Aztec High School shooting

On December 7, 2017, gunfire erupted at Aztec High School in Aztec, New Mexico, United States. The shooter, 21-year-old William Atchison, a former student at the school, killed two students in a hallway, then went inside a classroom where students had barricaded themselves in a small office area and fired several rounds before continuing on down the hall where he finally committed suicide as police approached his location.

Aztec High School shooting
Aztec High School
Aztec High School (New Mexico)
Aztec High School
Aztec High School (the United States)
Location
Coordinates36°49′15″N 107°59′26″W
DateDecember 7, 2017 (2017-12-07)
8:04 a.m. (UTC–7)
TargetStudents
Attack type
School shooting, murder-suicide
Weapons9mm Glock 19 Gen4
Deaths3 (including the perpetrator)[1]
PerpetratorWilliam Atchison
Atchison's timeline note via San Juan County Sheriff's Office

Shooting

William Atchison walked into Aztec High School disguised as a student and armed with a handgun. He opened fire in the upper level hallway of the 800-900 building. The school custodian, Thomas "Emery" Hill, chased after the gunman shouting "active shooter," "lock down!" Katie Potter, a 74-year-old substitute teacher, heard the gunshots and the following loudspeaker announcement calling for a lock-down. As a substitute teacher Ms. Potter did not have keys to the classroom, so she ushered her 17 students into the classroom office and barricaded the door with a couch. Atchison fired multiple rounds through the office wall and then shot himself. San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christensen credited her swift action with saving many lives.[2]

Two students were confirmed dead, along with the shooter. State authorities confirmed that there were no other injuries reported.[3][4][5] Officials said that Aztec police received a call about the shooting about 8:00 a.m.

Students were in class at the time, and heard what they thought was someone punching the lockers. As the noise became louder, they realized it was gunfire.[6] Teachers and students hid in locked classrooms until they were told by officials to walk out of the room toward the back of the building and the parking lot; they were later picked up by their parents at McGee Park.[6]

Victims

Casey Jordan Marquez, a senior, and Francisco "Paco" Fernandez, a junior, were identified as the victims.[7] Both were student-athletes at Aztec High School. Marquez was a cheerleader and Fernandez, a recent transfer to the school, played football.[8]

Perpetrator
William Atchison
Born
William Edward Atchison

March 18, 1996[9]
DiedDecember 7, 2017 (aged 21)
Aztec, New Mexico
Cause of deathSelf-inflicted gunshot wound
NationalityAmerican
Details
DateDecember 7, 2017
c.  8:04 a.m.
Location(s)Aztec, New Mexico
Target(s)Students at Aztec High School
Killed3 (including himself)

William Edward Atchison (March 18, 1996 – December 7, 2017) lived in Aztec, New Mexico with his father, and was a former student at Aztec High School.[9] He dropped out of high school before graduation and worked at a local gas station. When Atchison entered Aztec High School on December 7, 2017 at approximately 8:04 a.m., he was "disguised as a student" and carrying a backpack with a 9mm Glock 19 Gen4 semi-automatic pistol inside.[10] Atchison had no criminal record; however, he was investigated by the FBI in March 2016 due to posts he had made online indicating that he was interested in purchasing weapons to carry out a mass shooting. He came to the attention of the FBI when he asked on an internet forum "where to find cheap assault rifles for a mass shooting." Atchison told FBI investigators that he was simply trolling, and the investigation was closed when it was determined that he did not own a gun.[11] Atchison subsequently purchased the pistol used in the attack in November, 2017.[12][13]

Atchison's online activity included posting pro-Hitler forums and websites, under such usernames as "Future Mass Shooter" and "Adam Lanza," and joking about school shootings, in particular the Columbine High School massacre. Via a Steam chat group he was in contact with the perpetrator of the 2016 Munich shooting.[14][15] He also posted about his frustration with life in rural New Mexico and bleak career prospects.[16][17][18]Atchison called his father a “fat lazy idiot who watches Fox News all day” and his mother “a psycho hillbilly drunk from Florida who’s really mentally ill.”[18]

A schedule for the killings was found at Atchison's home, with the last entry being "8[a.m.] Die." A thumb drive discovered on his person contained the same schedule.

gollark: Fine, Minetest.
gollark: Have them all be in an IRC channel.
gollark: You don't need Minecraft for that, silly.
gollark: Here is a screenshot of Minoteaur, operating.
gollark: It has been through 8ish rewrites since initial conception in mid-2019.

See also

References
  1. "New Mexico High School Shooting: 3 Dead, Including Suspect". People. December 7, 2017. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  2. Inside Edition Staff (December 9, 2017). "Substitute teacher and custodian hailed heroes after New Mexico school shooting". AOL.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  3. "Two students killed in Aztec High School shooting in New Mexico". NBC News. December 7, 2017. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  4. "What we know about the deadly Aztec High School shooting". KOAT-TV. December 7, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  5. "Aztec High School shooting: 2 students killed, shooter dead, police say". CNN. December 8, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  6. "Aztec High School shooting: 2 slain students identified". CNN. December 7, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  7. "Authorities identify two victims in shooting at Aztec High School". The Durango Herald. December 8, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  8. "Both victims were student-athletes at Aztec High". KOB. December 8, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  9. "Who Is William Atchison? New Mexico Police Identify Aztec High School Shooter". ibtimes.com. December 8, 2017. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  10. Grover, Hannah (December 8, 2017). "Investigators: Aztec High School shooter had timeline, deadly plans". Farmington Daily Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  11. Contreras, Russell (December 8, 2017). "New Mexico school shooter left note plotting attack, suicide". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  12. "Investigators: New Mexico high school shooter had timeline, deadly plans". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  13. CNN, Eric Levenson and Laura Diaz-Zuniga. "NM high school shooter was investigated by FBI in 2016". cnn.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  14. ARD (May 15, 2018). "Ermittlungsfehler nach dem Anschlag in München". Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  15. Farmington Daily Times (April 17, 2018). "Aztec school shooter reached out to other school shooters, planned killings online". Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  16. Dupuy, Beatrice (December 15, 2017). "White Man Behind School Shooting Was Obsessed With Trump and Hitler". Newsweek. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  17. Preza, Elizabeth (December 15, 2017). "New Mexico school shooter was radicalized on white supremacist pro-Trump websites". Raw Story. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  18. Zadrozny, Brandy; Collins, Ben (December 15, 2017). "New Mexico School Shooter Had Secret Life on Pro-Trump White-Supremacy Sites". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
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