Fourteen-year-old freshman Asa H. Coon shot two students and two teachers before committing suicide in a classroom on the fourth floor of the building.

[4] Wearing a Marilyn Manson concert shirt, black jeans, and black-painted fingernails,[5] Coon walked to the fourth floor of the building and entered the men's washroom where he loaded two revolvers.

[6] The shooting began at approximately 1:09 p.m.[7] on the fourth floor of the building, after 14-year-old Michael Peek punched Coon in the face for bumping into him.

[17][18] Fourteen-year-old Coon had been placed on a three-day suspension two days prior to the shooting for an altercation with another student regarding the existence of God.

[27] Cleveland's public school system established an anonymous hotline for students to report threats and dangerous behavior.

[29] Cleveland police officer Walter Emerick, who took the picture using his cell phone camera, was suspended from duty for eight days for sending the photo to other people, who eventually leaked it to the Internet.