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 Red
Lake, Minn. -- Two days after a shooting rampage on the
Indian reservation here left 10 dead, friends, relatives
and neighbors of Jeff Weise -- the 16-year- old assailant
-- began to sketch a portrait of a deeply disturbed youth
who had been treated for depression in a psychiatric ward,
lost several close family members, sketched gruesome scenes
of armed warriors and was removed from the school where
he gunned down most of his victims Monday.
"The clues were all there,"
said Kim Desjarlait, Weise's step-aunt, who lives in Minneapolis.
"Everything was laid out, right there, for the school
or the authorities in Red Lake to see it coming. I don't
want to blame Red Lake, but did they not put two and two
together? This kid was crying out, and those guys chose
to ignore it. They need to start focusing on their kids."
See the story
about Weise's animated Flash cartoon he made last
year and posted online.
On the Red Lake Indian Reservation, officials
held a private prayer service Wednesday night and met
to discuss when students might be able to return to school.
Superintendent Stuart Desjarlait said it may take months
for the high school to reopen because of the extensive
damage from Monday's rampage. Five students, a teacher
and a guard were killed at the school. Seven students
were wounded and two remained in critical condition Wednesday
at a hospital in Fargo, N.D.
Federal authorities said they were conducting
autopsies on Weise and his nine victims, but FBI spokesman
Paul McCabe said he did not anticipate releasing any information
in the near future. Tribal leaders were even less forthcoming,
strictly limiting reporters' movements.
Tensions rose throughout Wednesday, with
some residents whispering fears that if they spoke to
outsiders they would suffer retribution. Residents of
neighboring communities offered cautionary tales about
violence on the reservation, and the Justice Department
created a task force to deal with gangs when Red Lake
suffered five homicides in seven months in 2002. Because
Red Lake is a closed reservation, it operates as a sovereign
nation, running its own police force and dictating who
may set foot on the property.
Those willing to be interviewed described
Weise as a young man who drifted among various homes on
the reservation, listening to heavy metal music, proclaiming
his affinity for Adolf Hitler and periodically showing
up at the high school, even though Stuart Desjarlait said
that six months ago he had ordered Weise to stay at home
for tutoring.
He was taking the antidepressant Prozac
and at least once was hospitalized for suicidal tendencies,
said Gayle Downwind, a cultural coordinator at Red Lake
Middle School, who taught Weise. It was not uncommon for
Weise to spend at least one night a week at her home.
"He considered my house a safe place to be,"
she said.
In his 16 years, Weise had lost many relatives.
He was estranged from other family members and had a strained
relationship with Daryl Lussier, the grandfather he killed
at the start of Monday's rampage.
Family and friends said Weise's father,
Daryl Lussier Jr., committed suicide in 1997. Two years
later, a serious automobile accident killed a cousin and
left Weise's mother partly paralyzed and brain damaged.
Then, about two years ago, "his other
grandfather on his mom's side passed away," Kim Desjarlait
told NBC's "Today" show. "You are dealing
with three deaths within eight years. I think for a kid
starting at 10 years old, that's a lot to take."
At the time, she wanted to help raise Weise in Minneapolis,
but he was sent to the reservation about 260 miles to
the north.
In the sixth grade, Weise met Downwind's
son, Sky Grant, and the two became close friends, often
playing video games together. Grant recalled that Weise
hated his mother and had a tendency to skip ahead to violent
parts in movies they rented.
When Weise flunked eighth grade, he joined
Downwind's special "Learning Center" program
at the school. "He didn't function academically.
He just sat there and drew pictures of army people with
guns," she said. "He was a talented artist,
but he drew terrible, terrible scenes."
Last June, Weise was suicidal. John Dudley,
a part-time bus driver for the Red Lake health center,
was called at the time to transport Weise to the hospital
in Thief River Falls, about 60 miles from the reservation.
To some in the school, Weise was long
a frightening figure, towering over many of the youngsters
in all-black clothing. Because of recent bomb threats
and other safety concerns, Red Lake High School insisted
students secure a pass to go to the restroom, a requirement
that agitated Weise, said Lee Ann Grant, Downwind's daughter,
who had worked as a guard there since August.
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