Elaine Moore, a former student of Rod Graysons who witnessed the shooting, photographed at Murchison in February. Home; Our Staff" . Murchison Middle School. Accountability Ratings Good. John thanked her, saying that the man named J.C. was comforted by what she said. After 20 months in a psychiatric facility, he was freed. A student walked into the classroom, shot his teacher, and left. Later, Ray went outside and pulled his bicycle from his Honda. And if you publish this story, it will destroy our family.. John Ray, a former student of Rod Graysons who witnessed the shooting, photographed at Murchison in February. It was also the case that an adolescent boy could, in broad daylight, during the morning rush hour, walk along a suburban street and down a grassy hill to school carrying a Browning .22-caliber rifle and nobody would think to stop him. Everything stopped that day as we tried to process it. He asked if anyone wanted to meet up. He began making inquiries. His eyes were wide open. I have nothing but good things to say about him in the settings I see him in., While George Scott fully acknowledged the magnitude of the tragedy for the victims of that days events, he also explained that in his view, his brother has done remarkably well, given the terrible thing that happened. The anguish that has plagued the Murchison students presages the kind of long-tail trauma that many of todays witnesses to shootings will be burdened with for the rest of their lives. Like others who had experienced the Murchison shooting, Nather remained perplexed by the aftermath: the swiftness of the court proceedings, the secrecy that attended Johns road to recovery, and the seeming normalcy of his adult life. Yet to those who experienced the shooting at Murchison Junior High School, it remains, even after four decades, mercilessly unforgettable. So for eighteen months or thereabouts, you have them confront their defense mechanisms and talk about their core issues. She sued the Christians for negligence a year after Rods death. Hed read Erica Jong and told me that it took women seven minutes to reach orgasm. He said something about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 14-year-old student James Newman brought a .38-caliber revolver to Pine Middle School in Reno, . On Friday. Armour is among the criminal justice reformers who have pressed for opportunities in which all stakeholders in a tragic event can come together and articulate their discontents and needs in the interest of restorative justice. Jo Anne Christian materialized in the administrative office, her palms flat on the counter, as she demanded, Wheres John? Soon, the Austin police arrived. Davis later called their former teacher Marilyn Eichenbaum DuVon, who then reconnected with other former students who were in Graysons classroom that day. I will never be over seeing Mr. Grayson murdered by a friend and classmate. Ray spoke to him directly: Thank you for what you did for us.. Ten years later, in 2009, Rays youngest daughter, Olivia, who was ten years old, was struck by a Cadillac Escalade and killed at a street crossing on Razorback Road while her sister Hannah watched. Homes with this school assigned For Sale (65) For Rent (96) NEW - 13 HRS AGO 1.01 ACRES $199,000 In 1984 the system asked 12 years in prison of a fifteen-year-old Colorado boy named Jason Rocha, who suffered from depression but had committed no prior acts of violence before he shot his thirteen-year-old friend to death. Laura and Rod at their wedding, in Laredo, on August 19, 1972. Im getting through now by trying to be more honest, trying to show up, pay attention and stay in the game. Great, Ray thought. Hes a really great brother. How do I deal with it? he recalled. 25 years ago, on May 18, 1978, John Daniel Christian walked into Murchison Middle School with a gun and in front of 30 8th graders shot their English teacher 3 times, killing him. Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue. The collateral continuing tragedy is this silence around the event. He added, I know a couple people whove said, We dont know where this [Texas Monthly] story is going. They dont want it to be a hit piece on the Christian family or something that says, This kid escapes justice. I dont want to hurt John. The Christians werent rich by Texas standards, but they had forged elaborate social and professional ties to power brokers and superachievers that extended well beyond Texas. She recalled that on the same day that John was arrested, two Latino boys were brought in for shoplifting. Few, if any, had considered the possibility that John might reappear in their midst. John hugged him. Im just now remembering. Extracurriculars Band Choir Orchestra Dance / Cheerleading Newspaper / Yearbook National Junior Honor Society Keyboarding # 781 in Texas Middle Schools. 10 weeks after broken fibula . The Christian boy reportedly was a straight "A" student, but had been given al failing grade in. It did not plunge the entire city into terror the way Charles Whitmans rampage from the University of Texas Tower had twelve years earlier. A few years before the fortieth anniversary, Ray was visiting Austin and jogging around Lady Bird Lake when he thought he saw John. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Middle Schools in Austin. That was such a traumatic time, a former student wrote. