1995 Richland High School shooting

On Wednesday, November 15, 1995, a school shooting occurred at Richland High School in Lynnville, Tennessee, a small community in Giles County. James Ellison "Jamie" Rouse, a 17-year-old senior at the school, carried out the attack using a .22-calibre Remington Viper semi-automatic rifle. Rouse hid the weapon behind bushes before driving to pick up his friend, Stephen Abbott, who then drove Rouse the rest of the way to the school.

Rouse parked outside the school and entered through the north entrance hallway, where he confronted teachers Carolyn Yancey and Carolyn Foster. He shot both teachers in the head in view of more than fifty students present in the hallway. Rouse then aimed his rifle at football coach Ron Shirey but missed, instead fatally shooting freshman student Diane Collins in the throat. He was subsequently tackled by a male student and an agriculture teacher, who forcibly took the rifle away from him. Carolyn Foster died from a gunshot wound to the head, while Carolyn Yancey survived the attack in serious condition.

Rouse was tried as an adult and convicted of one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and one count of first-degree attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 42 years.

Stephen Abbott, who drove Rouse to the school, was convicted of criminal responsibility for second-degree murder and criminal responsibility for attempted first- and second-degree murder. A judge determined that Abbott knew what Rouse was planning because Rouse had told him, "It's going to happen today." Abbott was sentenced to 40 years in prison; his sentence was later reduced to 27 years, and he was released from prison on January 26, 2014.

Rouse has been imprisoned at the Turney Center Industrial Complex. As of January 2016, he was reported to be up for resentencing in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana, which prohibit mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders and require that individuals previously sentenced to such terms be given an opportunity for resentencing.