February 19, 1997 Evan Ramsey, 16, Bethel High School, Bethel Alaska
I was over in Anchorage a short while ago and I spent some time gathering old newsclip references to the Bethel High shooting. The following references are from those sources and other internet sources.
--------------------------
Background, Profile
--Evan was born in Anchorage and attended kindergarten and first grade in Bethel, Alaska. He loved school in those early years. After first grade, the children lived with their mother, shuffling between Fairbanks, Manley Hot Springs, Anchorage and Napakiak. The only constant in Evan's life was his transiency. By the time he was in the third grade, he and his brothers were taken by the Division of Family and Youth Services, also known as DFYS. Between third grade and sixth grade, Evan and his brothers were placed in eleven different foster homes. He claims he was physically, sexually, and verbally abused in more than half of them. To add to the instability and transiency, Evan was being ridiculed for being a half breed in bush Alaska.
--When Evan was seven, his father went to prison.* Subsequently, his mother became an alcoholic and Evan and his two brothers were shipped off to a series of foster homes. In one of those homes, according to court testimony, he suffered sexual abuse and humiliation.
--And he spent hours every day playing Doom.
--"Ramsey, a junior, ...had shaved his head and wore black t-shirts and blue jeans. Students described him as a quiet misfit... and was often absent from school."
--Nome Nugget, 3-3-97
His nickname was 'screech'
--Anchorage Daily News, 2-21-97
"He'd blow his top and just go off... His mind would shut off. He wouldn't listen to anybody. ... Ramsey... was suspended from school at least three times."
--"A year ago('96?) ... Ramsey threatened to bring a gun to school and shoot people. ... All the kids say he's had a history of behavior problems in school, of the type that were distrubing. He'd get in fights. One time in the library, he threw the chairs around, actually picked them up and winged them around the room."
--Evan saw that as the pay back he could give them for all the incessant, tortuous grief they had inflicted on him over the previous three years.(in Bethel 94-97, placed in foster home of a Sue Hare) This grief has a name, bullying; incessant, constant, repeated imbalance of power. Bullying behaviors included others draping him with peeled toilet paper, hocking phlegm on his head, incessant name calling and put downs about his grades and his life, hitting him in the head, and more.
--In sixth grade, Evan(age 11?) and his younger brother, William were placed in another foster home. ... living with Sue, his new foster mother... He returned to Sue Hare and William, entering Bethel High School for the eighth grade. That was the year Sue Hare became legal guardian for both boys. Even though Evan felt good about living with Sue, he was having trouble sleeping at night, worrying about his mom and failing grades. Sometimes he'd fall asleep in his morning classes since he was so tired from lack of sleep. .... As tenth grade moved forward, the bullying escalated. Kids passing him in the halls or in class would refer to him as a "stupid mother fucker", "a homo", "a faggot". ...."I told Sue Hare and Ron Edwards more than a dozen times about all the bullying I was subjected to. They never did anything to help me," he said sadly.
-- His foster mother was superintendent of schools in Bethel. She was totally unaware of what was going on in her own house. ... his foster mother Sue Hare, then district superintendent of schools
Event
--Police report that the firearm used in the shooting belonged to Ramsey's foster sibling and was stored openly in the home when it was taken by Ramsey.
--Anchorage Daily News
"He (witness Erick Hodgins, 18 ) saw Ramsey stalking the hallways, firing again and again at the ceiling, the plaster raining down... Ramsey reloaded..."
--"Four shotgun shell casings ay scattered around the beige carpet in front of the office. ... Two more shell casings were visible near the lockers."
--Reyne Athanas, a Bethel High art teacher
When she looked up, Evan was pointing his .12 gauge shotgun directly at her. She told him to put the gun down. He looked very angry, out of control, she recalls.
Confederates
--Anchorage Daily News, 2-21-97
"...he told two friends in recent days that he planned to 'take a gun to school' and shoot the principal and several fellow students. ....authorities allege Ramsey told friends of his plans on Saturday, and again Tuesday night, ......He mentioned both Edwards and Palacios(the two dead victims) by name ..... as well as other students....."
