The schoolboy accused of shooting dead two students at his suburban secondary school in San Diego on Monday was constantly mocked and picked on, and had his money, trainers and skateboards stolen, friends said. A software engineer accused of murdering seven co-workers at a US internet consulting company was denied bail today after denying seven counts of murder. George W Bush's nominee to be the next US attorney general has been linked to an extremist pro-gun lobbying group which believes that the answer to America's school shootings is to allow pupils to be armed in the classroom. The gut belief of many Americans that gun ownership has been central to their way of life since colonial days is a 20th century invention, says a book published in the US this week. A Californian student who was apparently planning a Columbine-style attack on a college campus has been arrested after a photo laboratory assistant developed pictures of the man posing with a huge arsenal of weapons.
Charred books lie open on the desk and bullet holes pockmark the walls.