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2012 Chardon High School shooting

SOLVED2012Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · crimes against children — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the morning of February 27, 2012, six students were shot at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, three of whom died from their injuries. Witnesses said the shooter had a personal rivalry with one of the victims. According to the account, a boy stood up in the cafeteria at approximately 7:30 a.m. and began shooting at students gathered before classes, some of whom were waiting for buses to the affiliated Auburn Career Center and Lake Academy. Surveillance video showed the shooter firing at four male students seated at one table with a handgun, wounding another, then shooting a female student while fleeing. He was chased from the building by teacher Joseph Ricci and football coach Frank Hall, and was arrested by police near his car parked on Woodin Road.

Five students were hospitalized; three died within two days: 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor, a junior who had been waiting for a bus to study computer science at Auburn Career Center; 17-year-old Russell King Jr., a junior enrolled at both Chardon High School and Auburn Career Center who studied alternative energy technologies; and 16-year-old Demetrius Hewlin. The families of King and Hewlin arranged for their organs to be donated. Two other students, Nick Walczak and Joy Rickers, were hospitalized with gunshot wounds and survived; Walczak sustained several serious injuries resulting in permanent paralysis. A sixth student, Nate Mueller, suffered a superficial wound when a bullet grazed his ear and was not hospitalized.

The suspect, identified by authorities as Thomas Michael "T. J." Lane III, was a 17-year-old former Chardon student then attending Lake Academy, an alternative school, and rode a bus in common with several of the victims. He used a .22-caliber handgun that had been purchased legally by his uncle and which Lane had stolen. Student witnesses said Lane had a rivalry with King and appeared to specifically target him. Lane was indicted on three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder, and one count of felonious assault. Following a competency hearing in May 2012, at which a psychiatrist testified Lane suffered from psychosis but was still able to understand the charges against him, a judge found him competent to stand trial. Later that month, prosecutors decided to try him as an adult.

Lane pleaded guilty to the charges on February 26, 2013, and on March 19, 2013, was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole. At his sentencing hearing, he revealed a T-shirt reading "KILLER" and made a defiant statement toward the victims' families.

In 2014, the families of the three deceased students and Walczak filed a wrongful death suit against the Chardon School District and Lake Academy; the district and school were later dismissed as parties by a Lake County judge, though several individual school employees remained as defendants, and the case was ultimately returned to the trial court after the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in 2016. Separately, wrongful death suits against Lane's family were settled in May 2014, with the Lane family agreeing to pay nearly $2.7 million. On September 11, 2014, Lane escaped from Allen Correctional Institution along with two other inmates using a makeshift ladder; he was recaptured the following day and transferred to a maximum-security prison.

Key facts

Victims
Daniel Parmertor, Demetrius Hewlin, Nick Walczak, Joy Rickers, Russell King Jr., Nate Mueller
Date
2012
Location
Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2012-02-27

    Shooting occurs in the Chardon High School cafeteria at approximately 7:30 a.m.; suspect Thomas Michael "T. J." Lane III is arrested near his car outside the school. Daniel Parmertor dies of injuries.

  2. 2012-02-28

    Russell King Jr. is pronounced brain dead early in the day; Demetrius Hewlin is reported to have died. Chardon schools are closed.

  3. 2012-03-01

    Prosecutors formally charge Lane with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder, and one count of felonious assault.

  4. 2012-03-02

    Students return to Chardon High School; a community 'Line Up At Chardon' welcome event is held.

  5. 2012-05-02

    Competency hearing held; judge determines Lane is competent to stand trial.

  6. 2012-06-08

    Lane pleads not guilty to charges after being indicted to be tried as an adult.

  7. 2013-02-26

    Lane pleads guilty to all charges.

  8. 2013-03-19

    Lane is sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole.

  9. 2014-02-27

    Families of the three deceased students and Nick Walczak file a wrongful death suit against the Chardon School District and Lake Academy Alternative School; Russell King Sr. is found dead of a drug overdose the same day.

  10. 2014-05

    Wrongful death suits against T. J. Lane's family are settled, totaling nearly $2.7 million.

  11. 2014-09-11

    Lane escapes from Allen Correctional Institution in Lima, Ohio, with two other inmates.

  12. 2014-09-12

    Lane is recaptured; he and the other escapees are transferred to a supermax prison in Youngstown, Ohio.

  13. 2016-07

    Ohio Supreme Court declines to hear the wrongful death case against the school district; case returned to Lake County Common Pleas court.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Dave Joyce

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Prosecutor who pursued charges and sought to try Lane as an adult.

    citation on file

  • Daniel Parmertor

    VICTIM

    16-year-old Chardon High School junior, killed in the shooting.

    citation on file

  • Demetrius Hewlin

    VICTIM

    16-year-old student, killed in the shooting.

    citation on file

  • Timothy J. Grendell

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Juvenile court judge who presided over Lane's case, including the competency hearing and detention decisions.

    citation on file

  • Nick Walczak

    VICTIM

    17-year-old student shot four times, survived with permanent paralysis.

    citation on file

  • Joy Rickers

    VICTIM

    18-year-old student treated for a gunshot wound to the buttocks and released from hospital.

    citation on file

  • Tim McKenna

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Chardon Police Chief who announced victim deaths at a news conference.

    citation on file

  • Russell King Jr.

    VICTIM

    17-year-old junior, killed in the shooting.

    citation on file

  • Nate Mueller

    VICTIM

    Student superficially injured when a bullet grazed his ear.

    citation on file

  • Thomas Michael "T. J." Lane III

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder, and one count of felonious assault; sentenced March 19, 2013 to three consecutive life sentences without parole.

    citation on file

Places

Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio

41.5911, -81.2003

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On February 27, 2012, a 17-year-old former student opened fire in the cafeteria of Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, killing three students and wounding three others before being chased off by staff and arrested nearby.
Where did the shooting happen?
Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio.
Who was convicted?
Thomas Michael "T. J." Lane III (Pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder, and one count of felonious assault; sentenced March 19, 2013 to three consecutive life sentences without parole.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. 2012 Chardon High School shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. Report: Student confirms ID of Chardon HS shooter as T.J. Lanenews · CBS News · 2026-07-05
  3. Ohio School Shooting: Hospitalized Victim Had Bullets in Cheek, Necknews · ABC News · 2026-07-05

Last verified JUL 2026

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