Creekside Elementary School shooting

The Creekside Elementary School shooting occurred on September 14, 2001 in Franklin, Indiana, United States, when 15-year-old Matthew Zielinski first murdered his parents before driving to Creekside Elementary where he shot and killed 4 first grade students between six and seven years old. He was apprehended by first responders while attempting to enter the school.

Murder of parents
Some time before 11:00 a.m. EST on Friday, September 14, 2001, Zielinski shot and killed his parents in their Franklin home, using his father's sawed off Savage 67H pump action shotgun. According to Zielinski, he first killed his father, 43-year-old Simon Zielinski, shooting him five times in the head and torso. He then walked upstairs to his parents bedroom and shot his mother, 39-year-old Josephine (née Naith) Zielinski, six times in the torso. She was found in the doorway of her bedroom, investigators later determining she attempted to crawl out before succumbing to blood loss. Zielinski then drove to Creekside Elementary School in his father's Dodge Ram.

Shooting
At 11:08 a.m., armed with his illegally purchased Sturmgewehr 44 rifle and five magazines with 30 rounds each, Zielinski arrived at the school. He was wearing a black trench coat over black dress pants and a black dress shirt, as well as his father's utility belt holding the extra magazines. After arriving, Zielinski walked across the parking lot and opened fire at the outdoor school jungle gym where the first graders were out playing.

Zielinski unloaded two full magazines, firing a total of 60 rounds, 28 of which struck students, and killed four while 6 rounds hit the two recess monitors. After the remaining students began to flee, Zielinski walked back across the parking lot and attempted to get inside the school through a backdoor. However the door was locked; Zielinski then walked back to the playground to "see if any others were alive".

As first responders arrived, Zielinski was getting ready to shoot the same door in an attempt to get it open. Zielinski dropped the gun and attempted to run to his father's car but was then tackled and apprehended by officer Alex Harbor.

Victims
In total, there were 6 deaths; Zielinski's parents and 4 first grade students between the ages of 6 and 7 years. The students murdered were:


 * Elizabeth "Betty" Derek, age 6
 * Mateo Itigliano, age 6
 * Lindsay Maureen, age 7
 * Jessica Tevinson, age 6

Breanna Yelps, 57, and Mary Flawe, 51, the two injured monitors, suffered critical injuries as both were shot multiple times in the torso. Flawe was rendered a paraplegic while Yelps was required a breathing tube and underwent four heart surgeries. Renae Quimmer, the 6-year-old injured student, was shot once in the shoulder; she was discharged from the hospital the next week.

Perpetrator
Matthew Timothy Zielinski (born November 16, 1985), is the second child of the Zielinski's; he has an older sister, Lucy. He lived with his parents in Franklin, only a few minutes away from the school. He did not have a criminal record. He had access to guns through his father who, according to family and friends, owned "numerous guns". He often took his son to a local shooting range, where he learned to shoot. Family and friends also said Zielinski's parents did not fear him but were aware of his erratic and dangerous behavior.

Zielinski attended Northwood Elementary School through the full five years the school offered before moving on to Franklin Community Middle School from grades 6-8. He then began to attend Franklin Community High School, which is where his disciplinary problems began to arise. He avoided attracting attention but would still socialize normally with others. He is not known to have had any friends whatsoever.

A few months prior to the shooting, in April 2001, Zielinski and another student, James Kenyard, got into a fight within the high school cafeteria. Before being broken up by teachers, Zielinski attempted to stab Kenyard with a plastic knife he retrieved from the lunch line. According to both students, the fight began after Kenyard repeatedly teased Zielinski for not really owning any guns (Kenyard was unaware he actually was in possession of firearms). Both students were suspended for three days.

Developmental and mental health problems
Zielinski presented developmental challenges around the age of 5. He exhibited a strange lack of empathy for others and discussed very morbid subjects with his classmates, such as killing ants and grasshoppers. In 1993, at age 7, Zielinski told his mother how he wanted to stab a classmate with a pair of scissors. It was then he began seeing psychiatrist Tim Karroll, who later diagnosed Zielinski with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anti-social personality disorder. On October 12, 1994, Karroll committed suicide by shooting himself in the head; this ended Zielinski's psychiatric help and never saw another mental health provider.

According to Zielinski's grandmother, his parents often avoided talking about their son's mental health issues and encouraged his growing fascination with guns, despite their families disagreement. His older sister also told authorities that Zielinski always seemed "off and abnormal, doesn't really care about anyone else".