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Tragedy at Red Lake: Major grand jury activity
Thursday, April 14, 2005
An update on the latest developments involving the March 21, 2005, fatal
shootings on the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota.
THE INVESTIGATION
A federal grand jury held 4 1/2 hours of proceedings
on Wednesday, according to news reports, as more than a dozen of potential
witnesses, including students, were escorted in and out of a federal
courthouse in Minneapolis.
No one was willing to comment in detail about the proceedings, which are sealed
because the investigation involves juveniles.
"He basically knows what everyone else knows -- nothing,"
Val Desjarlait said of her brother's appearance. One attorney said
a "bunch" of juveniles were subpoenaed. Some have apparently been
asked to submit DNA samples.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that the grand jury is investigating
the possibility of "multiple shooters at multiple sites." A group of students,
as many as nine, according to the Associated Press, may have helped plan
the attacks and others may have heard about them.
The Pioneer Press said an attack may have been planned at the Red Lake Hospital on the
reservation in addition to the Red Lake High School, where shooter
Jeff Weise, 16, killed seven others before turning the gun on himself.
He also killed his grandfather and his grandfather's companion at their
home prior to going to the school.
•
Federal grand jury begins inquiry into Red Lake tragedy (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 4/14) Username:
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•
Federal probe of Red Lake begins (The St. Paul Pioneer Press 4/14) Username:
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•
Investigation moves to federal court (AP 4/14)
THE TRIBE
The Red Lake Nation has been torn apart by the intrusiveness of the
federal investigation and the media's presence on the reservation, Chairman
Floyd Jourdain Jr. told The Pioneer Press in an interview.
"It's delaying our healing process," he said. The tribe is considering
requiring outsiders to have "passports" to come to the reservation, he said.
Jourdain's 16-year-old son, Louis, has been arrested and charged in
connection with the shootings but the chairman maintains his son's innocence.
"He was very forthright, came forward, cooperated to the fullest extent, and next thing you know he's swept away," he
said of Louis, who was a friend to Jeff Weise.
The incident has caused divisions within the community as money for the
families of the victims is being distributed. The tribal council on
Wednesday 5,000 checks to 15 families, including Weise's, The Minneapolis
Star Tribune reported. "He is absolutely a victim," said
Wanda Parkhurst. Tribal secretary Judy Roy said the money would help with
funeral expenses.
But others don't want his family to get any money.
"They shouldn't get anything, and I don't care what anybody says,"
Theresa Spike, the grandmother of 14-year-old shooting victim Alicia Spike,told
The Star Tribune.
•
Jourdain says media and FBI disrupting tribe (The St. Paul Pioneer Press 4/14)
•
Divide is bitter over who gets money (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 4/14)
THE SURVIVORS
Steven Cobenais, 15, who was shot in the forehead and lost his left eye, continues
to show significant improvement. He was upgraded from critical to guarded
condition at the MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, North Dakota. He was the
most seriously injured survivor but doctors have been amazed at his
progress.
Another survivor, Jeff May, 15, remains at the hospital in guarded condition.
He was shot in the head.
•
Most seriously hurt student removed from critical list (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 4/14)
SUPPORT RED LAKE
Donations for the victims and their families can be sent to:
Red Lake Nation Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 574
Red Lake, Minnesota
56671
•
Helping out the Red Lake Reservation (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 4/14)
Relevant Links:
Red Lake Net News -
http://www.rlnn.comRed Lake
Nation -
http://www.redlakenation.orgRed
Lake High School -
http://www.paulbunyan.net/rlschools/hs.htm
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