Post by Okwes on Mar 21, 2006 10:32:12 GMT -5
Portraits of shooter, victims in Red Lake attack
Portraits of shooter, victims in Red Lake attack Associated Press
www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/14144936.htm
<http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/14144936.htm>
Brief portraits of victims, including those wounded, and the shooter in
the Red Lake attack one year ago:
THE DEAD:
Daryl Lussier, 58
The grandfather of Jeff Weise and one of his first two victims,
58-year-old Daryl Lussier was a lifelong tribal police officer known
around the reservation by his nickname: Dash.
"If you knew him, you said Dash, and everyone knew who you were talking
about," said Ed Naranjo, a retired Bureau of Indian Affairs officer who
worked with Lussier in 1979 and again from 1985 to 1990.
Lussier had four adult children and two under the age of 10, Naranjo
said. He was well-liked and respected around the reservation, Lussier
said. He helped maintain order during periods of turmoil and unrest on
the reservation.
"He was that kind of individual who could calm a very hot situation,"
Naranjo said. "He just projected that feeling."
Tribal officers were nervous in the late '80s, Naranjo said, when the
tribe switched from BIA protection to contract officers. Lussier
eventually switched from the BIA to working on a contract, and helped
his colleagues who were upset.
"There was that song at the time - 'Don't Worry, Be Happy,'" Naranjo
recalled. "Everybody was feeling kind of down, and he would just walk
around singing that."
---
Michelle Sigana, 31
Michelle Sigana enjoyed her new job as a cashier at Seven Clans Casino
in Thief River Falls, but her real passion was her family.
The 31-year-old Red Lake woman - who was killed along with her
companion, Daryl Lussier - loved spending time with Lussier and their
teenage son, Devon.
"They just gave him whatever he wanted," said Mark Sigana, a cousin.
"For both of them, their priority was making sure he had everything,
which he did."
Michelle Sigana grew up on the Red Lake Indian Reservation and went to
high school in Red Lake. Later, she and Lussier took Mark Sigana in when
he needed a place to stay.
"There was never a dull moment with her," Mark Sigana said. "She was
just the happiest person anyone can be around."
---
Derrick Brun, 28
Twenty-eight-year-old Derrick Brun was remembered as a gentle spirit who
loved the kids he guarded at Red Lake High School, his alma mater.
Brun was a former police officer and was taking classes to be an
emergency medical technician, said a cousin, Nancy Richards.
"He was just an all-around good guy," she said, adding that he was the
type of person who would open his doors to someone who needed a place to
stay.
"He was a kind, gentle person," Richards said.
Brun, the youngest of five children, had started working as a school
security guard last fall, Richards said.
---
Alicia White, 14
Alicia White was a lot of fun, the kind of girl who had lots of friends,
but things weren't always easy.
"She was really a sweet little girl," said Wendy Johnson, whose
daughter, Ashley Morrison, was friends with Alicia. "She never hurt
anybody, and had no bad things to say about anything or anyone."
The Redby teenager was the oldest of six children and lived with her
grandmother, who was ill. But Alicia kept a cheery demeanor, playing
basketball for the freshman team.
Pastor Tom Pollock of Redby Community Church led a youth group that
White belonged to. He said she helped her grandmother raise her younger
siblings.
"She's really played the role of mother," Pollock said.
---
Neva Rogers, 62
After Neva Rogers left her teaching job on the Red Lake Indian
Reservation, she was gone for several years. But she returned because
she felt a strong connection to the community.
And Red Lake residents were happy for that.
"She just made a point when students had personal difficulties to be
someone that they could talk to," said her daughter, Cindy Anderson.
"And they did."
Rogers, an English instructor, was the adviser to the yearbook and the
student newspaper, helping students prepare sports reports and, with
spring nearing, profiles of graduating seniors. A blond-haired woman in
a sea of dark-haired American Indians, she was well-known and liked.
---
Thurlene Stillday, 15
Thurlene Stillday loved to tell stories.
