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Volume 54, No. 24
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967
BRIAN DOERING/KMG
From left, Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young and West Geauga Schools Superintendent Richard Markwardt address the public regarding the student who brought a gun to school April 3.
Morrissette Being Held Under Psychiatric Care By Brian Doering and Cassandra Shofar Brandon Michael Morrissette, the student who brought a handgun to West Geauga High School on April 3 with plans to shoot multiple students, is currently being held under psychiatric care, officials said during a 1 p.m. press conference April 5 at the school district’s board of education office. Morrissette, 18, of Lyndhurst, has been charged with attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; illegal possession of a deadly weapon in a school safety zone, a fifth-degree felony; and inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to court records. “He is not in the jail, yet. He must be medically cleared and psychologically cleared before the jail will take him,” Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz said, adding later that Morrissette will likely be arraigned later this week. “The court has issued a warrant on the charges,” he said during the press conference. “He will be taken into custody on the warrant, taken immediately to the Geauga County jail and an initial appearance will be set in Chardon Municipal Court, where he will be presented formally with the charges.” Flaiz said Morrissette will have the option to have a preliminary hearing or waive it and the matter will be bound over to the Geauga
County Court of Common Pleas. “The charges are not final. There could be more charges, less charges, different charges,” Flaiz said. “Once the investigation is complete, all of the facts will be presented to the grand jury.” On April 3 at about 8 a.m., a 17-year-old student found a bullet in a bathroom stall and alerted School Resource Officer Nick Iacampo, who secured the bullet and informed high school administrators, officials said. Morrissette reportedly had intended to retreat to the restroom following the shooting to take his own life, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Iacampo began reviewing video surveillance of the restroom to determine the origin of the bullet, said Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young during the press conference. “It was determined that approximately 20 students had accessed the restroom prior to the item being found,” he said. “The school resource officer and administrators began the immediate process of interviewing each student that accessed the restroom. One of the students, identified as Brandon Michael Morrissette, was interviewed at approximately 9 a.m. and his book bag, which he had on him in class, was subsequently searched. “Located inside of the bag was a (9mm Smith and Wesson) hand-
gun and three loaded magazines,” Young said. “Mr. Morrissette was immediately arrested, handcuffed and searched. The search of Mr. Morrisette revealed that he also had a lock blade-style knife secured to the exterior of his pants. West Geauga administration immediately placed the high school on a ‘shelterin-place’ status, which was disseminated to all students and faculty.” Law enforcement and school officials determined there was no additional threat to the high school nor was there a threat to any other buildings within the district. In an abundance of caution, additional law enforcement resources were requested from the Russell Township Police Department and the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office. “With a large police presence established, all students at the high school were released for the remainder of the day,” Young said. “Law enforcement then conducted a thorough sweep of the interior and exterior of the high school, (including) an explosives detection K-9 from the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office.” During an interview with Morrissette — whom Superintendent Richard Markwardt confirmed had not been a known disciplinary risk — he admitted to using prior calculation and design in developing a plan to cause harm to students Monday, Young said. “He further acknowledged that
the firearm seized by law enforcement on Monday was the weapon he intended to use to inflict that harm,” he said, adding later he could not disclose where the weapon came from at this time. Young said the Chester Township Police Department’s detective bureau, with the assistance of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a search of Morrissette’s home in Lyndhurst on April 3 and numerous items of evidentiary value were secured. “The investigation into this incident is ongoing,” he said, adding he could not comment on any evidence they’ve secured thus far. “We have no indication that there was any sharing of information, any co-collaboration by any means, and I can’t stress that enough — zero information to support any of that,” Young said, addressing a question about potential collaborators. “We are going to have a wealth of additional information to go through, and we’re going to look into every aspect of his background and the planning phase of this, but I really truly want to stress there was no indication he was working with anyone nor did he share any information in regards to this.” When asked after the press conference whether any content was found linked to Morrissette that might have raised a red flag for See Gun • Page 6
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