"Erick Hodgins, an 18-year old senior, said some students who knew about Ramsey's plans went to the school library for their own safety before Ramsey arrived with a 12-guage shotgun.
--Anchorage Daily News, 2-25-97
"Since the shootings, people have speculated that someone provided the weapon or the shotgun pellets or that some people made sure to stay out of the main lounge that morning."
"It's possible the two actively planned and helped execute a double killing."
"It has even been suggested that one youth may have taken a picture of the accused shooter and his weapon at school, shortly before the killings."
--Nome Nugget, 2-28-97
"A classmate ...said he (Ramsey) had called her and several other friends the night before and advised them to go to the library and stay there the next morning. When she asked... her friend told her 'Something very bad is going to happen.' "
--Nome Nugget, 3-6-97
"Besides having prior knowledge of Ramsey's murderous intent, as it appears several students did, the pair may have aided the killer by bringing extra shotgun shells to school. The police and troopers are also looking into whether one of the boys also brought a camera to photorgaph the event."
--Renee Erb, who prosecuted Evan
She points out that he planned the crime ahead of time.
But Evan did not plan his violence alone. He had the help and encouragement of two 14-year-old boys; one helped him learn to load and fire a .12 gauge shotgun and told him that fame and fortune would follow. Evan, who had been up all night, arrived at school, there was no way for him to back out, Dr. Smith says. Erb thinks Evan wasn't trapped, but was driven by his own desire for fame.
--Evans two accomplices were tried and sentenced as juveniles. They will be free when they turn 19.
Aftermath
-- When Ramsey turned 17, he was transferred to the maximum adult prison in Alaska, Spring Creek Correctional Center. He was one of the first juveniles remanded into the adult system as a result of Alaska's Juvenile Waiver Bill from 1994.
--In support of his defense, Ramsey asked the courts permission to introduce evidence of Ramsey's family history and history of past sexual and physical abuse committed against Ramsey while he was in foster care. Ramsey and his younger brother were shuffled between ten different foster homes over a two-year period. In support of his claim of past physical and sexual abuse, Ramsey stated that while Ramsey and William were in a particular foster home, the foster parents biological son physically and sexually abused both Ramsey and William. The offer indicated that the biological son would come into the Ramsey room at night to punch and pinch both Ramsey and William. During some of the incidents, the son would urinate into their mouths. The offer claimed a subsequent investigation found that the abuse occurred and that DFYS removed the Ramsey brothers from the foster home. On appeal, Ramsey argues that Judge Wood abused his discretion because he should have taken judicial notice of the linkage between evidence of homosexual rape and the inclination ultimately to commit suicide.
--------------------
*Evans father Don Ramsey became known as the "Rambo of Alaska." In 1986, enraged when the Anchorage Times refused to publish a political letter he had written, Don showed up at the newspapers office. I was armed and ready to go to war, says Don. I had a AR 180-223 semi-automatic, something like 180 rounds of ammo for it, a snub barrel .44 magnum, and about 30 rounds for it. Don Ramsey said he was ready to die, just like Evan was. And just like his son, after a short stand-off with police, he surrendered and went to prison. He was released from prison in February, 1997, just two weeks before the shooting at Bethel High.
While I was perusing the Anchaorage library archives, I came across a couple of other articles that drew my interest:
1) --Anchorage Daily News, 2-20-97
President Clinton unveils new anti-youth violence program on 2-19-97(the day of the shooting). "Clinton unveiled some 45 proposals to toughen laws and enforcement agaist youth violence, including trying youths as adults in violent crimes and encouraging states to require drug testing of minors before issuing them a driver's license. He would require gun dealers to sell a locking device with every handgun and extend the Brady law so that youths convicted of violent crimes could not buy a handgun before they turn 18. The President also proposed $75Million for anti-truancy, uniforms, and other initiatives to keep children off the streets, saying that prevention is important to solving the problem."
2) A Marilyn Manson concert was scheduled on 3-4-97 in Anchorage. There was an editorial against him in the main Anchorage newspaper a day before the shootings, and many letters to the editor about him afterwards.
