Student, 14, Slays Teacher; Three Shot at School

A student shot and killed a substitute teacher and wounded a vice principal and two classmates at his high school Thursday, then fled to his home, where his parents turned him over to police, authorities said.

The 14-year-old student, who was armed with a large-caliber revolver, shot the teacher in the face at Fergus High School, then ran into a hall and out of the school, firing as he went, Tom Killham, assistant police chief, said.

The boy ran more than a mile to his home with police in pursuit, and officers surrounded the house, Killham said.

“Telephone contact was made with the parents. His parents surrendered him shortly after that,” the assistant chief said.

Fergus County Atty. Craig Buehler identified the suspect as Kristofor Hans, and said he was charged with deliberate homicide and attempted deliberate homicide. No motive was disclosed. Buehler said the youth was taken to a juvenile facility in Billings, 130 miles to the southeast.

The teacher, Henrietta Smith, 40, died at the scene of the shooting. After shooting her, the assailant ran out of the classroom and fired three more shots before fleeing the building. Vice Principal John Moffatt was hit in the abdomen and two students suffered minor wounds, Killham said.

Moffatt was taken to Central Montana Hospital, where he underwent surgery. His condition was described as stable.

A girls’ basketball tournament was taking place in a nearby gym at the time of the shooting, but the tournament was not disrupted, officials said.

Lewistown, an agricultural community of about 7,000 people, is about midway between the cities of Billings and Great Falls.