Marinette High School hostage situation

Got inspired to make a post about this after reading about it on Tumblr, it gives me a modern day Jeremy Delle feel.

On November 29, 2010, Valerie Burd was showing a movie about Greek myths to her sixth period social studies class at Marinette High School in Wisconsin. She excused 15-year-old Samuel Hengel to use the bathroom, but he instead went to his locker and retrieved a duffel bag containing one .22-caliber Ruger MK III handgun and a 9mm Hi-Point C9 handgun with 148 rounds of ammunition for each weapon, and two knives. He stuffed 57 additional bullets in his pockets and returned to the classroom, firing three times into the projector.

No one else in the school apparently recognized the sound of the shots as gunfire, and Hengel told the teacher to post a note on the door telling seventh-period students to report to the library. As a result, no one realized the class was in danger until about a half-hour after school ended, when a man came to the school office looking for his daughter.

Principal Corry Lambie determined the last class the girl attended was Western Civilization and went to the room to find the door locked. When Lambie unlocked the door, Hengel pointed his gun at him and told him to leave. Hengel allowed the girl to go with Lambie.

The standoff dragged on for four more hours, with teacher Valerie Burd acting as a go-between for Hengel and police.

A SWAT team stormed the room after Hengel fired three shots about 8 p.m., destroying the classroom phone and hitting a computer. Hengel shot himself as officers reached him. He died the next morning.

Sam was described as a good student with extracurriculars such as Boy Scouts and taekwondo. A hunting and fishing enthusiast, he had a lot of friends, and police don’t believe he was bullied. He loved his gadgets and the Green Bay Packers.

As law enforcement tried to figure out what may have led Hengel to take over his Marinette High School classroom for more than six hours and ultimately take his own life, family and friends said they’re at a loss.

“I was devastated. He was just an exemplary kid,” said Henry Johnston, one of Hengel’s Scout leaders. “That question ‘why?’ is just a question there’s no answer for at this time.”

Police Chief Jeffrey Skorik isn’t sure there ever will be.

“We are going to continue to search but that answer may have gone with Sam and we may never know,” he said.

Students said Hengel didn’t explain himself during the standoff, but didn’t threaten or appear to want to shoot anyone despite the sheer number of bullets he had in his possession. None of the hostages were harmed.

Skorik declined Wednesday to draw any conclusions about Hengel’s intent, saying investigators don’t know whether the guns may have always been kept in the bag with the ammunition or whether Hengel put it all together specifically for the standoff.

The chief said investigators in the city of 12,000 people that borders Michigan’s Upper Peninsula had not found any notes or explanations from Hengel as of Wednesday, but still were looking into whether the teen left any clues on social networking websites such as Facebook. Dave Riley, professor of human development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said whatever was bothering Hengel likely was related to his peers or family members or possibly biological mental health problems.

“From what I’ve heard so far, his problems don’t sound different than what kinds of experiences students had in the past,” Riley said.

Austin Biehl, 15, was in Hengel’s Monday afternoon class and said Hengel didn’t make any demands. Biehl said he didn’t think Hengel was going to hurt anyone, but it was obvious those in the room couldn’t leave.

“We just didn’t want to get up,” said Biehl, who said he wasn’t close with Hengel but knew him at school.

A few of his close friends started to make conversation with him and then the rest of the class joined in. Biehl said Hengel mentioned he couldn’t afford tickets to a Packers game or a trail camera for hunting and that he had a sinus infection over Thanksgiving.

But Biehl said Hengel laughed with students while discussing movies and other topics.

“He seemed fine except he had a gun in his hand. That’s the only thing that was worrying,” Biehl said.

Johnston, the Scout leader, said he knew Hengel for five or six years and that the teen was working toward becoming an Eagle Scout. He called Hengel a “model kid” who often helped younger Scouts learn cooking and camping skills, which other older kids didn’t usually do.

He said Hengel also had a tight-knit family.

On Thursday, the family said Hengel’s organs had been donated for transplantation. In a statement, the family said they’re grateful for the support from friends, family and even complete strangers. The family said there’s comfort in knowing the organs will benefit many individuals.

Kody Baumler, 16, said Hengel was one of his buddies and described him as an “awesome kid” who did well in school.

“He’s a really good kid. I’m surprised he would do something like this,” Baumler said.

