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Random killing of Australian ballplayer prompts threats, boycotts
Three teenagers have been charged in what some are calling the "thrill killing" of a college baseball star after one of the suspects told officials "we were bored. We had nothing to do. We decided we'd kill somebody."
By Christopher Nelson and Henry Austin, NBC News
Anonymous threats against a local high school and calls for a travel boycott by Australians to the United States came Tuesday after three Oklahoma teens were charged in the random shooting of a college baseball player jogging down a tree-lined street.
Christopher Lane, 22, a native of Melbourne, Australia, and a rising senior at East Central University, was gunned down Friday in Duncan, Okla. Police said one of the teens charged in the case said the boys "were bored" and didn’t have anything to do, so they decided to kill somebody.
James Francis Edwards Jr., 15, and Chancey Allen Luna, 16, were charged with murder. A third teenager, Michael Dewayne Jones, 17, was charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact and with firing a weapon. All were charged as adults, according to the Stephens County District Attorney’s Office.
The shooting has dominated news reports in Australia and led Australian deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer to call on Australian tourists to boycott the U.S.
"It is another example of murder mayhem on Main Street," Fischer said on CNN on Tuesday night.
"People thinking of going to the USA for business or tourists trips should think carefully about it given the statistical fact you are 15 times more likely to be shot dead in the USA than in Australia per capita per million people," Fishcher said.
Earlier Tuesday, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said: "The United States is deeply saddened to hear the tragic news of the death of an Australian citizen in Oklahoma. This is clearly a tragic death, and we extend our condolences to the family and the loved ones. We understand that local authorities are focused on bringing those responsible to justice. Clearly, we would support that."
On Tuesday night, anonymous threats were made against Duncan High School, where at least two of the suspects were students.
“The credibility of the person or persons communicating the threats is very difficult to ascertain. However, we want to be proactive in taking reasonable precautions,” Dr. Sherry Labyer, the town’s Superintendent of Schools, wrote in a letter to parents, late Tuesday.
As result, she said that with help from the police, security would be beefed up in schools across the town and that students would only be allowed to leave once a parent checked them out.
They would also not be allowed to have lunch off campus, as would normally be the case.
“We want to be proactive in taking reasonable precautions,” she said, but added that she did not wish to panic parents or students.
If convicted of first-degree murder, the suspects could face life in prison.
The teens were reportedly turned in by their next potential target, Australian newspaper the Herald Sun reported.
James Johnson, 52, told the newspaper that he called the police to tell them that the accused killers were hiding in the parking lot of the Immauel Baptist Church, two hours after they allegedly shot Lane.
"My son called me and said, "They're saying they're coming to kill me." So I called the police and they got here within about three minutes," Johnson told the paper.
Johnson claimed that Edwards Jr. previously had threatened the life of Johnson's son on Facebook.
Friends of Lane set up a gofundme.com project to help cover expenses for his family.
“Please help us raise money to cover all expenses for Chris’s family to be able to fly to Oklahoma to receive his body and take him back to Melbourne, Australia,” they said on the site. “Every cent is greatly appreciated and all donations will go right to his family! I recently spoke to Chris’s father and he told me that if there is any money left over they will start a Christopher Lane Foundation.”
Three teenagers have been charged in what some are calling the "thrill killing" of a college baseball star after one of the suspects told officials "we were bored. We had nothing to do. We decided we'd kill somebody."
By Christopher Nelson and Henry Austin, NBC News
Anonymous threats against a local high school and calls for a travel boycott by Australians to the United States came Tuesday after three Oklahoma teens were charged in the random shooting of a college baseball player jogging down a tree-lined street.
Christopher Lane, 22, a native of Melbourne, Australia, and a rising senior at East Central University, was gunned down Friday in Duncan, Okla. Police said one of the teens charged in the case said the boys "were bored" and didn’t have anything to do, so they decided to kill somebody.
James Francis Edwards Jr., 15, and Chancey Allen Luna, 16, were charged with murder. A third teenager, Michael Dewayne Jones, 17, was charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact and with firing a weapon. All were charged as adults, according to the Stephens County District Attorney’s Office.
The shooting has dominated news reports in Australia and led Australian deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer to call on Australian tourists to boycott the U.S.
"It is another example of murder mayhem on Main Street," Fischer said on CNN on Tuesday night.
"People thinking of going to the USA for business or tourists trips should think carefully about it given the statistical fact you are 15 times more likely to be shot dead in the USA than in Australia per capita per million people," Fishcher said.
Earlier Tuesday, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said: "The United States is deeply saddened to hear the tragic news of the death of an Australian citizen in Oklahoma. This is clearly a tragic death, and we extend our condolences to the family and the loved ones. We understand that local authorities are focused on bringing those responsible to justice. Clearly, we would support that."
On Tuesday night, anonymous threats were made against Duncan High School, where at least two of the suspects were students.
“The credibility of the person or persons communicating the threats is very difficult to ascertain. However, we want to be proactive in taking reasonable precautions,” Dr. Sherry Labyer, the town’s Superintendent of Schools, wrote in a letter to parents, late Tuesday.
As result, she said that with help from the police, security would be beefed up in schools across the town and that students would only be allowed to leave once a parent checked them out.
They would also not be allowed to have lunch off campus, as would normally be the case.
“We want to be proactive in taking reasonable precautions,” she said, but added that she did not wish to panic parents or students.
If convicted of first-degree murder, the suspects could face life in prison.
The teens were reportedly turned in by their next potential target, Australian newspaper the Herald Sun reported.
James Johnson, 52, told the newspaper that he called the police to tell them that the accused killers were hiding in the parking lot of the Immauel Baptist Church, two hours after they allegedly shot Lane.
"My son called me and said, "They're saying they're coming to kill me." So I called the police and they got here within about three minutes," Johnson told the paper.
Johnson claimed that Edwards Jr. previously had threatened the life of Johnson's son on Facebook.
Friends of Lane set up a gofundme.com project to help cover expenses for his family.
“Please help us raise money to cover all expenses for Chris’s family to be able to fly to Oklahoma to receive his body and take him back to Melbourne, Australia,” they said on the site. “Every cent is greatly appreciated and all donations will go right to his family! I recently spoke to Chris’s father and he told me that if there is any money left over they will start a Christopher Lane Foundation.”
