Thoughts/prayers please for small town Iowa HS

Parent Cafe
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<p>Not sure if this is the place for this, but I want to put out a prayer request (or happy thoughts/vibes from the non-religious) for the students and community of Aplington-Parkersburg HS in NE Iowa. </p>

<p>The Head football coach, an Iowa HS coach for 37 years, 30+ at A-P, was shot in the head multiple times this morning while supervising athletes in the weight room. School was not in session, these were kids in for optional summer workouts. Suspect is a 2004 grad, former player. His younger brother is supposed to be a junior or senior this fall at A-P.</p>

<p>Ed Thomas was 2005 NFL HS Coach of the Year, has FOUR active NFL players (from a school of 250 students), and has an unbelievable track record. A phenomenal coach and an even more unbelievable person off the field. Involved in charity work, spoke around the state, and was the type of person who would give you the shirt off his back if you were cold. My dad used to referee A-P games regularly, so I met him a few times–would give the refs and their kids free food at halftime, and $10 under the table after the game “for gas”. </p>

<p>A-P HS was destroyed a year ago by an F-4 tornado that killed 6 in the town, and they spent this year in the middle school for classes while the HS was rebuilt. The town rebuilt the football field (was already named for Thomas) and this team rallied the town together. My family drove 3 hours last summer to volunteer in the rebuilding and clean-up of the town, and I can’t even imagine what they are going through right now. </p>

<p>So yeah…I’m a wreck, halfway across the country, and wish I could go back to do something again. But send out an extra prayer if you get the time. For Thomas, the students, the family, the shooter’s family, anyone. </p>

<p>ESPN Story: [ESPN</a> Thomas shot, killed inside school -ESPN Rise FOOTBALL](<a href=“Carrington scores 24 points, Leggett adds 22, Pitt rallies to beat Wake Forest 77-72 - ESPN”>Ed Thomas, Iowa Aplington-Parkersburg high school football coach, is shot to death - ESPN)
MSNBC Story: [Coach</a> fatally shot at Iowa high school - Crime & courts- msnbc.com](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31525308/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/]Coach”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31525308/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/)</p>

<p>And a video from last fall, more about this great man who is with the big guy upstairs now: <a href=“http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=3591008&categoryid=3060647[/url]”>http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=3591008&categoryid=3060647&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

2

<p>Prayer sent, Cards. My heart goes out to the community and both families.</p>

3

<p>How sad! My heartfelt sympathy and prayers go out ot all who were touched by this tragedy.</p>

4

<p>I am just sick about this. My D is moving to Iowa for medical school next month, and I was thinking it was such a calm and safe place. No place is immune to tragedy.</p>

<p>This coach seemed like such an amazing, wonderful person who led so many. So, so unfair. That poor town and all those kids. To lose their high school, go through the trauma of the tornado, and now this. It’s enough to make you cry.</p>

5

<p>Thank you, everyone, sincerely. It’s like a horrible, horrible nightmare as more and more details are slowly being released regarding who the killer is (currently in custody), the families, the current and former players speaking out about his character. </p>

<p>As he said in the video “If all we teach these young men is how to play the game of football, we have failed as coaches.” RIP Ed Thomas, you have taught these boys much more than the game of football.</p>

6

<p>Had the shooter been suffering mental problems?</p>

7

<p>I heard the story on the radio earlier today. Iowa and its people are special to me, so I’m sending my thoughts/prayers along. A truly tragic loss, and I feel, too, for the family of the shooter.</p>

8

<p>I wonder what this kid was thinking. I mean, what his perceived vendetta against this man was. When this happened at my school (mid 90s, before school shootings were so common) he did it (to a teacher) because he blamed the teacher who failed him for ruining his life. Pretty ridiculous, one teacher failing you does not ruin your life. The shooter at our school also shot several students, killing two.</p>

9

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<p>It appears to be a very grey area. He was arrested over the weekend and they put him in the hospital for a psych evaluation. Apparently has a long history with drugs and therefore probably a chemical imbalance of some sort.</p>

<p>When he was released from the hospital, the Cedar Falls (city up the road) Police was to be notified him so they could arrest him on different charges. Somehow this got lost in the shuffle somewhere, and they were never notified.</p>

<p>I have heard 3 parts of the story, multiple times from multiple sources:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The man played for A-P until he graduated (2004), and by all accounts was a good player with a decent number of minutes per game. His brother is going to be a senior this fall, and also on the football team. I spoke with a friend from college who lives in Parkersburg, she said that the shooter’s family has not been shown one cold shoulder and the town knows that they are good, wholesome people. The family of the victim and the family of the shooter attend the same church, have conducted community activities together, just generally get along.</p></li>
<li><p>The shooter interviewed for an assistant coach position and was turned down–no real surprise, considering he has a track record of assault, robbery, and drug use. Rumor has it that this was last week, he was arrested over the weekend, and was furious about it. Unfortunately handled it in the worst way possible.</p></li>
<li><p>The shooter, upon being released from jail, called the school and asked where the victim was. Went to the school, was told that the coach was in the weight room, and went there. He went in, left, went back in, pointed the gun at a young man talking to the coach, before shooting the coach point blank and then shooting him multiple times while he was down.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>In a press conference, it was said that while in custody over the weekend the shooter repeatedly yelled “I want to work for God, not Satan!” Officials believe this may mean that he wanted to work for Thomas (a “god” in the community, if you will) and had been denied that chance. There are a lot of questions left unanswered.</p>

<p>The “weight room” is a big red shed that the school has been using since the tornado destroyed the high school last May. Reports of 30 or so students, male and female, were working out and witnessed this tragedy. To me, this is terrifying because I know that at my own high school, every weekday morning during the summer we would lift weights with coaches who were volunteering a few hours to supervise.</p>

10

<p>This sounds like a young adult having a first break in a schizophrenic illness, perhaps precipitated by current or recent drug use. (Schizophrenia is a neurobiological illness with a genetic basis. Most people with this illness are NOT dangerous. Drug use does not cause it but it can activate the illness in those who are genetically vulnerable to it. ) And access to drugs and guns become a lethal combination when a vulnerable person is agitated and unsupervised. The mental health system and the criminal justice system both failed in some profound way for all of us and these kinds of failures increase as we take funding out of social services. My heart goes out to all affected.</p>