Accused attacker erupts in courtroom
Mountain View teachers, police, paramedics called heroes

By Molly Brown
Anchorage Daily News

(Published May 9, 2001)

http://www.adn.com/nation/story/0,2360,264980,00.html

Strapped to a chair in Anchorage District Court, the man accused of slashing four elementary school students stared blankly at a judge Tuesday and refused to answer any questions.

But as guards ushered Jason W. Pritchard out of the courtroom, the silent man erupted.

"Kill the young children, kill yourself. Kill the young children first, then kill yourself."

Pritchard, 33, a man with an extensive history of mental illness and religious delusions, was in court the day after Anchorage police say he used a fillet knife to slash the throats and faces of four boys who attend Mountain View Elementary. He is charged with four counts each of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault.

The boys -- Cody Brown, 8, Stephan Hansell, 8, Billy Moy, 8 and Eric Moy, 9 -- were recovering Tuesday. The Moy brothers were discharged from Providence Alaska Medical Center, family members said. Brown remained in serious condition in the Providence pediatric intensive care unit, but doctors say he is doing well, hospital spokeswoman Karina Jennings said.

Hansell was in fair condition at Alaska Regional Hospital, said spokeswoman Kjerstin Lastufka, and is expected to be discharged today.

Relatives of Hansell and the Moy brothers were in court Tuesday. One family sat side-by-side holding hands, a file from the Anchorage District Attorney's office on one woman's lap.

Pritchard, restrained by leather straps after he refused to sit on a court bench, seemed despondent, distracted and bored. He was surrounded by several court guards, one who sat behind him and grabbed hold of his blue jail shirt to keep him seated. His left hand -- broken when police disarmed him Monday -- was covered with a white bandage.

He stared vacantly at television cameras.

It was just 32 hours earlier that police responded to a desperate 911 call and found Pritchard in the corner of Mountain View Elementary classroom 13 holding a white-handled fillet knife and being held at bay by teacher Jeff Harriman, who stood between him and a gashed student, according to the complaint filed in court Tuesday.

The child, Stephan Hansell, was on the floor bleeding from the neck and from a long laceration down the right side of his face, the complaint said.

Pritchard first approached the boys while they waited in line for the school's breakfast program. He grabbed Billy Moy first and placed him in a choke hold with one hand wrapped around him and another pressing the knife into his neck, the complaint said. Moy screamed and tried to get away, and Pritchard slashed at the three other boys.

The Moy brothers and Brown fled to the principal's office, and Hansell ran inside to classroom 13. Pritchard followed, but was slowed by a school lockdown that kept him from the same door Hansell used, the complaint said. He entered the school and calmly walked down the hall to classroom 13, the complaint said.

Pritchard pushed a teacher who was trying to close the classroom door. Students were hiding under school desks. Pritchard grabbed Hansell by the legs, pulled him out, then slit his throat.

Harriman, the teacher, entered the room and knocked Pritchard to the ground, allowing another teacher, Archie O'Blenness, to escort 15 other students out of the classroom, Police Chief Walt Monegan said at a Tuesday press conference.

Once students were out of the classroom, the door was locked, leaving Pritchard, Harriman, and Hansell inside. Teacher Dan Sage then broke the glass in the door and entered the room as Pritchard started throwing furniture.

Pritchard told Harriman that Hansell was "going to see Jesus today," the complaint said. Harriman held Pritchard off and shielded Hansell with a plastic science kit container.

The first two officers who arrived aimed their guns at Pritchard and positioned themselves to minimize shooting school walls, windows or innocent bystanders, in case they had to shoot, the complaint said.

One officer said he contemplated killing Pritchard, the complaint said.

Two other officers arrived, told Harriman to take Hansell to safety, and ordered Pritchard to drop his knife.

Pritchard refused and held the knife in the officers' direction, the complaint said. Police taped his ramblings.

Pritchard, who has talked for years of his desire to kill children in the name of God, told police he wanted to send "... his little brothers and sisters to Jehovah," the complaint said.

He urged officers to use their "swords" -- referring to their guns -- to kill the children and send them to God, and asked for strength so he would not "take the mark of the beast," the complaint said.

Another officer arrived with a 37 mm gas gun, and fired beanbag projectiles containing steel shot at Pritchard's right thigh, the complaint said. Pritchard dropped to the ground, still holding the knife, and the officer fired again.

Pritchard laughed, and said "strengthen me, Father, to do your own will," the complaint said. He raised his arms and pointed the knife toward the officers, until a third shot sent the fillet knife flying out of his left hand, the complaint said.

Officers piled on Pritchard when he tried to crawl to the knife, and took him into custody at 8:43 a.m., the complaint said.

It was about 15 minutes after the 911 call.

More than 30 detectives responded Monday, and one located Pritchard's 1992 Subaru parked near the school, police said. About 30 feet from the car, a detective found a jacket, alarm clock, and shredded piece of paper. The paper was torn, and the detective pieced it together like a jigsaw puzzle. It was the car's registration, with a note scrawled on the back, the complaint said.

"Remember Columbine," it said at the top, according to the complaint.

It began, "Young one, please read Revelation 13:8, 9,10." The note said the Bible passage was a message from God and Jesus Christ to stop spending money, to "avoid getting the mark of the beast."

"Leave all the churches behind also you can't have anything to do with them if you want to avoid being destroyed and receive the gift of everlasting life. Also you must have the faith that killing little children is their only hope and don't be afraid of wicked people killing you and sending you to meet God and Jesus," according to the complaint.

Assistant district attorney Jay Fayette said it wasn't clear if Pritchard's citation to Revelation, chapter 13, had anything to do his actions in classroom 13.

In the wake of the incident, teachers, officers and paramedics were called heroes.

"Everybody did what they were supposed to do," Monegan said.

Even the students handled things well, he said.

After Pritchard's hearing in court Tuesday, the grandparents of the Moy brothers stood stunned outside the Anchorage courthouse.

"Evidently he's sick," said Keith Leonard, the grandfather.

Keith Leonard who stood behind his shaking wife Wilma, wrapped his arm her and held her hand.

"I came just to find out. To just get a look at him," Wilma Leonard said.

Their grandchildren were doing well, Keith Leonard said.

Billy had surgery on his voice box, Wilma Leonard said. At one point, doctors warned he might have lost his voice, she said.

"He called me on the phone and said 'Grandma, I'm talking,' " she said.

He also asked for hash browns.

The slash on Eric's neck came close to his jugular vein, she said.

Keith and Wilma Leonard said the family hadn't talked about the children returning to school. For now, the family is focused on healing, they said.

Reporter Molly Brown can be reached at mbrown@adn.com or 257-4343. Reporters Lucas Wall and Doug O'Harra contributed to this story.

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MARtin F. ABErnathy [abemarf@aol.com]

Bronx,NY 10473 May 9, 2001