Talk:Ten dead on Minnesota Indian reservation after school shooting

This isn't the first murder case I've reported on, so to avoid any trouble, I will start a poll to answer the nagging question left unanswered by this article:

Should the article provide the name of the alleged shooter, given that he is a minor?

The name has been published by other news outlets, but I don't want to put someone's undies in a bunch over human rights violations if there is a strong objection to publishing the name.

They could just go on another news site. The name is everywhere.

Support publishing the name:

Support. — DV 06:07, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Support - it is not our job to censor for readers. Further, many respectable newsources have already released it. --OldakQuill 19:33, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Oppose publishing the name:

Comments:

The poor kid is dead. His father committed suicide a few years ago, and his mother is in a nursing home with brain damage from a car accident. The grandfather was fatally shot as well. Perhaps revealing the name is only piling on. — DV 06:07, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Wikinews is an international news outlet. The UK press has published the names of accused minors in other cases, so this isn't strictly an issue about the conventions of the American press. — DV 06:07, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)
They could just go on another news site. The name is everywhere. 4.27.228.223 22:52, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

If there are no serious objections, I will add the name, but I thought it was prudent to ask beforehand. — DV 06:07, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

<is now sure DV is lurking on #wikinews> We were just discussing this. Frankly, I think the name should not be there until the kid is found guilty by coroner if not a court. But it is well known, and the Bemidji quote already has his first name. - Amgine 06:12, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Well, it's unlikely there will be a court case, given that most of the parties are dead. I can't remember a case of a coroner pronouncing the guilt or innocence of a subject - they usually restrict themselves to cause of death - which in this case is likely to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. If the court never gets a case, and the coroner only pronounces cause of death, it seems a bit of a catch-22 that we can never list the name, but I'm open-minded about it.

You never know where The Shadow lurks,

— DV 06:43, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

In this case I do not know who will be the determining officer (because it is on the reservation), but the coroner really is the person who would decide the cause of death for the group, and would probably name names in finding the cause of death if this were handled under the county jurisdiction. Weird, isn't it?

As for this article, I was just expression my personal opinion. - Amgine 06:49, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

It's not a big deal. If the alleged shooter had been caught alive, perhaps I would feel differently, but I will stay laid back on this one. — DV 06:54, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Questionable

One witness said the gunman was "grinning and waving". - I find the inclusion of this sentence highly questionable - it serves no purpose and simply appears sensationalist. Anyone have any views? --OldakQuill 19:33, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Unfortunately, that's likely to be the only witness quote available for a while. The tribe has closed the reservation to all reporters. I, too, find the quote objectionable, but it is newsworthy. (the full quote has him grinning at a girl and waving the gun, then pointing it away from her to shoot another person.) - Amgine 23:25, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)