Luke Woodham -

On October 1, 1997, Pearl High School in Pearl, Mississippi became the site of a calculated and disturbing attack. That day, 16-year-old Luke Woodham, having already murdered his mother in their home early that morning, arrived at school armed with a .22-caliber Winchester rifle. He concealed the weapon under his jacket, entered the school around 9:00 a.m., and began shooting in the hallway.

Woodham killed two students—12-year-old Victoria Collins and 17-year-old Dereka Collins—both of whom were his classmates but unrelated. He wounded seven more students before engaging in a brief struggle with fellow students, who disarmed and restrained him until school staff arrived. Students and faculty then called police, and he was taken into custody without further incident.

In the hours before the shooting, Woodham had murdered his mother with a hammer and a knife in their home. He reportedly described himself as a victim of bullying and claimed guilt and anger toward his mother for not protecting him. Law enforcement later revealed that he had formed plans to carry out the school attack in retaliation.

Woodham was charged as an adult and later convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault, and other charges. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus additional time, and remains incarcerated.

The Pearl High School shooting forced the small Mississippi community to confront a brutal reality: a young, emotionally wounded teenager could weaponize familial trauma and peer conflict to deadly effect. The tragedy highlighted the lethal potential of intimate violence followed by public retribution.

Articles:

Luke Woodham’s Confession Video
The making of a Mississippi school shooter
Pearl High School shooter Luke Woodham wants parole
Repenting in Jail: Mississippi Convict Asks for Clemency to ‘Live New Life in God’
Mississippi educator who detained gunman in 1997 is against arming school staff
Former Pearl H.S. principal recalls tragedy

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