New details released in high School shooting that wounded 3
By Shain Bergan and Emily Rittman
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OLATHE, Kansas (KCTV) — Newly-released court records detail what happened on March 4 when a student allegedly pulled a gun at Olathe East High School and shot the school’s assistant principal and school resource officer.
Jaylon Elmore, an 18-year-old student at the school, is charged with attempted capital murder, and remains in the hospital after being shot that day by the school’s resource officer, Erik Clark. Elmore has a preliminary hearing scheduled in Johnson County Court on Thursday morning. His attorney is expected to appear on his behalf.
A probable cause affidavit released Wednesday states that a student told a school counselor that someone was bringing a gun to school, and that the student bringing the gun had pulled it on another student before. That counselor told the assistant principal, Kaleb Stoppel. After initially talking with a different student, Stoppel and another assistant principal pulled Elmore to the school’s office, where Stoppel asked to search Elmore’s backpack, court documents state.
The affidavit states that Elmore got defensive, hugged his backpack and wouldn’t let Stoppel search the bag. The assistant principal texted the school resource officer to come to the office, but when Clark got to the office, Elmore pulled out his gun and fired five shots at the SRO, striking him.
Clark returned fire and shot Elmore, and the assistant principal Stoppel jumped on Elmore to try to wrestle the gun away. With Stoppel on top of the student on the floor, Elmore began vomiting. Elmore had been shot, and Stoppel only realized he was also wounded when he stood up.
The resource officer wrapped a tourniquet around one of his wounds while administrators attended to Elmore’s wounds, the affidavit states. The principal then initiated a lockdown of the school.
All three people involved—the suspect, the assistant principal and the SRO—were rushed to the hospital. Stoppel and Clark were released the same day, while Elmore remained at the hospital in critical condition.
Court documents state the gun Elmore brought into the school was a 9-millimeter “ghost gun”. “Ghost guns” are purchased to self-assemble and are not marked with a serial number. Olathe East does not have regular bag checks or metal detectors when students enter school. The Olathe Public Schools superintendent told KCTV5 News he expects security processes at Olathe schools to change going forward because of the shooting, but said those details have not been decided yet. In the meantime, the regular security measures remain.
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