Erik Fichtel, Eric Hainstock, and John Klang

Just two weeks ago, William Cornell, Shawn Sturtz, and Bradley Netwal's plot to stage a violent assault at Green Bay's East High School was uncovered.
Charges were filed against Cornell on Friday.

Cornell was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide, conspiracy to commit damage to property by use of explosives, possessing explosives and possessing an illegal short-barreled shotgun. He remains in jail on $500,000 cash bail.

Cornell was ordered to return to court Oct. 23 to enter pleas to the charges, court records said.

Preliminary hearings for the other two teens accused in the plot -- Shawn Sturtz, 17, and Bradley Netwal, 18 -- are scheduled for Wednesday.

The weapons cache that the teens had was frightening. Thankfully, tragedy was averted in that case.

But you don't need an arsenal to do damage or commit murder.

Eric Hainstock proved that on Friday morning at Weston High School, in Cazenovia, Wisconsin.
It's a small school (125 students) in a small town (pop. 327) in Sauk County.

A statement on the school's website describes what happened -- the unthinkable.

On Friday morning at approximately 8 A.M., a student was apprehended after entering the high school main entrance with a shotgun. A struggle ensued, and the gun was taken away. The student then took out a second gun and several shots were fired. In attempting to subdue the student, Mr. Klang was shot. He was treated at Reedsburg Area Medical Center and then flown by med flight to the University Hospital in Madison where he died . In dealing with this crisis, Weston staff and administrators want to assure you that this was an isolated incident. The student was arrested and charged with first degree intentional homicide by the Sauk County District Attorney’s office.

Classes will not be held on Monday. The school will be open and staff, counselors, and clergy will be present for those students and families who would like to have support during this time. Sometimes it is healthy for teens to be with friends and talk about their feelings and concerns, and we want to be able to offer a safe, central location for them.


In a completely separate incident, one of our students was killed in a car accident Friday morning. While our plan is to resume classes on Tuesday, there is a chance that school and will be canceled Tuesday pending funeral arrangements. Please listen to your local radio and TV stations for updated information.

Erik Fichtel was only 16. He played on the school's football team and he was killed on Friday.

A deputy had spotted a speeding vehicle headed north on Highway G in the town of Washington, said Sauk County Sheriff Randy Stammen. The deputy turned around to try and catch the vehicle, but had not activated lights and sirens.

The deputy lost sight of the vehicle after it turned west onto West Harris Road. A short time later the deputy found that the vehicle had passed a stop sign at a "T" intersection and crashed into the shoulder of Highway K.

Fichtel was taken by Med Flight to UW Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

This tragedy occurred just minutes before Hainstock shot Principal Klang.

The school's statement goes on:

It seems that our school has been bombarded with tragedy. It is important that we pull together as a community so that a sense of normalcy and safety can be attained. Your children may have questions, and experts suggest that everyone should be encouraged to discuss feelings and concerns openly and honestly.

Please feel free to contact the school if you have any questions, as counselors and staff are willing and able to help. We’d appreciate your prayers during this difficult time.

Note that this public school's website contains a plea for prayers.

I wonder how long that will remain on the Internet before some atheist gets offended, complains, and demands that it be removed.

What else can one do in a situation like this but pray?

Understandably, the community is in total shock and grieving.

The tragedy of a good kid being killed on the way to school is so difficult to accept.

Then, the horror of a student killing the principal is beyond comprehension.

This tribute to Principal John Klang appears on Weston's site:

John Klang was the principal/administrator at Weston. Always kind and compassionate, his soft-spoken words touched many students, staff, and community members. He was very dedicated to the school, having served on the school board for over 20 years prior to becoming the school’s principal. He wasn’t the kind of principal who sat behind a desk to run the school. He was visible throughout the school and participated in many activities. He was killed because he was trying to maintain control and protect the students and staff at Weston, all of whom are grateful-and –safe-for his efforts. As his staff, we are praying for his family and the community and hope many people will join with us.

