HIGHLAND TRAGEDY
Schools lock down after apparent murder-suicide
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
PETE SHELLEM AND FRANK COZZOLIOf The Patriot-News
A woman waiting to pick up her child at a West Shore elementary school was shot to death yesterday by her boyfriend after an argument in the parking lot, authorities said.
The man then apparently turned the gun on himself, authorities said.
Kim Keefer, 32, of Camp Hill, was shot several times in the lot outside Highland Elementary School in Lower Allen Twp. after arriving there to pick up her child after classes, Cumberland County Coroner Michael L. Norris said. The shooter, James Zeigler, 47, of Camp Hill, then shot himself once, Norris said.
The shootings were the culmination of a domestic dispute, authorities said.
Cumberland County District Attorney Skip Ebert said it appeared Zeigler timed his arrival at Highland Elementary moments before students were dismissed.
School security heard a brief argument and gunshots, and then the school was immediately locked down just after 3 p.m., Ebert said.
A school employee called 911. The shots were fired almost simultaneously, Ebert said.
"A witness already heard the yelling, and personnel came from outside the school," Ebert said. "The person who was on the phone said he had just gotten out front, and [the bodies] were already here. It was that quick."
Authorities did not believe any students witnessed the shooting and emphasized they were not in danger at any time.
A woman who lives across from the school said she heard the shots.
"It sounded like firecrackers, bang, bang, bang," said the woman, who asked not to be identified.
About an hour after the shooting, a woman who identified herself as Keefer's sister arrived, hysterical, demanding to be taken to the crime scene.
She broke down crying after speaking with Norris. She was accompanied by an adolescent girl who said she could see her mother's boyfriend's truck but not her mother's car.
"Is my mom OK?" she cried. "I want my mom."
She said her mother would have been at the school to pick up her sister.
The two were escorted away by police.
Before they arrived, a man who identified himself as the victim's brother was also escorted away by police.
Both relatives could be overheard telling police Zeigler had been threatening to kill Keefer. The threats had been reported to police, Keefer's sister said.
"We went to the police, and they didn't do anything," she said.
Authorities are investigating whether there was a history of violence between the couple, Ebert said.
"What we're focusing on now, from my perspective, [is] trying to work domestic violence as one of the factors that led up to this," Ebert said. "What was the relationship like? Where did the weapons come from?
"It's a shame when the coroner has to come here and deal with what's left on the ground," he said.
Norris confirmed a gun was found near the bodies.
School officials immediately locked down the elementary school and the adjacent Cedar Cliff High School and closed off Carlisle Road in front of both schools.
"They made us get on the floor and closed the windows," said 10-year-old Billy Harrison, a fourth-grader at the school, who said he was in social studies class at the time.
His sister Courtney, 14, was at the high school, where students were kept about 45 minutes before being released.
"We all kind of panicked and ran into the gym, where there are no windows," Courtney said. "It was kind of scary, especially since my brother was at the school where it happened."
Their mother, Tina Loll, who works as a computer tech aide at the high school, said the situation was "very scary."
"It brings it home," she said. "You think it can't happen to you."
Frank Williamson, public safety director for Lower Allen Twp., said students were escorted from the school using exits where they didn't have to pass the crime scene, then taken to the high school.
He said police were able to determine quickly from witnesses that no one had left the parking lot after the shots were fired.
Frantic parents showed up not knowing what had happened and fearing the worst.
"The school hasn't told me anything," said David Addams, of Letchworth Drive, while waiting for his third-grade daughter to be released.
His wife found out something happened from a neighbor who had driven past the school, he said. "It's very unnerving," he said. "I just want to know what's going on."
When the schools were locked down, students were told there had been a shooting, Ebert said.
Suzanne Tabachini, spokeswoman for the West Shore School District, said counseling was available last night at the high school and would be made available today for students and parents who were traumatized by the shootings and lockdown.
Classes are expected to resume on a normal schedule today, she said.
Authorities lauded the school district's quick reaction to the incident.
Yes, you competely and absolutely read that right. Now I know shooting happen all over the world, all the time and I am sure that they happen near schools. But not here and not near one of our schools. My daughter doesn't go to this elementary school but it is still in the same school district making it entirely to close for comfort. It is situations like this that make you want to lock your kids away from the world. Because no matter how much you protect and shelter them you can't always keep them sheltered from other people who are potentially the issue. Its sad almost. This guy killed this woman, over an apparent break up and now not only are there children without parents but it pretty muched rocked this town .... I can be sure that there are many many kids absent from that school today.
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