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an undated picture of Jonathan October 27th, 1998 - December 4th, 2021
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a photo of Carter, taken by his mother, two days before his death May 17th, 2004 - December 4th, 2017
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a photo of Nina, taken by her mother, six days before her death August 9th, 2011 - December 4th, 2017
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a photo of Jennifer, taken by her father, the day before her death January 3rd, 2001 - December 4th, 2017
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a photo of Thor, taken by his mother, three days before his death December 3rd, 2008 - December 4th, 2017
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Frances' school yearbook photo June 25th, 1965 - December 4th, 2017
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Frank's school yearbook photo June 25th, 1965 - December 4th, 2017
The Princess Valentine School Shooting was a shooting that occurred at Princess Valentine School For the Deaf in Layfield County, Vermont. It ended in six casualties; four students, two teachers. There were nearly a hundred injuries.
Jonathan Tao, the perpetrator, had been born and raised in New York City. His biological father died before his birth in a car crash and so, he was raised by his mother, Kelly Tao, and his step-father, Ryan Jenkinson, the latter of which sexually abused him well into his teens.
The first student victim was Carter Lee Rusewood. Carter was born deaf to a hearing mother and a deaf father. He had two older brothers, neither of which had any hearing difficulties.
The second student victim was Nina Juniper Romero. She was also born deaf, though neither of her parents were. Nina's mother, Rosie Romero, actually worked at Princess Valentine so she says she, quote, "found it almost a little funny" that she had a deaf daughter. Rosie had one more daughter, Hailey, who was hearing.
The third student victim was Jennifer Cassandra Ryan. Jennifer was born male and hearing, but became deaf when she was four months old, after an accidental medication overdose. She communicated through home signs until she was five when her family began learning sign language so they could send her to Princess Valentine. Jennifer began transitioning from male to female when she was ten.
The fourth student victim was Thor Elijah Apollo Hansen. Thor was born to two deaf parents, both of whom had attended Princess Valentine. He has two older brothers, Hermes and Hades, who are deaf, and one younger sister, Inga, who is also deaf.
The two teacher victims were twins; Frances and Frank Vaguhn. The twins had been raised by a deaf father and had had a deaf older sister. They both began teaching at Princess Valentine in 1993.
On December 4th, 2017, after an argument with his roommate, who has remained completely anonymous, Jonathan left his Staten Island apartment and drove to Vermont. He'd had a rifle with him and found he was nearby Princess Valentine.
"I mean, they'd never hear me coming," Jonathan said in his interrogation when asked why he chose Princess Valentine. It's worth noting this sentence was followed by a laugh.
He pulled into the school's parking lot, grabbed his rifle and traveled around to the back of the school, where several students from several different grades were running around the field and playground area. According to both Jonathan and eye witness reports, Carter was standing nearby, his back turned away from Jonathan. Jonathan shot him in the back before shooting him in the head. The students who saw were quickly sent into a panic, followed by other students. Jonathan was just aiming, he says, and managed to shoot Nina through the head.
He injured a number of students and during this time, shot Frances once in the stomach, and once in the head. He then shot Frank in his legs, abdomen, and arms, keeping him down on the ground, after seeing he was on the phone with the police. Frank would die on the way to the hospital. He fired into the crowd, hitting Jennifer in multiple places, but leaving her body where it was. Jennifer, like Frank, would also die on the way to the hospital. Jonathan then entered the school, where he shot several more students. He found the Hansen siblings hiding in a supply closet. He would end up injuring all of them, but shot Thor in the head, right as police arrived.
Jonathan went down without a fight, was arrested, and given six life sentences, one for each person he'd killed. On December 4th, 2021, the four year anniversary of the shooting, he'd hang himself in his cell.
