for the principal and county attorney to make any statements regarding why the kid did what he did, especially considering the fact that the student had a firearm in his possession all morning without the principal even knowing what was in his school, therefore how can he be sure he knows what was going on in this kids life? Is there a reason why he did this in school and not at home, obviously. Why, we may not know until the investigation is completed, but until then bullying is an ongoing issue that is often ignored but often leads to incidents like the Columbine High School shooting. If bullying was not part of this issue then maybe it should not have been mentioned in this article, regardless my point is that bullying IS an issue and it needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later to prevent anymore violence. School officials need to start listening to students just as much as they expect their students to listen to them.
So now you have your pet issue out there. Hope you feel better. NOTHING absolutely NOTHING in this article suggests this child was bullied in any way.
With all due respect Harry, I honestly do feel A LOT better because if what I said happens to spark any change in attitude or procedure to reduce/combat bullying in schools, imagine the relief and support that would provide to one student, a whole school, even a whole community. Incidents involving bullying in school has a major ripple effect starting with one student, then the whole school, then the community. This isn’t the first place I’ve mentioned this, and it certainly won’t be the last place I mention this. As I previously stated, this article may not have directly said “the 14 year old boy was bullied and therefore proceeded to shoot himself in the face” but wait until they actually find out from the boy who pulled the trigger to hear the real reason why he did it. There is also a piece at the bottom of this article that mentions bullying, specifically an experiment the state of New Hampshire is conducting to see if their program is in the least bit effective. Should that have been mentioned in relation to this article? Probably not. Regardless, I will say what I need to say until just one school official decides to listen because lately they would rather hear about budget cuts and tax hikes rather than the issues that directly impact their students. Lastly, this isn’t just my issue, it’s an issue of all tragedies ending in violence because of bullying. IF you don’t care or don’t want to listen, pay no attention and see what will happen as history repeats itself.
There were no wimpy anti-bullying laws in my New York high school, and what-do-you know, no one committed suicide shot themselves, or shot anyone else. Why do you suppose that was?
Children must learn about the real world, you know, the one they will live in, not the one parents would like them to live in. The world with bullying bosses, nasty bureaucrats, and lots and lots of unfairness.
Sad but true, life is tough, and you won’t make it any easier by putting children in a velvet pouch until you set them free.
Helicopter parents….Cheeze
I’ve said nothing about creating laws and your slander (“wimpy”) clearly illustrates your position on this issue. Luckily as far as we know this 14 year old did not die from shooting himself in the face, but many others have died because of students who are affected by bullying. Not only are the victims dead but their families and communities suffer the consequences of their death too. You’re right, children must learn about the real world but your version of your experience from the “real world” is seemingly bitter. At least if and when they reach the proper cognitive ability to experience the real world for themselves they will have the knowledge and demeanor to function diligently and efficiently, not out of ignorance and disposition for having been exposed to bullies or any other form of disturbing behaviors to a child’s developmental process. Perhaps if we were all taught in the same setting there would be no such thing as bullies, nasty bureaucrats, and lots and lots of unfairness, but at the same time it all depends on your individual definition of your terms listed above. Good for you for having a wonderful experience at your New York high school, but know that times have changed as well as behaviors since your last attendance in high school. Is violence in schools preventable? Maybe, maybe not, but it is getting a lot worse than what it used to be and at least we can say we’ve tried, sir.
Fail attempt…..
Not funny. A depressed young man attempted suicide.
OK, now he can be really, really, depressed because he can’t even do that right.
Metal detectors in school – they have them in some. No reason a gun should ever make it into a school.
Then they’d use it outside, does it make a difference?
they saqy what a great kid this person is, yet he puts a lot of students in a very dangerous situation. What would have happened if someone tried to diarm this ‘great’ kid?