2012 Chardon High School shooting

On the morning of February 27, 2012, six students were shot at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, resulting in the deaths of three of them. Witnesses said that the shooter had a personal rivalry with one of his victims. Two other wounded students were also hospitalized, one of whom sustained several serious injuries that have resulted in permanent paralysis. The fifth student suffered a minor injury, and the sixth a superficial wound.

By the evening of February 27, authorities confirmed that the suspect was Thomas Michael "T. J." Lane III, a 17-year-old male juvenile and former student of Chardon, who was a sophomore at Lake Academy Alternative School and used a bus in common with several victims. Lane used a .22 caliber handgun. Lane was soon arrested by police near his car parked outside the school. Lane was ultimately indicted on three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder, and one count of felonious assault. Because of his age, he was detained as a juvenile pending a decision by the prosecution and court as to whether he would be tried as an adult.

Following a competency hearing, in May 2012, a judge determined that Lane was competent to stand trial. Later that month the decision was made to charge Lane as an adult. He pleaded guilty and received three consecutive life sentences without parole on March 19, 2013.

In February 2014 the families of the three deceased students and Nick Walczak filed a wrongful death suit in Lake County against the Chardon School District and Lake Academy Alternative School. The Lake County judge dismissed the District and Lake Academy as parties, retaining only five former and current employees of the Chardon School District and high school as defendants. The families appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case in July 2016. It was returned to the Lake County Common Pleas court.

In addition, attorneys representing the estates of the three deceased students filed federal and state wrongful death suits against the family of T.J. Lane, which was settled in May 2014, including settlement of suits against his father, maternal grandfather, and paternal uncle (and their associated insurance companies). The Lane family agreed to pay nearly $2.7 million.

On September 11, 2014, Lane, along with two older inmates, escaped from Allen Correctional Institution in Lima, Ohio. He was captured the following day, and the three men were transferred to a maximum security prison. Provided by Wikipedia