But I'm sure its all just coincidence.
"The Truth is out there"
I was over in Anchorage a short while ago and I spent some time gathering old newsclip references to the Bethel High shooting. The following references are from those sources and other internet sources.
--------------------------
Background, Profile
--Evan was born in Anchorage and attended kindergarten and first grade in Bethel, Alaska. He loved school in those early years. After first grade, the children lived with their mother, shuffling between Fairbanks, Manley Hot Springs, Anchorage and Napakiak. The only constant in Evan's life was his transiency. By the time he was in the third grade, he and his brothers were taken by the Division of Family and Youth Services, also known as DFYS. Between third grade and sixth grade, Evan and his brothers were placed in eleven different foster homes. He claims he was physically, sexually, and verbally abused in more than half of them. To add to the instability and transiency, Evan was being ridiculed for being a half breed in bush Alaska.
--When Evan was seven, his father went to prison.* Subsequently, his mother became an alcoholic and Evan and his two brothers were shipped off to a series of foster homes. In one of those homes, according to court testimony, he suffered sexual abuse and humiliation.
--And he spent hours every day playing Doom.
--"Ramsey, a junior, ...had shaved his head and wore black t-shirts and blue jeans. Students described him as a quiet misfit... and was often absent from school."
--Nome Nugget, 3-3-97
His nickname was 'screech'
--Anchorage Daily News, 2-21-97
"He'd blow his top and just go off... His mind would shut off. He wouldn't listen to anybody. ... Ramsey... was suspended from school at least three times."
--"A year ago('96?) ... Ramsey threatened to bring a gun to school and shoot people. ... All the kids say he's had a history of behavior problems in school, of the type that were distrubing. He'd get in fights. One time in the library, he threw the chairs around, actually picked them up and winged them around the room."
--Evan saw that as the pay back he could give them for all the incessant, tortuous grief they had inflicted on him over the previous three years.(in Bethel 94-97, placed in foster home of a Sue Hare) This grief has a name, bullying; incessant, constant, repeated imbalance of power. Bullying behaviors included others draping him with peeled toilet paper, hocking phlegm on his head, incessant name calling and put downs about his grades and his life, hitting him in the head, and more.
--In sixth grade, Evan(age 11?) and his younger brother, William were placed in another foster home. ... living with Sue, his new foster mother... He returned to Sue Hare and William, entering Bethel High School for the eighth grade. That was the year Sue Hare became legal guardian for both boys. Even though Evan felt good about living with Sue, he was having trouble sleeping at night, worrying about his mom and failing grades. Sometimes he'd fall asleep in his morning classes since he was so tired from lack of sleep. .... As tenth grade moved forward, the bullying escalated. Kids passing him in the halls or in class would refer to him as a "stupid mother fucker", "a homo", "a faggot". ...."I told Sue Hare and Ron Edwards more than a dozen times about all the bullying I was subjected to. They never did anything to help me," he said sadly.
-- His foster mother was superintendent of schools in Bethel. She was totally unaware of what was going on in her own house. ... his foster mother Sue Hare, then district superintendent of schools
Event
--Police report that the firearm used in the shooting belonged to Ramsey's foster sibling and was stored openly in the home when it was taken by Ramsey.
--Anchorage Daily News
"He (witness Erick Hodgins, 18 ) saw Ramsey stalking the hallways, firing again and again at the ceiling, the plaster raining down... Ramsey reloaded..."
--"Four shotgun shell casings ay scattered around the beige carpet in front of the office. ... Two more shell casings were visible near the lockers."
--Reyne Athanas, a Bethel High art teacher
When she looked up, Evan was pointing his .12 gauge shotgun directly at her. She told him to put the gun down. He looked very angry, out of control, she recalls.
Confederates
--Anchorage Daily News, 2-21-97
"...he told two friends in recent days that he planned to 'take a gun to school' and shoot the principal and several fellow students. ....authorities allege Ramsey told friends of his plans on Saturday, and again Tuesday night, ......He mentioned both Edwards and Palacios(the two dead victims) by name ..... as well as other students....."
