Nevada School Shooter, 12, Left Dueling Suicide Notes

No charges to be filed in Nevada shooting
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 14, 2014 4:14 AM CDT
School Shooter, 12, Left 2 Suicide Notes
Sparks Middle School math teacher Michael Landsberry, a 45-year-old military veteran, was shot dead by Reyes as he tried to protect students.   (AP Photo/Nevada Air National Guard)

The 12-year-old boy who killed a teacher and wounded two students before taking his own life in a school shooting last fall left two contradictory suicide notes, authorities say. The police chief in Sparks, Nevada, said 7th-grader Jose Reyes left one note directed at teachers and students where he "clearly expressed anger" at them for his being "embarrassed and mistreated at school" and indicated a desire for revenge, but another to his parents where he said the incident "was not a result of shooting games or bullying" and "indicated he wished he could change the past, be a better kid, and a better son," the Reno Gazette-Journal reports. In both notes, the suspect indicated "that his life would end in the process," the police chief said.

Investigators say Reyes, who had recently been prescribed an antidepressant, had images of the Columbine shooters on his phone and told a therapist three days before the attack that he had been teased, but there was not enough evidence to merit bullying charges against other students, the AP reports. The boy used a handgun that belonged to his parents, but the police chief said they will not be charged because there is no evidence that they were aware he knew where they kept it. The chief's press conference included a message for students: "Be nice. Be kind. Treat your fellow students with respect. We're all a little different. It matters." (More Sparks Middle School shooting stories.)

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