Evan Ramsey - Motives

Motives

Ramsey was believed to have been frequently bullied at school. According to his friends, Ramsey complained of being harassed and teased by other students, even to the extent of only addressing him as "Screech", a character from the TV series Saved by the Bell. In addition to being picked on by peers, however, Evan had a long history of abuse. His mother lived with a series of violent men who abused Evan and his brothers. He also was physically and sexually abused by an older boy in one of the foster homes he was placed.

Evan was not the first in his family to bring a firearm into a public place. In October 1986, Evan's father, Don Ramsey, went to the Anchorage Times newspaper office armed with an AR-180 .223 rifle, a Snub-nosed .44 Magnum revolver, and more than 210 rounds of ammunition. While inside the building, Don Ramsey began taking hostages and was involved in a brief standoff with police until he surrendered. His motive for doing this was because he was angered that the Times refused to publish a political letter he had written. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and was paroled just several weeks before his son Evan perpetrated the school shooting. Also, a week before Evan's attack, his older brother was arrested for armed robbery.

Reports say in the two weeks prior to the incident, more than 15 students knew of Ramsey's intention to commit a school shooting, and two actually assisted him. One student named James Randall taught him how to load and fire a shotgun, and another named Matthew Charles told him of the infamy that would come. Reports say that several students brought cameras to school on the day of the shooting, and that many students were watching the shooting from a library balcony overlooking the student commons area.