Breaking News - Tribal Chairman's son arrested in Red Lake Shooting

[mzmolly]

"RED LAKE, Minn. - Federal authorities no longer believe that Red Lake school shooter Jeff Weise acted alone.

Authorities have arrested Lewis Jourdain, the 16-year-old son of Red Lake Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain, in connection with the school shootings at Red Lake High School last Monday, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has confirmed.

The shooter, Jeff Weise, took his own life after killing nine people, including his grandfather, several students, a security guard, and a teacher.

Up to this point, authorities have continually said that the Weise acted alone."

http://kstp.com/article/stories/S7293.html?cat=1

[MADem]

1. Wasn't the TC the guy who initially kept the media out? n/t

[mzmolly]

4. Yes, however it's pretty common practice for anything that happens

in Red Lake to keep the media at bay.

I feel for Mr. Jourdain because he seems like a gentle soul? Perhaps his child will be cleared?

[MADem]

22. The kid EMAILED his pals, apparently

And one of his pals was the TC's kid: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/11253033.htm

One of the sources, who spoke on the condition his name not be used, said Jourdain and Weise exchanged e-mails that discussed Weise's intent to go on a shooting rampage at the school. Other teenagers who were in e-mail contact with Weise also could face charges in the coming days.

The sources declined to provide details about the correspondence, but indicated the alleged conversations between Jourdain and Weise were troubling enough to prompt the filing of conspiracy-related charges.

After the shooting, some students had said Weise had intimated last year that he planned some sort of violent act at the school last April, but they said they didn't tell school officials or other authorities about it because they didn't take him seriously.

The youth arrested Sunday reportedly was arraigned on the unspecified charge during a closed, 15-minute hearing Monday before U.S. Magistrate Raymond Erickson in Duluth. There was increased security around the federal courthouse, and U.S. marshals guarded the doors to the courtroom to keep people out.

[mzmolly]

29. More here ...

But The Washington Post, citing two unidentified law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation, reported Tuesday that the teenager was suspected of helping Weise plan the assault and had expected to take part.


Some residents who have been interviewed by federal authorities said they believe the investigation is expanding, perhaps to include Weise's friends.


"They're saying that maybe the group he had run with knew something," Chris Dunshee, the principal of Red Lake High School, told The New York Times in Tuesday's editions.


U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that he couldn't "confirm or deny" that the shootings by Weise were part of a larger attack planned on the high school. He added that the investigation is ongoing in Red Lake and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=2&u=/ap/20050329/ap_on_re_us/school_shootings_9


The press reported Weise was a "loner" and now we find out that he was possibly planning this with other kids?

[bobthedrummer]

30. This could be linked to the neo-nazi group that Weise posted to.

There is the rainbow coalition of racism fueling this fascist ideology everywhere.

[WI_DEM]

2. nobody noticed a second shooter?

[mzmolly]

3. Who knows "how" he was supposedly connected.

But they do have video from the school, perhaps they found something?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. There's no telling at this point

They may think he had knowledge before hand. He could have been in on a conspiracy to commit the act. There's just no way of knowing.

[mzmolly]

6. Right.

:shrug:

[meganmonkey]

11. And law enforcement probably didn't want to announce publicly

that they were investigating someone else's involvement until they had what they needed to arrest him, perhaps.

[MADem]

25. There was no second shooter

There were others who were aware of the plan, apparently. See post re: emails, above.

[True_Blue]

7. Yahoo: Juvenile arrested in Red Lake school shootings, U.S. officials say

RED LAKE, Minn. (AP) - A juvenile has been arrested in last week's shooting rampage on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, federal authorities said Monday. They would not say how the juvenile was believed to be connected to the attack, which left 10 people dead, including the 16-year-old gunman.

U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said the juvenile was arrested Sunday, but declined to give any details, including the age and gender of the juvenile. Heffelfinger said federal law required him to withhold the details.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cpress/20050328/ca_pr_on_wo/us_school_shootings_arrest&cid=2149&ncid=2149

[mzmolly]

8. Our local KSTP channel broke the story that it was the tribal chair's son

:(

I know that they are very hush hush on the details of his involvement however.

[dflprincess]

20. At 5 o'clock both WCCO and CBS Evening news

had the story, but did not say who was arrested, only that it was a juvenile.

I have to confess I had channel 9, which is the local Faux, on between 4 and 5 pm today and they broke in during that period about the arrest and who it was.

I really object to the kid being identified - he hasn't even been charged yet and we don't know what led to his arrest. It might turn out to be a mistake and this kid will marked with this for the rest of his life.

[MADem]

21. You have to wonder if "tribal sovereignty" has anything to do with it

What's the considered age of adulthood in that particular nation? Could he have confessed to his father?

Is that why the TC kept the media aggressively at bay? I saw one reporter saying that she got roughed up, shoved, and threatened with arrest by tribal police if she got too close to the fence in the very early reporting. It was clear that she found the attitude a bit disconcerting. It seemed a bit over the top to me, and not the way to keep the media placated--they would have been better off setting up an area for them, because the minute you tell them NO, you aren't getting any help from them, and you could be in for a world of pain.

In any event, it ain't a tribal law issue at this point anymore.

