The shooter killed by police at a Wisconsin high school was a 14-year-old student obsessed with the Columbine school massacre and who wanted his classmates to experience “real fear.”
Damian Haglund was killed in a burst of gunfire at Mount Horeb High School on Wednesday morning, leaving behind a chilling manifesto naming some of the schoolchildren he wanted dead.
Haglund ran a series of anonymous social media accounts and ominously posted ‘My Last Morning’ in his last tweet just two hours before his attack.
Weeks earlier he revealed how his obsession with school massacres had “ruined” his life.
Not just Columbine, Sandy Hook, Ecole Polytech, Kerch, All the School Movies. Nobody understands ‘Columbiners’, very few even know what it is.
“There are helplines for porn addicts, there are helplines for suicidal people, drunks, pedophiles, rapists, BUT NO ONE ON EARTH CAN HELP ME.”
Damian Haglund, 14, ran a series of anonymous social media accounts detailing his hatred of his classmates at Mount Horeb High School in Wisconsin.
He posted his last tweet just two hours before going to school with a gun.
The high school was placed on lockdown when students saw Haglund prowling the campus with his gun before shots were fired outside the school cafeteria.
Witnesses reported seeing him shooting in a cafeteria after attempting to break a window with the butt of a “long gun” during the eighth grade’s lunchtime around 11:15 a.m. before a Department of Education school resource officer Mount Horeb Police will address him.
“People my age are really the real enemy,” he wrote. “They are the ones that I hate the most: if you don’t play, if you don’t feed the machine, you’re an outcast.”
The entire school district was placed under strict lockdown and some students were not released to their parents until early afternoon as police tried to establish whether the shooter was operating alone.
Jeanne Keller heard about five gunshots at her store, The Quilting Jeanne, a few feet away on the same block.
‘Maybe it was like pow-pow-pow-pow. I thought they were fireworks. I came out and saw all the kids running around, I probably saw 200 kids.’
Max Kelly, 12, was among a class of students practicing inline skating in the school gym when shots were heard.
He said their teacher told them to run away and they, still on skates, took to the street.
The photos showed a ditch full of skates that the students hurriedly abandoned before running to nearby stores and a gas station where they hid in the bathrooms.
Images on his family’s Facebook pages show a smiling teenager apparently enjoying family trips.
But his anonymous online posts revealed a young man obsessed with school massacres.
“People my age are really the real enemy,” he wrote. “They are the ones that I hate the most: if you don’t play, if you don’t feed the machine, you’re an outcast.”
“I don’t want to sound like a wolf, but I have a very different side than what people see me at school,” he added.
The class was still barefoot when they met their terrified parents outside the school.
“I don’t think any place is safe,” said Max’s mother, Alison Kelly, 32.
On his blog, Haglund highlighted a schoolmate he hated and fantasized about seeing her get hit by a truck.
‘Like how his skull exploded from the pressure when the wheels crushed the skull, the scream.
“And some kids are so stupid that I hope they somehow experience real fear in their lives.”
He listed “Diversity, Feminists” among his “hates” and wrote about how he feared women.
“I don’t want to sound like a wolf, but I have a very different side than what people see me at school,” he added.
He talked about visiting Weston High School in Cazenovia, north of Madison, where Principal John Klang was shot and killed in a 2006 school shooting.
“When I went there, the energy was powerful,” he said.
“I went out and touched the walls of the school, but I didn’t want to get arrested or something.”
He wrote that “Ever since I was a child I have wanted to be famous,” and photos on his family’s Facebook pages show a smiling Haglund apparently enjoying family trips to Canada and watching last month’s eclipse.
But his posts also talked about his own suicidal thoughts.
‘You have to understand the huge wall I have been trapped against. What therapist can help me? “I face worse criminal penalties than those who are suicidal,” she wrote.
‘I hate my existence because I fear everything, I AM TIRED OF THIS.
“My family thinks I actually have a plan after high school, no I don’t, and if my parents ever look back, they could see that they knew NOTHING about me, and I don’t blame them.”
Days before his death he updated his blog, warning that “it seems like time is running out, there is no turning back in whatever I do.”
“I’m sure the fact that my city is ‘Mount Horeb’ will bring many interesting connections.”
In a tweet the night before his death, he wrote: “I want to continue enjoying media, late night music and video games, but when you continue to live, these simple things become very mundane.” I will miss you.’
The investigation is being led by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, and at a news conference Wednesday night Attorney General Josh Kaul said he did not believe there was an ongoing threat.
In a statement Sunday, his office revealed that the “long gun” Haglund was carrying was a Ruger .1777 caliber pellet rifle.
“The officers ordered the subject to drop the weapon, but the subject did not comply,” he added.
‘The subject pointed the gun at the officers, after which law enforcement discharged their firearms, injuring the subject. Lifesaving measures were implemented, but the subject died at the scene.
“No law enforcement officers or witnesses were physically injured during the incident.”
He confirmed Thursday that more than one officer had fired at Haglund amid reports that as many as 12 shots were fired.
Mount Horeb Police Chief Doug Vierck pleaded with the public not to spread “rumors” about the case, insisting that authorities are “working as quickly as possible to move forward and reach closure.”
Days before his death he updated his blog, warning that “It seems that time is running out, there is no turning back in what I do.”
Parents gathered outside the closed school as news of the shooting spread.
But there was only one child who did not return from school that night.
‘Before sharing information, ask yourself: ‘Is it true?’ ‘Can I absolutely know it’s true?’ he demanded.
‘If any of the answers are no, do not share the information. For the sake of everyone involved, please do not spread rumors.
“The outpouring of support from businesses, other agencies and the community at large has been beyond humbling.”
But his department was directing calls for information to the Justice Department, which did not respond to inquiries Thursday.