A “R.I.P. Sam Hengel” Facebook page was up and running Wednesday, featuring many sympathetic comments and several people saying they wished Hengel had reached out to them. Hundreds of people showed up to a memorial for Sam, setting aside the terrifying standoff to honor him as a quiet, helpful leader who loved the outdoors.

Sam Hengel's family held the gathering in a school auditorium in Menominee, Mich., because they expected so many supporters. Menominee lies just across the Menominee River from Marinette, Wis., where Hengel held 26 classmates and his teacher at gunpoint for nearly six hours.

Barb Post of Marinette, Wis., said she didn't know Hengel's family but attended anyway to show support.

"You care about the people and the family, and you understand it could happen to anybody," Post said.

Why Hengel took his class hostage remains a mystery. Other students and his teacher have said he was well-liked and had many friends.

Flurries fell under an overcast sky Sunday afternoon, adding to a feeling of gloom. The line to greet the teen's parents and two younger brothers stretched out of the auditorium and into the lobby, where mourners gazed at collages of photos depicting Hengel as a small child, holding a string of fish and paddling along on a canoe trip with his family.

On a table was a message board. Hengel's brother, Ben, had written "I will always miss you, brother" on it. Next to the board were pin-on buttons emblazoned with Hengel's face and take-home cards listing symptoms that might indicate suicidal thoughts.

Hengel's family stood in front of the auditorium's stage and hugged one well-wisher after another for more than two hours. They had set up a tent, a canoe and paddle and a mock campfire on the stage. They hung up Hengel's Boy Scout and taekwondo uniforms and his replica Green Bay Packers jersey with linebacker A.J. Hawk's No. 50 on the front next to the stage.

A slide show showing Hengel hiking in the woods, canoeing and riding horses with his family played before the ceremony started. Many of the photos featured him with his father, Jon.

The Rev. Nicholas Johannes told the crowd he wondered why Hengel did it as he held the boy's hand in the hospital, but said he'll never know. Hengel was a good person and God would not judge him on one act, Johannes promised.

People's lives revolve around work so much they don't listen or help each other anymore, he said.

"This is not about Sam's sin. This is about the world's sin. Something has gone terribly wrong," he said. "We need to say 'I love you' and mean the words."

Keith Schroeder, Hengel's scoutmaster, said he had looked forward to seeing how Hengel would turn out as a man, because he was such a compassionate youth and always had a smile on his face. He said Hengel would be any scout's partner and made the best French toast in the troop.

"Sam was my best friend," Schroeder said. "We don't know for sure what went on in Sam's mind, but we know he chose a permanent solution to a temporary problem . his emotional bucket was empty. We didn't see his bucket was empty and I don't think Sam did, either."

Jon Hengel told the crowd his son was a quiet leader who was "always ready to go."

"Someday when we meet again you can tell me what happened. You are one of the great ones," he said. "You and your brothers are the North Star in my life. . I love you, Sam."

A bugler closed the ceremony with "Taps." Dozens of Hengel's fellow Boy Scouts filed into the auditorium's aisles and saluted.

Additional photos:

Undated, low quality photo of a younger Sam:

Undated photo of Sam at what could be an Owl City concert?:

Undated photo of Sam, probably the closest to the incident:

Undated yearbook photo of Sam:

Sam's Hi-Point C9 and two magazines:

A bullet hole in the classroom window:

Credit to whitmansyndrome on Tumblr for finding the crime scene photos, and for overall inspiring me to make this post.

SavageGlocker wrote:

The Rev. Nicholas Johannes told the crowd he wondered why Hengel did it as he held the boy's hand in the hospital, but said he'll never know. Hengel was a good person and God would not judge him on one act, Johannes promised.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, wow!

Imagine if this kid had shot someone, I really doubt the Reverend would be saying the same thing. Fucking wow.

Trying to recreate parts of Stephen King's Rage maybe? Obviously he failed at it. Parts of this just remind me of that novella.

hvernon wrote:

Trying to recreate parts of Stephen King's Rage maybe? Obviously he failed at it. Parts of this just remind me of that novella.

Yeah I got those vibes too. I think he was maybe not taking the situation very seriously until the cops burst the door down.

Even if he actually tried to kill, I doubt he'd get very far without his Hi-Point jamming and him having to resort to the weak .22.