Teen kills three, wounds six others

Luke Woodham, 16, was distraught over a breakup with his girlfriend, Police Chief Bill Slade said, choking back tears as he talked about the rampage in this town of 22,000 people just outside Jackson.

"He gave us a statement, and his manifesto was that he felt he had been wronged," Slade said.

Woodham was arrested as he drove away in his dead mother's car and was charged with murder and aggravated assault.

The shootings at Pearl High School began about 8:10 a.m. as buses arrived.

AP PHOTO Pearl High School students and parents share emotions over the on-campus shooting deaths of two classmates and the wounding of six others.

An expressionless Woodham, a sophomore, entered the large commons area just inside the front door of the imposing school and immediately walked up to his former girlfriend, witnesses said. Police said she was the first fall, followed by three young men and four young women apparently shot at random.

"He was shooting anybody he could find. He shot at me and hit the staircase," said Mark Wilkerson, a first-year student. "I saw fragments going everywhere."

Students ran screaming into classrooms and dived for cover.

"People were laying everywhere bleeding," said student Nathan Henry. "I didn't hear cries. Everybody looked dead."

Casey King, a ninth grader, said Woodham talked to at least one of the wounded.

"He apologized, said he was sorry and was not shooting anybody in particular," King said.

Police later found the body of Mary Woodham, 50, at her home, about a mile from the school.

The slain students were identified as Lydia Kaye Dew, 17, and Christina Menefee, 16. It was unclear which girl had dated Woodham.

Three of the wounded students were hospitalized. One was in serious condition.

Slade said Mary Woodham, a receptionist who apparently had divorced her husband about a year ago, was believed to have died about three hours before the shootings. Neighbors said the teen-ager's mother usually took him to school, but yesterday he got into the car by himself, hitting a tree and crossing a neighbor's yard as he drove away.

In his yearbook photo, a serious looking Woodham has shoulder length brown hair and wire rimmed glasses.

"He always seemed polite, like a nice guy," said Courtni Thomas, a senior. "It doesn't seem real that anyone like him would do this."

The school has no armed guards or weapons searches.

"We had no idea that anything like this would ever take place at any of our schools," said school board attorney Arthur Jernigan Jr.

Classes were canceled until Monday, but students were told to report Friday for counseling.

Weeping students gathered in small groups outside the school, where the flag was lowered to half staff. Others held hands and prayed.

"He keeps hearing the shots go through his head," Robin Rhodes said of her son, 16 year old Michael, who was in the commons at the time of the shooting. "I thought my kids were safe here."

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