“Do you want me to take my gun out and shoot you?”
Those words from six-year-old Dedrick Owens more than 20 years ago were a tragic precursor to the horrific event that took place in January of 2023. Much like the six-year-old would-be-killer of schoolteacher Abby Zwerner, Owens had a history of incidents both at home and at school that were clearly red flags to anyone paying a modicum of attention. Much like him as well, these foreboding alarms went virtually ignored and unheeded- until it was too late.
According to Criminal Justice iresearch.net, the events played out as follows:
“On February 29, 2000, Kayla Rolland was in her first-grade classroom at Theo J. Buell Elementary School in Mount Morris Township, Michigan, clearing her desk before going to computer class. Most of her classmates were already lined up in the hallway, along with their teacher, Alicia Judd. Kayla and classmate six-year-old Dedrick Owens were exchanging words. Some reports state that Kayla yelled at Dedrick for spitting and standing by her desk. All reports agree on what happened next: Dedrick pulled a .32-caliber pistol and pointed it at two other girls in the room. Then he turned to Kayla and said, “I don’t like you!” Some say Kayla responded, “So?” Owens then pulled the trigger, fatally shooting six-year-old Rolland in the chest. When Judd heard the shot, she returned to the classroom and called 911 from her cell phone. Owens put the gun back in his desk and ran into the hall, where he was stopped by school officials. Paramedics arrived on the scene to find Rolland bleeding profusely from her wound. She was transported to Hurley Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.”
The same report revealed that Owens left for school with a stolen knife, a Davis .32-caliber semi-automatic handgun, and a planned show of force. Both weapons belonged to Jamelle James, a 19-year-old staying in his uncle’s house where Derick lived with his eight-year-old brother. Though most of Dedrick’s challenges stemmed from a father who was in jail at the time of the shooting for parole violation, and a mother who was evicted from her home for drug use weeks before forcing him to live with his uncle, clearly a myriad of issues for concern was already present. James was ultimately charged with multiple crimes including involuntary manslaughter and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Owens age barred him from being charged with any crime.
This from Morbidology.com:
“Following the shooting, Dedrick placed the gun on his desk and ran out into the hall, where he was detained by school officials and taken to the principal’s office. Kayla was treated by paramedics at the scene and was rushed to Hurley Medical Center where she was pronounced dead at 10:29AM. Her mother’s cries could be heard throughout the halls of the hospital.
Dedrick subsequently became the youngest school shooter in a nation overwhelmed by such tragedies. He was taken into police custody where he explained what he had done. It was noted he showed no remorse nor did he seem upset. He simply believed that he had been “naughty” and that a “bad thing had happened.” After telling his story, Dedrick sat drawing pictures on a piece of paper given to him by authorities. “He thought this was like television, meaning people don’t really die. He was expressing to police he didn’t understand it was real,” said Police Chief Eric King.”
While there have been kids as young as six committing murders, Dedrick was the youngest perpetrator at the time, and Kayla Rolland remains the youngest school-shooting victim. Most notably, both white and black youths occupy this cringeworthy category. However, investigations reveal differing motivational factors. Generally, the motivation behind white youth criminals is typically based on individual property, rivalry, or petty jealousy. However, similar crimes such as those committed by Zwerner and Rolland, share an animus based on race.
Once again, we must keep in mind that the anger these children have is no accident. Instead, it is both cultivated and groomed in the home, and then pampered and coddled away by race-baiters and the media. The fact stands that much of the violence and aggression youths carried out against high school and middle school staff are indicative of said “training.”
Be advised and warned; this is merely a side effect of what is reaped and sewn within the black community. Done with impunity, culpability and responsibility are non-existent. America, though this has not just begun, it is still far from over.
