Students foreshadowed Taft shooting on Twitter

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Updated: 1/11 7:12 pm

Many students in Taft wonder if Thursday's shooting at their school could have been avoided. They point to warning signs online, long before shots were fired.

As investigators continue to piece together the suspected gunman's motive, 17 News got a look at some of the revealing tweets that foreshadowed the tragedy at Taft Union High School.

Students took to Twitter last month, to tweet their worries about 16-year-old Bryan Oliver.

A girl who identified herself as 'Allie Who' wrote " If Brian Oliver shoots up the school, I swear to God. I have like four classes with him."

As students returned to school Friday to pick up their belongings, some had seen the tweets online.

"I feel unsafe about it. I don't like it at all," said Tara Kelley.

" It makes me kind of uneasy. It's unsettling, but what can you do?" asked Ashley Carr.

The disturbing tweets are from December 15th, almost a month before students say Oliver walked into a classroom and opened fire.

Another student on Twitter wrote "He made a hit list. Why is he still allowed in school and he always talks about murder like he's obsessed with it."

The girl goes on to say "Yeah, he told Bowe (the victim of the shooting) that he watched five serial killer movies and thought of Bowe the whole time... creepy."

17 News wanted to know if the school monitors social media. Did they know about these tweets? But, the district wasn't talking Friday.

"They check all of our Twitters and our Facebook, and if you get caught doing something you get called up to the office," said student Meghan Clark.

"You can't hide anything from this school," explained Kelley.

"The vice principal and the supervisors, they go through it," noted Carr.

Students told 17 News Oliver was caught last year with a hit list and was suspended for a few days. Investigators could not confirm the list.

"I heard about it when I moved here, but I thought he was just a kid messing around, ya know?" said Juan Barbosa.

"Everybody knew about it. I honestly don't think someone who chooses to openly voice that they want to cause other students ill will, should not be able to be re-admitted to the school," said Carr.

Sierra Curry told 17 News she was on Oliver's hit list. She said the shooting was especially hard on her. We asked Curry what she thought when she heard Oliver was the suspected gunman.

"He was coming to get me. I was still on his list. That I was the next one," she explained.

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of KGET TV 17 - In the Spirit of the Golden Empire

georgieboy - 1/14/2013 3:54 PM
0 Votes
'Should be tried as a juvenile'? Did you not know that it was wrong to SHOOT SOMEONE when ou were 16?? Come on. This is ridiculous. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Tomatillo - 1/14/2013 2:18 PM
0 Votes
Why did the kid who was shot apologize if he did nothing wrong? In one of the first interviews a girl said the shooter was angry because he was always bullied. And now they are charging the kid as an adult. That is the sad thing. He should be tried as a juvenile and get the help he needs. I'm not saying he should get a slap on the hand but prison is not the answer. Shame on the DA. But I am not surprised considering she was groomed by Jagels.

kknjtg - 1/14/2013 10:01 AM
0 Votes
I have to say the saftey of kids who are forced to come to school everyday. Nothing has changed. Its to bad and not right that a kid was able to enter the school with a gun. But I dont feel sorry for anyone who abuses others.

kknjtg - 1/14/2013 9:58 AM
0 Votes
It sad schools dont care about the bullied. They look the other way. Its not ok. Everyone that has been bullied, yes they grow up, but the scars are always there. It defines someone for the good or bad. Why is it ok for these kids to be abused. The DA needs to take a look at these schools. Stop ignoring there is a problem.

moller - 1/13/2013 1:53 AM
0 Votes
This situation is very similar to mine back in my days. I was bullied almost everyday for 8 years, suffered depression for a good 20 years, had no friends...best friends were my Lego and my radio. On the 10 minutes- and lunch breaks I would either get bullied aka hit, punched or just verbally abused or threatened in any kind of way...multiple times I ended up in hospitals. I admit that I was (still am) weak as a person. But together with a growing sadness a growing hate was created that first came out on my younger siblings which I beat up pretty badly from time to time and had screaming rage countless times towards my parents. "Thanks" to my older brother, who lived in another area far away, I started drinking alcohol when I was 9, smoking when I was 11, heavier drugs at 15....I was on collision course! I realized that the only way I could make this all go away by killing the worst of my bullies (if I would kill all I had to drop a bomb on the entire school) and then commit suicide..."two birds one stone" kinda. "Sadly" the guy with the weapon connections moved so my plan didn't work out (this was in Europe where guns aren't that easy to get). Well, I managed to survive school and all years of depression somehow and though I'm ok today (35 years old) I can still wake up at night in anger, seeking retribution for what they did to me. There are many ways a bullied person handles this kind of situation but too often the outcome is a sad one. The point with all this is I know perfectly well that we only go by our nature, by eradicating the weaker ones, but in my eyes, it still doesn't justify to hurt another person in anyway with the democratic values we have in today's society, whether you're bullying or being bullied, but if idiots would stop bullying, then death tolls would decrease substantially on both sides...but I know this is impossible as long as we are "humans". Survivor...?

jmabbott888 - 1/12/2013 7:02 PM
0 Votes
I'd like to know why tha Sierra girl was on his hitlist???

georgieboy - 1/12/2013 2:26 PM
1 Vote
This answer is for Murph: As a public school teacher, I can tell you that it is very difficult to just kick out a kid. And all of this we are hearing about is just that, hearsay. The saddest thing is that unless a kid acts on these threats, there is very little the schools can do. I don't agree with this but our hands are tied in many ways. They call it 'due process' and they protect the person making the threats more than the kids who are threatened, or so it seems. I don't know how many times I have expressed concerns to the administration only to be told nothing could be done because the student said, 'I was only kidding' or talked their way out of the whole thing in some way. It really makes a person think that homeschooling is the only way, unfortunately.

murph56 - 1/12/2013 1:09 PM
0 Votes
Sure the bullies pushed him to it but with the hit list last year and all they did was kick him out of school for a few days? Why didn't he made to get a little help with his mental problems? Why was he allowed back into school?

georgieboy - 1/12/2013 12:34 PM
1 Vote
I was teased mercilessly as a kid in elemntary, middle school, and high school. We had two handguns, two shotguns, and a rifle in our house. Yet, I never once considered using them on anyone. But I had a strong support system. Your family makes all the difference.

Johnd123 - 1/12/2013 11:24 AM
0 Votes
The real problem are those bullies that pushed this poor kid to that. I'm tired of seeing those bullies being treated like they are the victim. I've witnessed bullies beat up, insult, and make smaller people cry. They have no heart and they should also bring charges up against them.
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