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. The subject line was Question for youMurchison shooting. Nather, as it turned out, had attended Murchison in 1978 and had been outside during gym class when John emerged from the school entrance with a rifle in his hand. Bit by bit, she recalled panic attacks shed experienced in high school, moments of jogging past Johns house in Northwest Hills and being afraid that he might see her. Why did John seem so unaffected? Can you believe it? John asked, referring to the shoelaces and belt that the authorities had taken from him for fear that he might attempt suicide. But Ray had not so much as acknowledged his own emotional scar tissue until one morning in April 1999, when he was driving through the University of Arkansas campus and heard on the radio about the mass shooting at Columbine High School. He couldnt fathom how the world continued to carry on while an innocent girl lay buried, and how quickly some young men were issued reprieves. There he is! someone exclaimed, directing their attention to a figure outside the classroom window who was heading down the grassy hill beside the football field. There is also the manner in which the collateral victims were dealt withor, more precisely, not dealt with. Jumping out of his truck and grabbing the boy, Schirpik barked, What did you do?. So did the Austin press. The familys position, which has remained unchanged over the years, is that a thirteen-year-old boy fell into a deep, perhaps psychotic state of depression and committed a terrible misdeed. Two of the students, John Christian and John Ray, would be giving an oral presentation of a chapter from Harriet Beecher Stowes classic novel Uncle Toms Cabin. Logan Bazar, who hadnt been present during the shooting, was dispatched to Graysons classroom to retrieve his personal effects. Nor was it the habit of adolescents to speculate on anyones psychological burdens apart from their ownunless, that is, they were confided in, as Bazar was by John. Im incredibly grateful for the sense of being found and rescued, in spite of myself, in spite of what could have been, in spite of all that is. That gave us some time to talk. It is a school in Austin Independent School District district. I didnt want that story to get out.. They all came from low-income backgrounds and were, with few exceptions, children of color. It serves 1240 studentsin 6 - 8 with a student/teacher ratio of 13.8:1.Its teachers have had 9 projects funded on DonorsChoose. It is a cornerstone of civilized societies that sharp legal distinctions are drawn between children and adults. Two other students turned in a project that Grayson considered sloppy, and he ripped our shit apart, one of them recalled. Hes been a great uncle to my kids. Advertisement. Principal Brad Clark sent out a letter Wednesday where he announced he has "decided to step down" due to "recent challenges." Like many Austin professionals, he knew the Christians socially. Screenshot of newspaper spread on Murchison Middle school shooting The Christian family hired Roy Minton, the city's most prominent criminal defense attorney. What had kept him from writing it himself was that he hated the thought of bringing anguish to his former classmate John Christian. Ive talked to my therapist about this. Though the tall, slender, floppy-haired boy seldom spoke up in class except to correct someone elses error, John seemed immune to the self-doubt that consumed his peers. Murchison Middle School serves 1,246 students in grades 6-8. A few days later, Ray drove twelve hours northwest to Littleton, Colorado. According. Yeah, yeahIm gonna bring one too! Ray exclaimed. Austin felt strangely unsafe to him, even aside from willful recklessness. 2 stars . John, their quiet resident genius, had come out of his shell! The hallucination portended something. Beau Bradley 2015-2019. 5 stars . He hadnt seen his old classmates in years, and they hugged and tearfully greeted one another. Show All News. One of them brought a towel and some cleanser to scrub their teachers gravestone. On May 18, 1978, one of my 8th grade classmates at Murchison Junior High now Murchison Middle School walked into a classroom and shot his English teacher to death. On May 21 st, Austin ISD and Murchison Middle School hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on the school's modernization project.The project will include a 6 th grade addition, library and administration relocation and a new bus loop.. Cathy Olson Muths 1978 yearbook portrait. But it never came. Reached by phone, Earles assistant district attorney Jacqueline Strashun could not recall for sure if Cofer, who died in 2016, had disclosed the association but added, Judge Cofer was a very, very straight guy, probably the most ethical judge at that time.). Many shared memories of Mr. Grayson, as they still called himhow he had once taken the entire class to New Orleans to see a King Tut exhibit; how he had helped his students launch a magazine called Serendipity Doo-Dah; how he was sharp and interesting and challenged us to think outside our normal convention. Someone posted a forty-year-old newspaper clipping with the headline Gifted Student Shoots Teacher and, beneath it, a photograph of their thirteen-year-old classmate shielding his face from cameras. murchison middle school murchison website murchison matadors - murchison middle school the murchison middle school murchison matadors Murchison Middle School Global Presence: Search All Employees The gifted and talented teacher, Rod Grayson, was fatally shot by one of his most prized students. Ray wasnt entirely sure how his outreach would be received. Butler Butler 2012-2016. At night, according to George Scott, they sometimes argued heatedly. That movie Dawn of the Dead had just come out. Getting answers is what brings resolution, Armour said. The headboard was old and tattered on one of the beds. Where is he now? Murchison Middle. It was a defining moment in my life, added Marilyn Eichenbaum DuVon, Graysons teaching partner at Murchison. Murchison Middle School placed in the top 30% of all schools in Texas for overall test scores (math proficiency is top 30%, and reading proficiency is top 20%) for the 2020-21 school year. What happened to John Daniel Christian? Cities in Texas. Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival Is More Than an Event. Something in his psyche began to crack open. Rolling past the high school, wandering through the memorial sites and services, Ray felt curiously at home with the grieving, as if his own trauma had been given permission to voice itself. City Employees Are Heading for the Exits. I heard that sentiment expressed by nearly all his Murchison classmates. Someone suggested they visit Graysons grave site. She warned him that he needed to study hard for the upcoming test. The event of 13.8:1.Its teachers have had 9 projects funded on DonorsChoose but had been given al grade. Them confront their defense mechanisms and talk about their core issues his shell former classmate John Christian went. 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