Here is a report on the shooting from the Associated Press:

A teenager who decided to confront teachers and the principal after complaining that other students teased him brought two guns to school and shot the principal to death, authorities said.

The shooting Friday also came a day after the principal gave 15-year-old Eric Hainstock a disciplinary warning for having tobacco, according to a criminal complaint.

On Friday morning, Hainstock pried open his family's gun cabinet, took out a shotgun, retrieved the key to his parents' locked bedroom and took a .22-caliber revolver, according to a criminal complaint.

He entered Weston Schools with the shotgun before classes began and pointed the gun at a social studies teacher, but custodian Dave Thompson wrested it from the teen, the complaint said. When Hainstock reached for the handgun, Thompson and the teacher ran for cover.

Then Principal John Klang went into the hallway and confronted Hainstock. A teacher said that after the shots were fired, Klang, already wounded, managed to wrestle the shooter to the ground and sweep away the gun, the complaint said. Students and staff detained Hainstock until police arrived, District Attorney Patricia Barrett said.

Klang was shot and he kept fighting to protect the lives of others.

The man is a hero.

No one else was injured. Klang, 49, was shot in the head, chest and leg, authorities said. He died hours later at a hospital in Madison. An autopsy was scheduled for Saturday.

Sheriff Randy Stammen praised Klang's swift action. "The heroics of the people involved in this can't be understated," he said.

School officials said Klang had given Hainstock a disciplinary notice Thursday for bringing tobacco to school, and the student faced a likely in-school suspension, the complaint said.

Hainstock told investigators a group of kids had called him names and rubbed up against him, and he felt teachers and the principal would not do anything about it, according to the complaint.

It also said Hainstock had told a friend a few days earlier that Klang would not "make it through homecoming," referring to festivities planned for the school's homecoming weekend.

After the shooting, Weston's football game, dance and parade were canceled or postponed, and crisis counselors were brought in for students.

Children from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade attend the small school near Cazenovia, a community of about 300 people about 70 miles northwest of Madison.

Sophomore Shelly Rupp, 16, said she woke up ready to celebrate homecoming. Instead, she ended up catching a glimpse of her principal lying in the hallway in "a pile of blood."

...Klang and his three children graduated from Weston Schools. Klang taught, then farmed for about 18 years before returning to teaching and taking over as principal in 2004, said his father, Don Klang. He was being groomed to become superintendent next year.

...The shooting took place two days after a gunman took six students hostage in a Colorado high school and killed one before shooting himself.

What is going on?

Going to school should not be like going to a war zone.

Hainstock will be tried as an adult, as he should be. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

He deserves it. You do not bring a gun to school to use on anyone, EVER.

He was teased. So what? That's no excuse.

Yes, students can be horribly cruel to other kids, teasing and taunting. Treating another human being in that manner is completely unacceptable.

Ted Kennedy, Dick Durbin, John Kerry, Russ Feingold, Harry Reid, and John McCain have been demanding that the U.S. government treat suspected terrorists, some picked up on the battlefield, with more dignity than that.

I sympathize with kids mercilessly harassed by their classmates. They are victims.

BUT-- That is no excuse to lash out violently. Hainstock is not a mixed up kid. He's a murderer.

It was an unspeakably sad day for the people of that small community.

The losses were so great and so sudden.

On Friday, a vigil was held. People gathered together to grieve.

About 500 students, parents, teachers and community members gathered Friday night under the lights of the football field to mourn the loss of Klang.

Instead of watching football, they cried, sang "Amazing Grace," listened to mournful violin passages and spoke fondly of Klang and also of a student who died earlier today in an unrelated car wreck.

Many wore Weston High sweatshirts and baseball caps in the cold late September wind. Bible passages were read and words of comfort spoken.

The flag at the opposite end zone flew at half staff.

Becky Jennings is the mother of children who attend the school ... and she says the vigil was meant to offer hope and prayer to a grieving community.

I suspect it will take a long, long time for them to recover from this. I hope their faith provides them with the comfort and strength that they so desperately need.

This was truly a tragic day for the Weston High School family.

Sometimes life can be unbearably painful.