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Fork Horn
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 454
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RE: Indian Nation conspiracy continues
The teenage son of Red Lake Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. was charged with conspiracy Monday in connection with the March 21 shootings that killed 10 people, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
The source said that Louis Jourdain, who is believed to be 16 or 17, plotted with the gunman, Jeffrey Weise, to violently attack Red Lake High School.
Jourdain was arrested without incident Sunday on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, the source said. No other arrests are imminent, the source said.
U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger refused to confirm who had been arrested. He said that juvenile proceedings have begun for the suspect in federal court, but he wouldn't comment on what role the younger Jourdain might have played in the shootings.
Floyd and Louis JourdainFloyd And Louie JordainLast Tuesday, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Tabman said authorities believed that Weise was acting alone, and that the motive was unknown. Funeral services for Weise, 16, were held Monday afternoon.
Floyd Jourdain, who was sworn in as tribal chairman in August, did not return phone calls Monday. Neighbors near his small ranch house west of Red Lake said no one had been at home all day, before they threatened to call the tribal police on a reporter.
Federal authorities and witnesses say Weise killed his grandfather, a tribal police officer, and his grandfather's companion March 21 at their home. Weise then took his grandfather's weapons to the high school, where he killed a security guard, a teacher and five students before turning the gun on himself.
As news of the arrest spread Monday afternoon, reaction on the reservation ranged from shock to the hope that everybody involved in the killings will be brought to justice.
Victoria Brun, sister of Derrick Brun, the school security guard who was killed, said she had been told that authorities were given evidence on Saturday that more than one person might be involved.
That theory may be backed up by comments from a student who said Monday that he was in the school library with Louis Jourdain at the time of the shootings. The student said that as soon as they heard gunfire and even before they saw Weise's face, Jourdain was identifying the shooter as "Jeff."
Others involved?
Heffelfinger said he couldn't "confirm or deny" that the shootings by Weise were part of a larger attack planned on the high school. He added that the investigation is ongoing in Red Lake and the Twin Cities.
Victoria Brun was told that authorities discovered an online conversation between Weise's girlfriend and another person about the shooting.
When asked if residents of Red Lake should have been concerned about their safety if another person connected to the shooting had been on the loose for a week, Heffelfinger said all the agencies involved in the investigation have responsibility for public safety on Red Lake.
"I won't comment on any facts that relate to arrest ... nor comment on facts developed during the investigation since March 21," Heffelfinger said Monday. "We have a very active and ongoing investigation, and it would be speculation for me to say what is going to come out."
He said the timing of the arrest announcement had nothing to do with any events in and around Red Lake, which included funerals for three of the shooting victims and for Weise.
Brun's funeral was held in Red Lake followed by burial in Bemidji. Services for schoolteacher Neva Rogers were held in Bemidji and for ninth-grader Alicia Spike in Redby.
The final two funerals are scheduled for Wednesday and Saturday.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty and his aides observed a moment of silence in his office about 2 p.m., then he emerged to speak briefly to reporters.
Calling the shootings "a very terrible event," Pawlenty said: "We don't get to pick which tragedies visit us in life ... but we do get to pick how to respond. And this community is responding with love and support and encouragement."
Money and offers of assistance or help with counseling is pouring in to the Red Lake Reservation from all over the nation, Pawlenty said. "We can be proud of a very generous response."
Principal 'befuddled'
News of Louis Jourdain's arrest came between the funerals in Red Lake for Brun and Weise, which were held at the same church.
Easter lilies were placed on tables in the rear of the church and platters of food were taken to the kitchen for the Weise funeral. Before the casket was brought into the church, reporters and a photographer were asked by the Rev. Pat Sullivan to leave via a back door because the family requested that no media be present.
Red Lake High School Principal Chris Dunshee said he learned about Monday's arrest from reporters. He was planning to meet with other school administrators today to discuss reopening the high school, which is currently scheduled for the middle of April, and then he planned to drive to Fargo to see two students who are still hospitalized there.
Now he's not sure what will happen next.
"I'm as befuddled as everyone else," Dunshee said. "Right now I'm trying to react to it as it comes."
Some of the victim's relatives, such as the mother of Dewayne Lewis, declined to comment on the arrest. A family member of another victim was afraid to talk about it because "someone might come by and shoot at the house."
A member of the Red Lake Tribal Council, Donald (Dudie) May, said in a brief telephone interview Monday night that he didn't feel like answering questions "right now."
"I've just returned from the cemetery and I'm just beginning to hear about what's happening," May said. "I'm just not going to say anything more."
As tribal chairman, Floyd Jourdain is the chief executive of the Red Lake band and leads an elected government of 11 officials. Jourdain, 40, was elected last year in a special election that was scheduled after the previously elected chairman, Butch Brun, died in 2003.
At a news conference last Thursday, Jourdain said the shootings were a wake-up call to the community.
"We need to pay more attention to our young people and what they're saying and what they're doing," he said. "And that's universal. That crosses cultural lines."
Tonya Lussier, the older sister of victim Chase Lussier, said Monday that she was shocked when she learned about the younger Jourdain's arrest -- and is concerned that there could be more people involved.
"I hope they catch everybody who was involved and knew what was going on," she said.
Said Victoria Brun: "I won't feel safe. These kids won't feel safe. This community won't feel safe until they're all brought in custody."
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There's no such thing as truth, only perception
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