Washington school shooting hits close to home for LCI Rams

A tragic event across the border has hit close to home for the LCI Rams.

A 15-year-old student is accused of shooting a classmate to death and wounding three others Wednesday at Freeman High School, a rural school near the small town of Rockford, Wash.

Last week, the Rams were at the same school for a weekend of exhibition football against their American counterparts.

“We were there from Thursday to Saturday,” said Rams head coach Darren Majeran. “We spent a night on their gym floor and had a barbecue with them. We had a great time down there.

“Up here, it would be comparable to a W.R. Myers or a Raymond High School or a Cardston High School, somewhere in those numbers,” said Majeran. ”It’s a really small, tight-knit community.”

Since the shooting, Majeran said he has reached out to the school’s athletic director via text.

“I just let him know he was in our prayers and we were thinking about them,” he said. “He texted me back and he definitely appreciated that. Just hearing the news yesterday, it’s kind of hard to wrap your mind around. We were just there and this happened.

“Obviously, this sort of violence is senseless. Once is too much, so these repeated events are definitely worrisome. To me and our boys, it’s just a sense of this is real and there are some things out there in this world that will break your heart, and when we heard, this was definitely one of those things.”

Prior to practice Wednesday, Majeran said he and his players had a talk about what happened.

“I let them know that when these things happen there are people to talk to. The kids have great parents and we take care of our kids and I’m confident that in this situation, or any situation, our kids are being taken care of.”

The Rams are back in action this weekend when they host Calgary Centennial Saturday at 7 p.m. at the University of Lethbridge Stadium. See Saturday’s Herald for a preview story.