For a lot of students, middle school is the place for a number of big changes in their life: a new campus, new teachers and even new friends. It is also a time when a lot of teenagers try to find out who they truly are and experimenting in any direction is completely normal.
However, sadly middle school can also be a place where bullies target those who they feel are not conforming to the expected norms. The pressures of fitting in alongside a new environment can often prove to be very difficult for some teenagers and when prejudice and bigotry go unchecked, it can sometimes lead to violence.
In 2008, a school shooting occurred in Oxnard, California, and in the aftermath, the deceased victim was practically put on trial alongside her killer.
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Sources:
UPI, 13 February, 2008 – “Calif. 8th-Grader Dies Day after Shooting”
Ventura County Star, 13 February, 2008 – “Violence at E.O. Green School”
Ventura County Star, 16 February, 2008 – “Slain Teen Remembered as Fun, Quirky at Rainbow Alliance Candlelight Vigil”
Associated Press Archive, 14 February, 2008 – “Hate Crime Alleged in SoCal School Shooting”
Los Angeles Times, 14 February, 2008 – “School Shooting is Called a Hate Crime”
Ventura County Star, 14 February, 2008 – “Shaken Students, Staff Back at School”
The Associated Press, 15 February, 2008 – “Murder, Hate Crime Charges in Oxnard School Shooting”
UPI, 16 February, 2008 – “Hundreds March to Remember Slain Teen”
Ventura County Star, 17 February, 2008 – “Marchers Rally for Tolerance After 15-Year-Old’s Slaying”
Ventura County Star, 17 February, 2008 – “Juveniles Tried as Adults up to 170%”
Business Wire, 19 February, 2008 – “Candlelight Vigil in Remembrance of Oxnard High School Shooting”
Ventura County Star, 20 February, 2008 – “School Safety is Focus of Meeting for Green Parents”
Ventura County Star, 22 February, 2008 – “Friend Asks for Broader Focus on King’s Life”
Ventura County Star, 23 February, 2008 – “ At a Port Hueneme Church, Hundreds of Mourners Gather”
Ventura County Star, 24 February, 2008 – “Classmates, Friends of Victim and Suspect in Oxnard School Shooting Struggle to Understand”
Ventura County Star, 16 April, 2008 – “Rights Group Want Teen to be Tried as Juvenile”
Ventura County Star, 20 April, 2008 – “Defense in Boy’s Killing Seeks Juvenile Justice”
Newsweek, 25 July, 2008 – “Story on a Gay Murder”
Ventura County Star, 2 October, 2008 – “Swastikas, Other Items Found in Boy’s Home”
Ventura County Star, 22 October, 2008 – “Shooting Suspect Set to Undergo Psychiatric Tests”
Ventura County Star, 14 February, 2009 – “King Family Files Wide-Ranging Lawsuit”
Ventura County Star, 18 March, 2009 – “McInerney Death was Accidental, Autopsy Shows”
The Associated Press, 21 July, 2009 – “Hearing Begins in Case of Gay SoCal Teen Slaying”
Ventura County Star, 22 July, 2009 – “School Shooting Described at McInerney Hearing”
Ventura County Star, 21 July, 2009 – “Hearing Begins in McInerney School Shooting Case”
Ventura County Star, 9 August, 2009 – “Dawn Boldrin Says She Suffers From Seeing a Student Kill a Classmate”
The Associated Press, 5 July, 2011 – “California Teen Faces Trial in Gay Classmate Killing”
Ventura County Star, 7 July, 2011 – “Teens Describe School Killing”
Associated Press, 8 July, 2011 – “McInerney Talked of Bringing Gun to Class”
Ventura County Star, 9 July, 2011 – “Tacher Tells of Talks, Deadly Day”
The Associates Press, 12 July, 2011 – “Gay Teen Pushed Boundaries Before Death”
Ventura County Star, 30 July, 2011 – Victim’s Fashion Talked About”
Ventura County Star, 2 August, 2011 – “Teachers Testify About Victim’s Behavior”
Associated Press State Wire, 3 August, 2011 – “Teen in Gay Classmate Killing Had Abusive Dad”
Ventura County Star, 4 August, 2011 – “Account of Sexual Abuse Surfaces”
Associated Press, 1 September, 2011 – “Mistrial Declared in CA Gay Student Killing Trial”
Ventura County Star, 7 June, 2018 – “10 Years After Larry King Killing, E.O. Green Junior High Sees Shift in School Culture”
Audio Sources:
“Teacher Recalls Shooting of Gay Student”
“Student Arrested After Shooting Classmate”