"She always had something to talk about. You know, `They did this over
the weekend or they did that,'" said Sondra Hegstrom, who was two grades
ahead of the freshman. "She had a lot of friends and was happy all the
time."
The Ponemah girl, who was 15, came from a big family and looked forward
to doing good things in high school and beyond.
---
Chanelle Rosebear, 15
Chanelle Rosebear was a tall and graceful freshman.
The Ponemah girl, who was 15, played basketball and also was a
cheerleader.
"She was really a bright little girl," said another student, Sondra
Hegstrom. "She always had a smile on her face."
Rosebear was the third-eldest of seven children. Her father, Kevin
Martin, said she was proud of her heritage and excelled in her Ojibwe
language class.
---
Chase Lussier, 15
Chase Lussier was a teenager with big responsibilities.
Students say the 15-year-old was helping to care for a son who had been
born just months before the attack. He tried to balance that with
basketball, doing his homework and spending time with his friends.
Some students said Chase pushed a girl out of the way before he was
shot.
---
Dewayne Lewis, 15
You could often find Dewayne Lewis playing basketball in his
neighborhood or at a community gym.
"He was very athletic," said his cousin, Susan Jenkins.
Others remember Lewis as a friendly face who greeted everyone with a
smile.
"He was just an outgoing kid. He would talk to anyone. He had a bunch of
friends up here," said Francine Kingbird, a cousin of Lewis' mother.
Kingbird said Lewis was also a grass dancer at powwows.
Jeff Weise, 16
Jeff Weise was an outsider.
It had been awhile since the 16-year-old had been to Red Lake High
School after he was placed in "Homebound" schooling - where a teacher
visits a student at home - for breaking the rules. Students say he was a
loner.
Weise apparently found an outlet on a neo-Nazi Web site - using the
German term for "Angel of Death" to identify himself - and dressed in
goth black and wrote stories about zombies.
His dad was dead, the victim of suicide, and his mother in a nursing
home after a car accident.
Police said Weise killed his grandfather and his grandfather's companion
before going to the high school to continue his attack.
Portraits of shooter, victims in Red Lake attack Associated Press
www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/14144936.htm
<http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/14144936.htm>
Brief portraits of victims, including those wounded, and the shooter in
the Red Lake attack one year ago:
THE DEAD:
Daryl Lussier, 58
The grandfather of Jeff Weise and one of his first two victims,
58-year-old Daryl Lussier was a lifelong tribal police officer known
around the reservation by his nickname: Dash.
"If you knew him, you said Dash, and everyone knew who you were talking
about," said Ed Naranjo, a retired Bureau of Indian Affairs officer who
worked with Lussier in 1979 and again from 1985 to 1990.
Lussier had four adult children and two under the age of 10, Naranjo
said. He was well-liked and respected around the reservation, Lussier
said. He helped maintain order during periods of turmoil and unrest on
the reservation.
"He was that kind of individual who could calm a very hot situation,"
Naranjo said. "He just projected that feeling."
Tribal officers were nervous in the late '80s, Naranjo said, when the
tribe switched from BIA protection to contract officers. Lussier
eventually switched from the BIA to working on a contract, and helped
his colleagues who were upset.
"There was that song at the time - 'Don't Worry, Be Happy,'" Naranjo
recalled. "Everybody was feeling kind of down, and he would just walk
around singing that."
---
Michelle Sigana, 31
Michelle Sigana enjoyed her new job as a cashier at Seven Clans Casino
in Thief River Falls, but her real passion was her family.
The 31-year-old Red Lake woman - who was killed along with her
companion, Daryl Lussier - loved spending time with Lussier and their
teenage son, Devon.
"They just gave him whatever he wanted," said Mark Sigana, a cousin.
"For both of them, their priority was making sure he had everything,
which he did."
Michelle Sigana grew up on the Red Lake Indian Reservation and went to
high school in Red Lake. Later, she and Lussier took Mark Sigana in when
he needed a place to stay.
