Ohio School Shooting Suspect TJ Lane Had Abusive Father
T.J. Lane appeared to be just another normal teen to his fellow classmates, but new reports indicate that the violent teen, who shot five students on Monday, was raised in an abusive home. Both of the suspect's parents had been arrested for domestic violence.
The shooting occurred Monday morning at Chardon High School. It appeared that Lane approached a specific group of boys in the cafeteria and began shooting.
Two victims so far have been declared dead.
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Lane, a student at Lake Academy Alternative School, is currently being held at Portage-Geauga Detention facility, and will have a juvenile detention hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Lawyer Bob Farinacci spoke for the Lane family late Monday. He described the 17-year-old boy as "very, very scared and extremely remorseful."
"He is a very confused young man right now," Farinacci told WKYC. "He's very confused. He is very upset. He's very distraught. ... This is a very scary circumstance that I don't think he could have possibly even foreseen himself in the middle of."
Geauga County records revealed that Lane's father, Thomas Lane Jr., has several previous arrests for violence against women. Both of Lane's parents have faced charges for domestic abuse. Lane's father also served time in prison for attempting to suffocate a woman whom he later married.
"He held the woman's head under running water and bashed it into a wall, leaving a dent in the drywall, court records show," Cleveland.com reported. "But soon after he went to prison, the woman wrote a letter asking that he be released early. She had divorced Thomas Lane but said in the letter that he was always a good father to their twin daughters and a son she had before they married."
Lane was reportedly living with his grandparents and had a number of step and half siblings.
"This is something that could never have been predicted," Farinacci said. "T.J.'s family has asked for some privacy while they try to understand how such a tragedy could have occurred and while they mourn this terrible loss for their community."
