Olathe East shooting suspect Jaylon Elmore is no monster, his mom says. I’m with her | Opinion

For Tammie Thompson, mother of Olathe East High School shooting suspect, Jaylon Elmore, the last 18 months have been a nightmare.

Since March 2022, Elmore has been in custody at the Johnson County Detention Center. He is accused of some very serious crimes: attempted capital murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two misdemeanor counts of criminal use of a weapon.

Bond was set at $1 million. Earlier this year, Elmore, 19, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He is accused of shooting school resource officer Erik Clark inside an administrative office at Olathe East High School last year, according to Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe’s office.

Because so many details in this case don’t necessarily add up and are confusing, it’s time to take a closer look and see whether Elmore is a school-shooting suspect, or a victim of his circumstances.

I talked to Thompson and others who think differently about the way things went down.

Mother works for Piper School District

Some days are better than others for Thompson, a paraprofessional in the Piper School District in Kansas City, Kansas. She has three children. Elmore is her only son.

The situation has taken its toll on Thompson’s mental and physical health, she told me. She’s leaned heavily on her faith — Thompson is a devout Jehovah’s Witness. She prays often and reads scripture. To ease her mind, she likes to go on long walks and listen to music.

“I’m trying to keep my sanity,” she said. “This is a tough position to be in as a mom.”

Thompson makes a solid point. If found guilty of attempted capital murder, Elmore would be sentenced to life in prison and would not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years, according to Kansas statutes. In addition, he faces a minimum of five years if convicted for felony possession of a firearm, according to prosecutors I spoke with.

Elmore couldn’t take it anymore. He was depressed and wanted to die, according to his mother. Two months before Elmore took a gun to Olathe East, he attempted suicide, she said.

He’d grown tired of the racial harassment and bullying he faced in suburban Johnson County, Thompson said. And life had him down. One day last January, Elmore swallowed an unknown number of pills.

“He tried to kill himself,” Thompson said.

A younger sibling found Elmore unresponsive and called 911. Paramedics rushed him to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Doctors revived Elmore but he was placed on suicide watch. He remained in the hospital for a couple weeks, according to his mother. After that, he was transferred to a mental hospital in Kansas for a spell.

And then March 4, 2022, happened.

Questions about who fired teen’s weapon

Last month, just outside Johnson County District Court, I met with Thompson. Minutes before, she sat inside a courtroom and waved to Elmore as he entered in handcuffs. He was dressed in orange inmate garb. His dreadlocks were near shoulder-length and well-kept. Elmore made eye contact with his mom and a family supporter. He acknowledged them with a quick smile and slight head nod.

Elmore was there for a hearing. Defense attorney Veronica Dersch joined him at a medium-sized table. Absent was former prosecutor and Kansas attorney general Paul Morrison, Elmore’s court-appointed co-counsel.

On this day — more than 18 months after the alleged crime occurred — no trial date was set. Dersch’s request for a continuance was granted. A forensic firearm analyst hired by Elmore’s court-appointed defense team died, Dersch told the court. More time was needed to gain approval of a new expert to examine and test the semiautomatic handgun Elmore possessed during the shooting.

There are questions as to who actually fired Elmore’s weapon, Thompson said. But more on that discrepancy later.

The earliest a trial could start would be in 2024, Johnson County District Court Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan said. Elmore respectfully replied that he understood his rights to a speedy trial were on hold until his defense team was prepared to proceed.

Elmore is scheduled for a bond reduction hearing on Nov. 29. It marks the first time defense attorneys have sought to request a lower bond amount, Thompson said.

Bullied for his hair twists, Southern accent

Thompson questioned if Elmore’s court-appointed attorneys — private lawyers hired by the Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense — were doing all they could to mitigate some of the circumstances surrounding the shooting. We often hear of overworked and underfunded public defenders. But that is not the case here. Elmore is represented by two well-respected private attorneys with other interests outside an indigent defense.

Cynthia Short is a criminal defense attorney specializing in capital murder cases. Although Short has followed the case, she is not directly involved in it. Enough external factors exist to question whether Elmore was in the right frame of mind when he brought the gun to school.

At the time, Elmore was 18 and was struggling to get along with his mother and stepfather. He moved from their home and stayed with a friend. He often slept on the friend’s couch or at the home of an older sister, Thompson said. He regularly attended school.

Students routinely teased Elmore about his hair, which he wore in thick twists, and his Southern drawl, according to Thompson. He was on medication until about 16 to treat epileptic seizures. As a result, Elmore learned at a slower pace than his peers, his mother said. Because of his condition and behavioral issues, he was given an individualized educational plan, or IEP, at Olathe East.

These factors and more, Short said, are important for Elmore’s attorneys to note as they prepare for trial.

“I would want to get a sense of his mental health,” Short said. “What was going on at the time? Why was he carrying the gun? What was he afraid of? What did he encounter?”

According to his mother, Elmore encountered the harsh reality of a Black young man attending a predominantly white school in suburban America. He was subjected to racial bullying at Olathe East but school officials never did anything about it, Thompson said.

