The Boy Who Was Tired of Getting Bullied

Charles Williams opened fire at Santana High School in Santee, CA, in 2001, killing two students and wounding 13 others. The then 15-year-old high schooler was tried as an adult, sentenced to 50-years behind bars.

Parents Divorce; Charles Lives With Father

In 1990, Charles’ parents divorced. He lived with his father while his brother lived with their mother. He and his father had a close relationship for most of this time. In 1999, Charles and his father relocated to 29 Palms, California. It was here that trouble started.

Making friends at the new school was challenging. He did not fit in no matter how hard he tried. Eventually, Charles made friends with a group of skateboarders. They often hung out together, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, doing other things that typical teens do. Sometimes the skateboarders teased and picked on Charles, he said.

In February 2001, Charles heard about a bus accident that killed his best friend. This devastated the young boy who then began telling people his plans were to “pull a Columbine.” No one ever reported the threats to school officials.

Shortly thereafter, two skateboards were stolen from him. Three days before the school shooting, a teacher disciplined Charles for leaving an assignment at home. He said this further escalated his desire to bring a weapon to school to kill people.

Williams Shoots up the School

He then retrieved an Arminius .22 caliber revolver from the gun cabinet in the apartment owned by his father. At 9:20 a.m. on March 5, 2001, between first and second-period classes, he walked into the boy’s bathroom at Santana High School and hid inside a stall. Two students that he recognized walked into the bathroom. One of them was 17-year-old Trevor Edwards, one of the boys who stole his skateboard, and Bryan Zuckor, a 14-year-old boy who had always been nice to him. Williams began shooting, striking and killing both. He exited the bathroom, firing the gun randomly at students in the hallways. Chaos erupted and Williams retreated back to the bathroom.

A teacher and two campus security guards attempted to intervene but Charles pointed his weapon at them, forcing them out of the bathroom. As the three turned to exit the bathroom, Williams fired his weapon, striking one of the security guards in the back. The guard was injured but survived the attack.

Police Swarm the School

Two off-duty officers visiting the school heard the commotion and called for backup. Police swarmed the bathroom, finding Williams kneeling on the floor with his gun in his hands. He surrendered and was taken into custody without incident.

Williams Was “Tired of Being Bullied”

When Williams was arrested, he told police that he was tired of being bullied. On his way to juvenile hall, he stated that he shot up the shoot because his friends dared him. Prosecutors in the case said they found no evidence that Williams had been bullied.

Williams Pleaded Guilty to All Charges

On June 20, 2002, Williams pleaded guilty to all charges against him. The judge sentenced him to 50 to life in an adult prison. He served his time at a youth correctional facility until his 18th birthday at which time he was transferred to an adult prison.

“All I know is that I was hurting and that I wanted to hurt people,” he said in a 2018 interview at Valley State Prison in central California. Williams is eligible for parole in 2025.

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