Student charged in Olathe East school shooting allegedly had gun in backpack: affidavit
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Olathe East High School shooting
A shooting at a Johnson County high school injured a school resource officer and an administrator, according to police. The suspect, a student, is in custody.
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An 18-year-old Olathe East High School student allegedly pulled a handgun from his backpack and started firing at school resource officer Erik Clark, according to an affidavit released Wednesday.
Jaylon Elmore, who has been charged with attempted capital murder in the March 4 shooting, had been brought to the school’s offices after a student told a counselor that a kid named “Jay” had been bringing a gun to school.
Elmore, Clark and assistant principal Kaleb Stoppel were injured in the shooting that occurred shortly after 10:30 a.m. March 4.
Clark and Stoppel were released from the hospital later that day. Elmore remains hospitalized in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The affidavit, which is from the Johnson County Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Team, gives a look into what transpired the day of the shooting.
Scared student alerts counselor
Ann Book, a school counselor, told investigators that a student came in the morning of March 4 saying she was afraid because she overheard two boys on the bus talking about another student bringing a gun to school on a regular basis.
Book said the student was scared and would not say who the two boys were, but they were talking about how they had seen the weapon. The student reporting the conversation said the student allegedly with the gun is named Jay, Jaylon, Javion, or something along those lines, according to the affidavit.
Book reported the student’s concern to Principal Kerry Lane.
Stoppel told investigators that administrators brought a student they believed to fit the description to the office, but realized they had the wrong person. After talking with other students, Stoppel told investigators they later identified Elmore as the student who might have the gun.
Stoppel and assistant principal Leslie Simmons searched for Elmore, who was in shop class. They escorted him to the office and told him that someone on the bus had a gun and they were searching everyone involved, according to the affidavit.
Elmore, who had a backpack on his back, allegedly became defensive and did not want to cooperate, Stoppel told investigators. Elmore allegedly refused to let them search his backpack and at one point, shifted the bag from his back to his front.
‘I’ve been shot’
Stoppel said he texted Clark and asked him to come to the office. After Clark arrived, Elmore allegedly reached into the bag, pulled out a gun and fired five shots.
At some point, Stoppel tried to grab the gun from Elmore and they both fell on the floor, with Stoppel on top of the student.
Stoppel said when Elmore started vomiting, he got off and saw that Clark had been shot. Stoppel initially did not realize he had been shot as well.
Clark told investigators that when Elmore started firing, he drew his pistol and shot Elmore in self-defense.
Dispatchers first learned of the shooting from a 911 call saying there was an “unknown issue” at the school, according to the affidavit.
“I’ve been shot,” Clark told dispatchers over a police radio alerting them that shots had been fired at the school.
Investigators found Elmore’s gun in Stoppel’s office. It was a 9mm “ghost gun,” a type of firearm built using either a kit or from individual parts without a serial number. It is outside the systems authorities use to track firearms. The gun was loaded with 13 rounds and there was a spent round blocking the slide from closing.
They also found Elmore’s cell phone, which at about 12:54 p.m. received a text message saying, “I TOLD YOU NOT TO EVEN HAVE THAT GUN ON YOU.”
The phone number the text came from was redacted from the affidavit. Investigators were able to determine who sent the message and that person confirmed she sent Elmore the text. The person’s name was also redacted.
Fight for affidavit’s release
Former Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison was appointed to represent Elmore. His next court date is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday. His bond has been set at $1 million.
After a reporter with The Star filed a motion seeking a copy of the affidavit, Morrison filed a response asking the court to deny the request or redact certain parts of the affidavit. The Star filed a motion asking to intervene.
“The Star seeks the affidavit in order to accurately inform its readers about the criminal proceedings in this case that is of great community concern,” attorney Bernard Rhodes wrote in the motion.
The affidavit was released Wednesday afternoon with some redactions.
The Star’s Bill Lukitsch contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 2:18 PM.
