W. R. Myers High School shooting

On April 28, 1999, a mass shooting occurred at W. R. Myers High School in Taber, Alberta, Canada. The perpetrator was a dropout of the school, 14-year-old Todd Cameron Smith, who shot at students in a hallway near the cafeteria, killing one student and injuring another. He was then subdued, arrested and sentenced to three years in prison.

Shooting
During the school day, 14-year-old dropout Todd Cameron Smith entered W. R. Myers High School with a semi-automatic rifle and 375 rounds of ammunition. As the lunch period concluded, Smith fired at three students in a hallway next to the cafeteria. One student was killed at point-blank range while another was shot and injured. Physical education coach Cheyno Finnie then wrestled Smith to the floor, disarming him. Constables Rob MacGregor and Sergeant Howard Kehler were the first officers that arrived at the school, which is where they promptly arrested Smith.

Victims
Only one person was killed, a Grade 11 student:


 * Jason Lang, 17

The injured student was a friend of Lang, 17-year-old Shane Christmas who was shot in the stomach.

Perpetrator
Todd Cameron Smith, 14, had dropped out of W. R. Myers earlier in the school; he was severely bullied in the years before. While in the first grade, Smith was doused with lighter fluid and threatened to be set alight. Smith was reportedly intelligent but very socially awkward had become reclusive and "extremely fearful"; his mother also stated Smith has shown signs of depression throughout his childhood. According to family, Smith "snapped" after watching news coverage of the Columbine High School massacre, which occurred eight days prior on April 20. Do to Canada's Young Offenders Act, Smith's name and background were kept hidden. Prosecutors attempted to have Smith, 15, tried as an adult so that he may receive life sentence, arguing that prisons have better rehabilitation programs than juvenile detention centers. The court denied the motion and he was tried as a juvenile. At his trial, Smith pleaded guilty to all three charges, and was sentenced to three years in prison, and was ordered to live seven years on probation upon his release.