-Caveat Lector-
Accused attacker erupts in courtroom
Mountain View teachers, police, paramedics called heroes
By Molly Brown
Anchorage Daily News
(Published May 9, 2001)
http://www.adn.com/nation/story/0,2360,264980,00.html
Strapped to a chair in Anchorage District Court, the man accused of slashing
four elementary school students stared blankly at a judge Tuesday and refused
to answer any questions.
But as guards ushered Jason W. Pritchard out of the courtroom, the silent man
erupted.
"Kill the young children, kill yourself. Kill the young children first, then
kill yourself."
Pritchard, 33, a man with an extensive history of mental illness and
religious delusions, was in court the day after Anchorage police say he used
a fillet knife to slash the throats and faces of four boys who attend
Mountain View Elementary. He is charged with four counts each of attempted
first-degree murder and first-degree assault.
The boys -- Cody Brown, 8, Stephan Hansell, 8, Billy Moy, 8 and Eric Moy, 9
-- were recovering Tuesday. The Moy brothers were discharged from Providence
Alaska Medical Center, family members said. Brown remained in serious
condition in the Providence pediatric intensive care unit, but doctors say he
is doing well, hospital spokeswoman Karina Jennings said.
Hansell was in fair condition at Alaska Regional Hospital, said spokeswoman
Kjerstin Lastufka, and is expected to be discharged today.
Relatives of Hansell and the Moy brothers were in court Tuesday. One family
sat side-by-side holding hands, a file from the Anchorage District Attorney's
office on one woman's lap.
Pritchard, restrained by leather straps after he refused to sit on a court
bench, seemed despondent, distracted and bored. He was surrounded by several
court guards, one who sat behind him and grabbed hold of his blue jail shirt
to keep him seated. His left hand -- broken when police disarmed him Monday
-- was covered with a white bandage.
He stared vacantly at television cameras.
It was just 32 hours earlier that police responded to a desperate 911 call
and found Pritchard in the corner of Mountain View Elementary classroom 13
holding a white-handled fillet knife and being held at bay by teacher Jeff
Harriman, who stood between him and a gashed student, according to the
complaint filed in court Tuesday.
The child, Stephan Hansell, was on the floor bleeding from the neck and from
a long laceration down the right side of his face, the complaint said.
Pritchard first approached the boys while they waited in line for the
school's breakfast program. He grabbed Billy Moy first and placed him in a
choke hold with one hand wrapped around him and another pressing the knife
into his neck, the complaint said. Moy screamed and tried to get away, and
Pritchard slashed at the three other boys.
The Moy brothers and Brown fled to the principal's office, and Hansell ran
inside to classroom 13. Pritchard followed, but was slowed by a school
lockdown that kept him from the same door Hansell used, the complaint said.
He entered the school and calmly walked down the hall to classroom 13, the
complaint said.
Pritchard pushed a teacher who was trying to close the classroom door.
Students were hiding under school desks. Pritchard grabbed Hansell by the
legs, pulled him out, then slit his throat.
Harriman, the teacher, entered the room and knocked Pritchard to the ground,
allowing another teacher, Archie O'Blenness, to escort 15 other students out
of the classroom, Police Chief Walt Monegan said at a Tuesday press
conference.
Once students were out of the classroom, the door was locked, leaving
Pritchard, Harriman, and Hansell inside. Teacher Dan Sage then broke the
glass in the door and entered the room as Pritchard started throwing
furniture.
Pritchard told Harriman that Hansell was "going to see Jesus today," the
complaint said. Harriman held Pritchard off and shielded Hansell with a
plastic science kit container.
The first two officers who arrived aimed their guns at Pritchard and
positioned themselves to minimize shooting school walls, windows or innocent
bystanders, in case they had to shoot, the complaint said.
One officer said he contemplated killing Pritchard, the complaint said.
Two other officers arrived, told Harriman to take Hansell to safety, and
ordered Pritchard to drop his knife.
Pritchard refused and held the knife in the officers' direction, the
complaint said. Police taped his ramblings.
Pritchard, who has talked for years of his desire to kill children in the
name of God, told police he wanted to send "... his little brothers and
sisters to Jehovah," the complaint said.
He urged officers to use their "swords" -- referring to their guns -- to kill
the children and send them to God, and asked for strength so he would not
"take the mark of the beast," the complaint said.
Another officer arrived with a 37 mm gas gun, and fired beanbag projectiles
containing steel shot at Pritchard's right thigh, the complaint said.
Pritchard dropped to the ground, still holding the knife, and the officer
fired again.
Pritchard laughed, and said "strengthen me, Father, to do your own will," the
complaint said. He raised his arms and pointed the knife toward the officers,
until a third shot sent the fillet knife flying out of his left hand, the
complaint said.
Officers piled on Pritchard when he tried to crawl to the knife, and took him
into custody at 8:43 a.m., the complaint said.
It was about 15 minutes after the 911 call.
More than 30 detectives responded Monday, and one located Pritchard's 1992
Subaru parked near the school, police said. About 30 feet from the car, a
detective found a jacket, alarm clock, and shredded piece of paper. The paper
was torn, and the detective pieced it together like a jigsaw puzzle. It was
the car's registration, with a note scrawled on the back, the complaint said.
"Remember Columbine," it said at the top, according to the complaint.
It began, "Young one, please read Revelation 13:8, 9,10." The note said the
Bible passage was a message from God and Jesus Christ to stop spending money,
to "avoid getting the mark of the beast."
"Leave all the churches behind also you can't have anything to do with them
if you want to avoid being destroyed and receive the gift of everlasting
life. Also you must have the faith that killing little children is their only
hope and don't be afraid of wicked people killing you and sending you to meet
God and Jesus," according to the complaint.
Assistant district attorney Jay Fayette said it wasn't clear if Pritchard's
citation to Revelation, chapter 13, had anything to do his actions in
classroom 13.
In the wake of the incident, teachers, officers and paramedics were called
heroes.
"Everybody did what they were supposed to do," Monegan said.
Even the students handled things well, he said.
After Pritchard's hearing in court Tuesday, the grandparents of the Moy
brothers stood stunned outside the Anchorage courthouse.
"Evidently he's sick," said Keith Leonard, the grandfather.
Keith Leonard who stood behind his shaking wife Wilma, wrapped his arm her
and held her hand.
"I came just to find out. To just get a look at him," Wilma Leonard said.
Their grandchildren were doing well, Keith Leonard said.
Billy had surgery on his voice box, Wilma Leonard said. At one point, doctors
warned he might have lost his voice, she said.
"He called me on the phone and said 'Grandma, I'm talking,' " she said.
He also asked for hash browns.
The slash on Eric's neck came close to his jugular vein, she said.
Keith and Wilma Leonard said the family hadn't talked about the children
returning to school. For now, the family is focused on healing, they said.
Reporter Molly Brown can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 257-4343. Reporters
Lucas Wall and Doug O'Harra contributed to this story.
=======
MARtin F. ABErnathy [[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Bronx,NY 10473 May 9, 2001
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