"There was never a dull moment with her," Mark Sigana said. "She was
just the happiest person anyone can be around."
---
Derrick Brun, 28
Twenty-eight-year-old Derrick Brun was remembered as a gentle spirit who
loved the kids he guarded at Red Lake High School, his alma mater.
Brun was a former police officer and was taking classes to be an
emergency medical technician, said a cousin, Nancy Richards.
"He was just an all-around good guy," she said, adding that he was the
type of person who would open his doors to someone who needed a place to
stay.
"He was a kind, gentle person," Richards said.
Brun, the youngest of five children, had started working as a school
security guard last fall, Richards said.
---
Alicia White, 14
Alicia White was a lot of fun, the kind of girl who had lots of friends,
but things weren't always easy.
"She was really a sweet little girl," said Wendy Johnson, whose
daughter, Ashley Morrison, was friends with Alicia. "She never hurt
anybody, and had no bad things to say about anything or anyone."
The Redby teenager was the oldest of six children and lived with her
grandmother, who was ill. But Alicia kept a cheery demeanor, playing
basketball for the freshman team.
Pastor Tom Pollock of Redby Community Church led a youth group that
White belonged to. He said she helped her grandmother raise her younger
siblings.
"She's really played the role of mother," Pollock said.
---
Neva Rogers, 62
After Neva Rogers left her teaching job on the Red Lake Indian
Reservation, she was gone for several years. But she returned because
she felt a strong connection to the community.
And Red Lake residents were happy for that.
"She just made a point when students had personal difficulties to be
someone that they could talk to," said her daughter, Cindy Anderson.
"And they did."
Rogers, an English instructor, was the adviser to the yearbook and the
student newspaper, helping students prepare sports reports and, with
spring nearing, profiles of graduating seniors. A blond-haired woman in
a sea of dark-haired American Indians, she was well-known and liked.
---
Thurlene Stillday, 15
Thurlene Stillday loved to tell stories.
"She always had something to talk about. You know, `They did this over
the weekend or they did that,'" said Sondra Hegstrom, who was two grades
ahead of the freshman. "She had a lot of friends and was happy all the
time."
The Ponemah girl, who was 15, came from a big family and looked forward
to doing good things in high school and beyond.
---
Chanelle Rosebear, 15
Chanelle Rosebear was a tall and graceful freshman.
The Ponemah girl, who was 15, played basketball and also was a
cheerleader.
"She was really a bright little girl," said another student, Sondra
Hegstrom. "She always had a smile on her face."
Rosebear was the third-eldest of seven children. Her father, Kevin
Martin, said she was proud of her heritage and excelled in her Ojibwe
language class.
---
Chase Lussier, 15
Chase Lussier was a teenager with big responsibilities.
Students say the 15-year-old was helping to care for a son who had been
born just months before the attack. He tried to balance that with
basketball, doing his homework and spending time with his friends.
Some students said Chase pushed a girl out of the way before he was
shot.
---
Dewayne Lewis, 15
You could often find Dewayne Lewis playing basketball in his
neighborhood or at a community gym.
"He was very athletic," said his cousin, Susan Jenkins.
Others remember Lewis as a friendly face who greeted everyone with a
smile.
"He was just an outgoing kid. He would talk to anyone. He had a bunch of
friends up here," said Francine Kingbird, a cousin of Lewis' mother.
Kingbird said Lewis was also a grass dancer at powwows.
Jeff Weise, 16
Jeff Weise was an outsider.
It had been awhile since the 16-year-old had been to Red Lake High
School after he was placed in "Homebound" schooling - where a teacher
visits a student at home - for breaking the rules. Students say he was a
loner.
Weise apparently found an outlet on a neo-Nazi Web site - using the
German term for "Angel of Death" to identify himself - and dressed in
goth black and wrote stories about zombies.
His dad was dead, the victim of suicide, and his mother in a nursing
home after a car accident.
Police said Weise killed his grandfather and his grandfather's companion
before going to the high school to continue his attack.