"Erick Hodgins, an 18-year old senior, said some students who knew about Ramsey's plans went to the school library for their own safety before Ramsey arrived with a 12-guage shotgun.
--Anchorage Daily News, 2-25-97
"Since the shootings, people have speculated that someone provided the weapon or the shotgun pellets or that some people made sure to stay out of the main lounge that morning."
"It's possible the two actively planned and helped execute a double killing."
"It has even been suggested that one youth may have taken a picture of the accused shooter and his weapon at school, shortly before the killings."
--Nome Nugget, 2-28-97
"A classmate ...said he (Ramsey) had called her and several other friends the night before and advised them to go to the library and stay there the next morning. When she asked... her friend told her 'Something very bad is going to happen.' "
--Nome Nugget, 3-6-97
"Besides having prior knowledge of Ramsey's murderous intent, as it appears several students did, the pair may have aided the killer by bringing extra shotgun shells to school. The police and troopers are also looking into whether one of the boys also brought a camera to photorgaph the event."
--Renee Erb, who prosecuted Evan
She points out that he planned the crime ahead of time.
But Evan did not plan his violence alone. He had the help and encouragement of two 14-year-old boys; one helped him learn to load and fire a .12 gauge shotgun and told him that fame and fortune would follow. Evan, who had been up all night, arrived at school, there was no way for him to back out, Dr. Smith says. Erb thinks Evan wasn't trapped, but was driven by his own desire for fame.
--Evans two accomplices were tried and sentenced as juveniles. They will be free when they turn 19.
Aftermath
-- When Ramsey turned 17, he was transferred to the maximum adult prison in Alaska, Spring Creek Correctional Center. He was one of the first juveniles remanded into the adult system as a result of Alaska's Juvenile Waiver Bill from 1994.
--In support of his defense, Ramsey asked the courts permission to introduce evidence of Ramsey's family history and history of past sexual and physical abuse committed against Ramsey while he was in foster care. Ramsey and his younger brother were shuffled between ten different foster homes over a two-year period. In support of his claim of past physical and sexual abuse, Ramsey stated that while Ramsey and William were in a particular foster home, the foster parents biological son physically and sexually abused both Ramsey and William. The offer indicated that the biological son would come into the Ramsey room at night to punch and pinch both Ramsey and William. During some of the incidents, the son would urinate into their mouths. The offer claimed a subsequent investigation found that the abuse occurred and that DFYS removed the Ramsey brothers from the foster home. On appeal, Ramsey argues that Judge Wood abused his discretion because he should have taken judicial notice of the linkage between evidence of homosexual rape and the inclination ultimately to commit suicide.
--------------------
*Evans father Don Ramsey became known as the "Rambo of Alaska." In 1986, enraged when the Anchorage Times refused to publish a political letter he had written, Don showed up at the newspapers office. I was armed and ready to go to war, says Don. I had a AR 180-223 semi-automatic, something like 180 rounds of ammo for it, a snub barrel .44 magnum, and about 30 rounds for it. Don Ramsey said he was ready to die, just like Evan was. And just like his son, after a short stand-off with police, he surrendered and went to prison. He was released from prison in February, 1997, just two weeks before the shooting at Bethel High.
While I was perusing the Anchaorage library archives, I came across a couple of other articles that drew my interest:
1) --Anchorage Daily News, 2-20-97
President Clinton unveils new anti-youth violence program on 2-19-97(the day of the shooting). "Clinton unveiled some 45 proposals to toughen laws and enforcement agaist youth violence, including trying youths as adults in violent crimes and encouraging states to require drug testing of minors before issuing them a driver's license. He would require gun dealers to sell a locking device with every handgun and extend the Brady law so that youths convicted of violent crimes could not buy a handgun before they turn 18. The President also proposed $75Million for anti-truancy, uniforms, and other initiatives to keep children off the streets, saying that prevention is important to solving the problem."
2) A Marilyn Manson concert was scheduled on 3-4-97 in Anchorage. There was an editorial against him in the main Anchorage newspaper a day before the shootings, and many letters to the editor about him afterwards.
But I'm sure its all just coincidence.
"The Truth is out there"
