1.6K views Jan 2009
The Onion News Network satirizes school shooting coverage as reporters discuss a student's repeated attacks and experts debate whether they were warning signs.
0:03 We now continue with our coverage of yesterday's tragic school shooting at Olinda High School in Tampa Bay, Florida. 0:09 That's right, Tracy. Details are still coming in, but, uh, here's what we've learned. 0:13 We know that sophomore Bobby Knowles had a troubled past, including repeated conflicts with teachers, a turbulent home life, and 3 previous school shootings, and he was often described as a loner. 0:25 Community members are asking the question this morning, could this disaster have been prevented? 0:29 He was a bit unusual, but I never thought I'd see him do anything like this again. 0:34 Now, earlier this morning, we spoke by telephone with a student at the school who was a witness to the shootings. 0:40 He always wore weird clothes, and I guess he shot a bunch of kids a few times. 0:45 No one really hung out with him. 0:46 With us now is Doctor Claire Loyola from the American Child Psychiatric Institute. 0:51 Welcome, doctor. 0:52 Thank you, Tracy. 0:53 We have some photos of Bobby through the years. Would you mind giving us your professional interpretation? 0:59 Yes, now looking at these photos, some aspects of his behavior may have been red flags. 1:04 Oh, how he's holding that gun there, and look at the skull on his sweatshirt, the dark colors in his clothes. 1:11 These are symbols that teenagers often use to express unhappiness. 1:15 This morning, the Onion News Network obtained some disturbing poetry Bobby had written in an English class. 1:21 Let's take a look. It says, I hate everyone in school, every single one. 1:26 In a matter of days, they will all pay. 1:28 Yes, I think that entry actually is a few years old. 1:31 Oh, sure. That's, that's right. This is the poem from last week. 1:35 In retrospect, should Bobby's teachers have recognized this as a warning, Dr. 1:39 Loyola? 1:40 Well, Tracy, it would have been very difficult for teachers to know if this poem was just standard adolescent antisocial behavior, or a memory of a previous school shooting, or something they really needed to be worried about. 1:52 Excuse me, doctor, we've just received some breaking news. Police have just discovered plans that Bobby had made in preparation for another school shooting that he planned to carry out in February. 2:01 Dr. Loyola, should Bobby's shooting yesterday be seen as a potential warning sign of that future shooting? 2:07 Well, possibly, Tracy, but it's important not to jump to conclusions here. 2:12 Yesterday's shooting may simply have been a cry for help and not an indication that he would become violent again. 2:18 Wise words, Doctor Loyola. Thank you very much for spending some time with us this morning here on Today Now. 2:23 And stay tuned, because when we come back, we're going to be talking to a teacher from Olinda High School who knew Bobby for 3 years and was shot by him 11 times. 2:31 Stay with us. 
