The Murder of 6-Year-Old Kayla Renee Boland

One of the leading causes of death among children 0 - 18 is gun violence. Everytown US says about three million children in the U.S. are exposed to gun violence each year. About 3,000 students, or 8 per day, die by gunfire and another 17,000 experience serious injuries.

School shootings account for a percentage of gun violence in America. The first shooting to have occurred on school property took place on July 26, 1764, when four Lenape American Indians entered a schoolhouse (in what is called Greencastle, PA today) and murdered Enoch Brown, the school principal and as many as 10 children. It’s known as the Pontiac Rebellion.

The first documented mass school shooting occurred on April 9, 1891, when 70-year-old James Foster opened fire at a group of students at St. Mary’s Parochial School in New York. All of the victims survived the attack.

A uniquely American epidemic, school shootings progressively worsened since 2017, with the deadliest shootings on school grounds taking place since that time. Perhaps the most memorable school shooting occurred in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999, an incident now called the Columbine Massacre.

Kayla Renee Rollands was a six-year-old first-grader in 2000 when she was fatally shot by a six-year-old student while attending class at Buell Elementary School in Mount Morris Township, Michigan.

Until the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Kayla was the youngest victim of a school shooting. The perpetrator, who was not charged with a crime due to his age, remains the youngest school shooter in U.S. history.

Kayla's Shooter

The shooter lived with his drug addict and salesman uncle and his 19-year-old roommate after his mother, Tamarla, was evicted from the home. The uncle and his friends used drugs and sold them, often trading guns for crack cocaine.

The shooter found a loaded Davis Industries P-32 caliber handgun under a pile of blankets one day. Known to have behavioral problems, the shooter often stayed after school every day as punishment for things like hitting, swearing, and pinching students.

Weeks before the shooting, he stabbed a 7-year-old classmate, Chris Boaz, with a pencil. He told teachers the boy punched him first because he would not give him a pickle. He’d also previously attacked Kayla. In fact, the day prior to the shooting, he tried to give her a kiss. She rejected the kiss.

Shooter Fatally Shot Kayla in Hallway

The shooter and his brother got into a fight with Chris the morning Kayla was shot. He threatened to shoot Kayla at this time. He brought a gun and a knife to school with him on February 29, 2000. When classes changed, the shooter shot Kayla as they walked up stairs, the incident witnessed by dozens of students and teachers who filled the hallways. Before shooting her, he stated, “I don't like you.”

Kayla was pronounced dead at Hurley Medical Center at 10:29 a.m.

The shooter threw the weapon into a trash can and fled to a bathroom inside the school. A teacher found him hiding and police took him into custody for a short time until custody and placement arrangements were made.

Uncle Charged With Manslaughter

The shooter was not charged due to his age. Police did charge the uncle, Jamelle James, for leaving the handgun out where the shooter could access it. Police found a slew of weapons and drugs during a search of the home. James pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and was served two years, five months, in the penitentiary before he was released on probation.

In 2020, news reports stated the shooter lived in Bay City, Michigan, and had been convicted of second-degree home invasion and larceny since he turned 18.

Learn more about this school shooting in the 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine.