Domestic Issues Lead to Shooting at Portsmouth Ohio's Notre Dame Elementary

Growing up in Scioto County, Ohio, I had many friends who attended Notre Dame Schools in Portsmouth, Ohio. Most of these friends were people I had met through church groups or students whose parents were not satisfied with the education their children received from local Public Schools and opted to send their children to a private school. Today, 10 years after graduating high school I still have contact with many of these people and now some of their children are beginning to enter the halls of Notre Dame Elementary.

When I heard about the shooting that occurred on the morning of February 7, 2008 my initial thought was that it had occurred at the High School located on Sunrise Avenue and my mind went back to past school shooting incidents. However, when the local news stations updated their story early in the afternoon I found that the shooting had occurred at the elementary school site located on the Holy Redeemer Church grounds. Hearing the news and that I might have known someone affected by this school shooting I contacted some of my old friends to make sure their children had not been affected.

From the information I was able to gather from people who have children attending the small Catholic elementary and from what was available from local news outlets, here is what occurred. No children were injured in the attack, which appears to be the result of a domestic issues between a teacher and her estranged husband. According to WOWK Channel 13 News, fifth grade teacher Christi Layne was shot by her husband in her classroom at Notre Dame Elementary school in Portsmouth Ohio. Later Mrs. Layne's husband committed suicide in their home. At this time there is no additional information on Mrs. Layne's condition though she has been reported to be in critical condition at Huntington West Virginia's Cabell County Hospital. Following the shooting, the shooter went to his home where he was surrounded by local police, state police, and SWAT and proceeded in a standoff with police. In the early afternoon WOWK 13 News reported that Michael Layne had shot and killed himself and that the standoff had ended.

While this story is the tragic ending of a marriage and domestic issue, parents of students attending Notre Dame Elementary School are thankful that no children were injured in the shooting incident. Tonight those parents who have children attending Notre Dame Elementary will hold their children an little tighter, let them stay up a little later than usual, and pray for the possible recovery of fifth grade teacher Christi Layne.

Students who attend Notre Dame were sent home from school following the incident and as of 3:45pm no plans have been made about whether the school will be open on Friday. Notre Dame Elementary is located in Portsmouth, Ohio in the southernmost region of the state. Notre Dame is a small school that graduates 25-35 students each year. In the 2004-2005 school year there were just 176 children attending the Elementary School which is home to kindergarten through six grade. Additional information on Notre Dame Elementary can be found by visiting their website.

Notre Dame Schools: Notre Dame Statistics http://www.nddev.com/aboutindex1.html

Wowk 13 News Craig McKee: Suspect in Portsmouth Teacher Shooting Commits Suicide West Virginia Media: http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=34546

Full coverage and video of WOWK's on the scene report from Dee Delancy and Rick Dayton can be viewed here