“It never stopped,” she said.

Refused demand to search backpack

On March 4, 2022, assistant principals Kaleb Stoppel and Leslie Simons escorted Elmore from a wood shop class to Stoppel’s office at Olathe East. According to transcripts from Elmore’s preliminary hearing earlier this year, the then-high school senior was cordial and calm as the group made their way to the front office, both Stoppel and Simons testified.

Acting on a tip that Elmore brought a gun to school, the administrators wanted to search Elmore’s backpack.

Seated at a small circle table in Stoppel’s office, Elmore’s back was to the door, according to court documents. On the table in front of him was a laptop and a bottle of water. The book bag was nearby.

Stoppel was seated just to Elmore’s left side, Simons testified. She sat across from Elmore facing the door. When Stoppel told Elmore they needed to search his bag Elmore shut his laptop and stood up. He put the computer in his bag and placed the bag on his back. Then, he said: “No. I’ll just walk home,” according to a transcript of Simon’s testimony.

Stoppel, now standing, texted Clark, who came into the room and shut the door behind him, according to Simons. Clark stood at the door with his hands resting in a familiar police pose near his chest, according to testimony. He did not unholster his weapon until shots were fired.

Stoppel continued to ask Elmore for permission to search the bag. Each time, Elmore refused.

“Jaylon was still saying no, and took his backpack off from his back and then put it onto his front,” Simons testified.

Soon after, all hell broke loose.

Resource officer Erik Clark accidentally shot with ghost gun?

Clark, the resource officer, stood at the door. After Elmore got up and gathered his belongings, he moved slowly towards the door. He faced Clark, according to Simons. Stoppel rose from his seat, too, Simons said.

When Elmore moved the bag to his front, Stoppel crossed in between Clark and Elmore, she testified. Stoppel stood on Elmore’s left side. He looked towards the bag. Simons stood to Elmore’s right, she said.

There is no consensus on what occurred next — which, to me, raises all sorts of questions. Elmore shot first, Clark and Simons testified. But did he? In a tussle over the gun, is it possible Stoppel accidentally pulled the trigger on Elmore’s ghost gun, a privately-made 9mm pistol with no serial number?

During his time on the stand, Stoppel couldn’t recall what happened after Elmore went into the bag.

“And I do not remember seeing the gun, but I remember hearing gunshots from right in front of me where Jaylon is,” he testified.

Later, Stoppel added: “I don’t remember how I got to the floor, but the next thing I remember is I am on top of Jaylon, and I’m using my weight to subdue him. I have my hand on the gun, which is in his hand, and I’m fighting the gun out of his hand and trying to push it away.”

Did the administrator panic after seeing the gun? Possibly. According to Simons, Stoppel yelled “Gun!” when Elmore opened the backpack and pulled out the weapon.

“As he was bringing it out, Dr. Stoppel yelled, ‘Gun!’” Simons said, “Jaylon shot. Dr. Stoppel pushed and at the same time, grabbed and pushed down Jaylon, and they crossed in front of me as Officer Clark started firing at Jaylon.”

Simons testified she saw Elmore fire one more shot while on the ground. It is not clear if Stoppel or Elmore fired the gun as they fought to gain control over the weapon. I suppose the firearm forensics expert hired by Elmore’s defense team could provide the answer. But the question is a legitimate one we all must ponder.

‘I don’t believe he had any intention to shoot anyone’

Elmore doesn’t remember much of what occurred after he was shot, Thompson told me. Clark was struck four times, he testified. Once inside the office, he activated his body-worn camera. One of the bullets hit Clark’s body cam, he said. He later learned from others the camera was destroyed.

Clark shot both Elmore and Stoppel twice. The same day, Stoppel and Clark were released from a hospital.

Elmore underwent surgery and was in the hospital for months. His wounds were serious — he flatlined, his mother said. Bullet fragments are still inside him, she said. He’s had multiple surgeries. He went from the infirmary to jail, Thompson said.

“When I was finally able to see Jay at the hospital the first thing he said was, ‘Ma, am I still going to graduate?’ I was thinking to myself here this boy is on a breathing machine fighting for life and he is concerned about graduating,” Thompson said.

She thinks Elmore was trying to get the gun out and turn it over to Stoppel when shots were fired.

“But the principal grabbed it and they fell,” Thompson said. “He doesn’t remember anything else after that. I don’t believe he had any intention to shoot anyone. He had the gun on him for weeks. That was never his intent. I don’t believe he tried to shoot anybody.”

Elmore was no active school shooter and had no intentions of shooting anyone that day, according to Thompson. The gun was for protection, she said. On more than one occasion, Elmore verbally reported racially-motivated abuse to school officials. He faced threats from another student but nothing was done, Thompson said.

“Like most kids, Jay wasn’t perfect, but he is my baby and he almost allowed this cold world to destroy him,” she said. “I’m so glad God saw fit to keep him here just a little while longer. He has been through a lot as a kid and young adult. But he is not a monster.”