Alleged Ohio school shooter: 'Die, all of you'

CHARDON, OH (RNN) - The teen suspected of opening fire in a high school cafeteria Monday will make his first court appearance at 3:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, as the small town of Chardon, OH, continues to grapple with the aftermath.

Witnesses have identified the alleged shooter as T.J. Lane, 17, a teen friends described as "very quiet," according to Cleveland's WOIO.

"He's a very confused young man right now," said the attorney for T.J. Lane's family, Robert Farinacci. "This is a very scary circumstance, and I don't think he could have possibly foreseen himself in the middle of [it]."

'Feel death'

How and why the teen became just the latest in alleged school shooters is up for debate, but posts made to Lane's Facebook account may provide insight into his state of mind before the attack.

"His only company to confide in was the vermin in the street," he wrote in part on Dec. 30, 2011. "He longed for only one thing, the world to bow at his feet."

The rambling prose, which Lane wrote while in class, continued from the portrait of a lonely man, to a woman in a castle, and finally, to the fall of the castle at the hands of the man.

"Feel death, not just mocking you. Not just stalking you but inside of you," he wrote. "Wriggle and writhe. Feel smaller beneath my might. Seizure in the Pestilence that is my scythe. Die, all of you."

The post has since been taken off his public profile.

Lane's background appears rife with family problems.

In 1995, Lane's mother was convicted of disorderly conduct after being charged with domestic violence against his father. The opposite happened in 1997, with his father being convicted of disorderly conduct after domestic violence was alleged by his mother, according to Geauga County court records.

"I've asked him once or twice, but he never would go into detail [about his family]," classmate Haley Kovacik told CNN. "He just said he had family trouble."

The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland also reported that Lane's father was charged with assaulting a police officer and was convicted of trying to suffocate a former wife by holding her head under water.

According to CNN, Lane lived with grandparents and attended nearby Lake Academy Alternative School in Willoughby, OH. He was at Chardon High School waiting for transportation to the school.

The Academy's website says the school serve at-risk students from seventh to 12th grade. The school works specifically with "students who are experiencing serious challenges in meeting expectations within traditional school settings." They list a variety of possible problems for students, including substance abuse, anger issues and mental health issues.

But a friend of Lane's family, Evan Erasmus, told CNN that Lane didn't show any signs of violence and that he "was in disbelief."

"He was quiet, but he was one of the nicest kids there," he said. "You could talk to him really easily. He was funny."

Normal appearance

In 1999, Dewey Cornell of the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education, testified before the House Judiciary Committee on the psychological state of school shooters. Although he said there was no single profile of violent young offenders, he found that most youths who commit school violence seem normal to those around them.

"These youths are emotionally troubled and conflicted - alienated, angry and depressed," he said. "They may be intelligent and capable, but they are not satisfied with their achievements and often feel unfairly treated by others."

He likened their psychological state to people who feel that suicide is the only answer to their problems. "In this case, however, the conflicted youth decides to kill others rather than himself."

On Monday, Lane allegedly opened fire in a high school cafeteria, wounding five. Three were later pronounced dead at the MetroHealth Medical center in Cleveland. Two other victims, one in serious condition and the second stabilized, were taken to Cleveland's Hillcrest Hospital.

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