[dflprincess]

23. Actually, the Federal Government will have jurisdiction here

and the US attorney refused to give any details because of the kid's age because of how Federal law deals with juveniles.

Red Lake is a closed reservation and the people living there have always kept themselves preferred to stay separate from the larger society. I think that had more to do with keeping the media at bay than anything else.

[MADem]

24. I realize that Feds get the first bite

I was wondering if the initial media blackout, and the willingness for some to reveal the ID of the juvenile accomplice, had anything to do with the nation-state status of the rez.

[dflprincess]

31. Sorry, I misunderstood your question

My personal opinion is that the name probably got out because Red Lake is a relatively small community so this couldn't stay a secret for long. I imagine someone might have given the story to a reporter or the reporter(s) may have picked it up by overhearing something while they were up there. And, perhaps if his father wasn't the tribal chairman, the press wouldn't have released his name even if it were common knowledge in Red Lake.

[mzmolly]

28. Update

I guess he was charged yesterday?

From an article posted above by MAdem.

The youth arrested Sunday reportedly was arraigned on the unspecified charge during a closed, 15-minute hearing Monday before U.S. Magistrate Raymond Erickson in Duluth. There was increased security around the federal courthouse, and U.S. marshals guarded the doors to the courtroom to keep people out.

And more from the Red Lake website:

http://www.rlnn.com/ArtMar05/ArrestMadeInCase.html

"Officials told the Post that prosecutors are considering whether to charge the juvenile as an adult with conspiracy to commit murder."

Wow.

[mzmolly]

9. .

[DoNotRefill]

10. I think "Holy Shit!"

is an appropriate response to this...

[mzmolly]

12. Yes indeed.

I didn't even know they were friends? Supposedly Jeff Weise acted alone ... until today? Then suddenly such a notable young man is an accomplice?

[NVMojo]

13. notice how little coverage this gets in comparison to the Columbine

shootings ....

[mzmolly]

15. I sure do. TERRY SCHAIVO, TERRY SCHAIVO, TERRY SCHAIVO

nothin' else matters ...

[True_Blue]

32. Turns out that they are cousins

"Louis Jourdain is a cousin of Jeff Weise, Pemberton said; Floyd Jourdain's aunt is the grandmother with whom Weise was living."
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/11255416.htm

[mzmolly]

33. Wow. Seems everyone on the Reservation is related somehow.

Weise killed his cousin Chase Lussier as well. And, another young girl that died said that Jourdain is her nephew, and the girl her neice?

From the article:

"It's terribly hard. People are reluctant to testify," Lillehaug said. "Everyone knows everybody, and many people are related by blood. That makes it difficult to find good witnesses who are willing and committed to testifying."


I feel badly for Jourdain because I think he is probably the kind of kid who was easily led (trying to be cool) and probably never thought anything would come of the discussions he had with Weise? It sounds like he was a good student/kid and that he never had any trouble with the law - I hope they try him as a Juvenile? I think the most effective thing they could do with a kid like this is make him serve partially by lecturing at schools about "what can happen if ... "

[Nevernose]

14. NOBODY SAID HE WAS AN ACCOMPLICE

However, if he knew that the shooter had even TALKED about killing people, and he didn't tell anyone, then the DA could conceivably charge him. It's not quite the same thing as being an accomplice.

Let's not jump to conclusions, especially since we know the DA is probably looking for blood at this point.

[mzmolly]

16. "Federal authorities no longer believe that RL school shooter acted alone"

If he didn't act "alone" he acted with someone, thus he would be an accomplice?

[mzmolly]

17. Picture of Floyd Jourdain (Tribal Chair) & son Louis (alledged accomplice)

My pride and joy Louie who always shares his school achievements with me.

Clearly this child had a different set of circumstances than Jeff Weise?

Here is Mr. Jourdain's website and biography

http://floydjourdain.com/biography

In 1984, I graduated from Red Lake High School. In the commencement speech we were told to go out into the world, pursue education and bring our knowledge back to the reservation to help our people. After graduation, my future wife Gina and I moved to Duluth where I took classes and began working with people in recovery programs. In June of 2004 I will celebrate 20 years of sobriety.

So tragic all around.

[True_Blue]

19. The article now says that Louis was into the same "Nazi stuff"

"Red Lake buzzed Monday with news of the arrest. A boy who knew Louis Jourdain told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that he liked heavy metal music and was into the same "Nazi stuff" that Weise was."

The ironic thing is that Hitler would have had these kids "liquidated" in Nazi Germany.

[mzmolly]

27. Very ironic.

Both sad and ignorant that these kids would be "drawn" to that crap.

[NYC]

18. A victim who tried to protect two classmates:

http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S7216.html?cat=1

...injured student Jeffrey May, 15, tried to protect two girls by stabbing Weise in the side with a pencil.

Weise shot him in the right cheek and the bullet lodged in his neck. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound teen suffered a stroke and can't move his left side, but he has been able to write notes to his family.

Doctors don't know if May will recover, but his family said he was breathing on his own, which they called a good sign.

[mzmolly]

26. That poor kid.

He was very brave to take on a gunman. I guess May and Weise were friends also.