Today in History: School principal is murdered by learner
The incident happened amidst a spate of school violence across North America at the time.
John Klang, principal of Weston High School in Cazenovia, Wisconsin, was shot and killed by 15-year-old student Eric Hainstock on this day in 2006.
Hainstock, who had been given a disciplinary warning by his principal for bringing tobacco to school, took guns from his parents’ home in the small Wisconsin farming community of Cazenovia and brought the weapons to school. Before classes began on the morning of 29 September, Hainstock pointed a gun at a teacher, but the weapon was grabbed away by a janitor.
The student then ran into the hallway where he encountered the principal and shot him several times. Klang, who managed to wrestle Hainstock to the floor and move the gun away, died a few hours later. Hainstock was detained by other students and school personnel.
He was said to be upset by the disciplinary warning he’d received from Klang the day before the shooting, and was also angered by teachers failing to stop other students from bullying him. In August 2007, Hainstock was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
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