RED LAKE, Minn. (AP) -- A government official says prosecutors are considering a conspiracy charge against the son of an Indian tribal leader in last week's deadly school shooting, but federal authorities refuse to say what role the teen may have played in the killings.
Louis Jourdain, 16, the son of Red Lake Band of Chippewa Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr., appeared in federal court in Duluth on Tuesday. The hearing was closed to reporters and court officials would not comment because it was a juvenile proceeding.
A government official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press that prosecutors were considering charging the teen as an adult with conspiracy to commit murder. That official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The Washington Post, citing family members and law enforcement officials, reported the conspiracy charge was already filed.
Jourdain's attorney, Jon Hopeman, told the AP he could not comment because it was a juvenile proceeding.
Jeff Weise, 16, killed his grandfather and the grandfather's companion, then went to Red Lake High School and killed five students, a teacher and a guard, before killing himself. It was the worst U.S. school shooting since the attacks by a pair of students at Columbine High in Colorado in 1999.
A Polk County deputy said an FBI agent told him Weise was shot in the hip and one leg by a tribal officer before he killed himself with a shotgun, according to an e-mail to relatives that was obtained by The Associated Press. Deputy James Goss confirmed Wednesday that the e-mail was his, but said he couldn't talk further about it without clearance from superiors.
An FBI spokesman didn't immediately respond to a call seeking comment on the e-mail.
In announcing Jourdain's arrest Monday, U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger would not give any details on the youth's role in the case.
Weise and Jourdain were members of a clique of about five students known as "The Darkers," who wore black clothes and chains, spiked or dyed their hair and loved heavy-metal music, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Duluth News Tribune.
Two students, Jourdain Warmington, 15, and Jazz Jourdain-Warmington, 14, told the Minneapolis newspaper that when the shootings started they were in the library and that Jourdain yelled that the shooter was Weise _ before anyone in the library saw the gunman. The two girls' relationship to each other and to Jourdain was not immediately clear.
Jourdain-Warmington said Jourdain ran out of the library, saying he had to talk to Weise.
Authorities began to suspect Weise may not have plotted the attack by himself after examining his computer and the e-mails he exchanged with Jourdain, said the government official who asked to remain anonymous.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the e-mails suggested Weise and Jourdain planned an attack on the school, with graphic discussions about logistics and targets. The official also said Jourdain had told investigators that he never had any intention of going through with the plan and that he did not believe Weise did, either, the paper reported.
Floyd Jourdain said he was confident an investigation would clear his son.
"It is with optimism that I state my son Louis's innocence," Floyd Jourdain Jr. said in a statement. "He is a good boy with a good heart, who never harmed anyone in his entire life."
Tribal Leader's Son Arrested Son of tribal chairman faces federal charges; more arrests possible
The teenage son of Red Lake Nation tribal chairman Floyd Jourdain has been arrested on federal charges stemming from last week's deadly school shooting on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.
Louis Jourdain, 15, a student at Red Lake Senior High School where Jeff Weise fatally shot five students, a teacher and a security guard before killing himself March 21, was taken into custody Sunday evening, according to sources with knowledge of the arrest.
One of the sources, who spoke on the condition his name not be used, said Jourdain and Weise exchanged e-mails that discussed Weise's intent to go on a shooting rampage at the school. Three other teenagers who were in e-mail contact with Weise also could face charges in the coming days.
The sources declined to provide details about the correspondence, but indicated the alleged conversations between Jourdain and Weise were troubling enough to prompt the filing of conspiracy-related charges.
After the shooting, some students said Weise had intimated last year that he planned some sort of violent act at the school last April, but they said they didn't tell school officials or other authorities about it because they didn't take him seriously.
Reservation reeling
Reservation officials referred all press inquiries to the FBI and U.S. attorney, saying they didn't know much themselves.
"It was kind of a shock to us, too," said Allen Pemberton, the Redby representative on the Tribal Council. Pemberton also is director of the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources. "I just found out about this at 10 this morning."
Pemberton said people on the reservation are very upset over the whole ordeal involving an ever-widening group of young people.
Louis Jourdain is a cousin of Jeff Weise, Pemberton said; Floyd Jourdain's aunt is the grandmother with whom Weise was living.
"People in my district are really having trouble with this," Pemberton said. "They can't eat. ... It's disheartening when we're trying to get over the shock of (the shooting) and to lose the young people like this because they're the future leaders of the tribe. And now some of them will never grow up."
Pemberton said he hopes the Tribal Council will meet today to discuss the evolving issue, but only Jourdain and other executive officers can call a meeting.
Unspecified charges
The youth arrested Sunday reportedly was arraigned on the unspecified charge during a closed, 15-minute hearing Monday before U.S. Magistrate Raymond Erickson in Duluth. There was increased security around the federal courthouse, and U.S. marshals guarded the doors to the courtroom to keep people out.
Floyd "Buck" Jourdain, the charismatic leader of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, was at the hearing but declined to comment when asked.
The hearing was closed because the defendant is a juvenile. U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger, whose office would prosecute any case arising from the shootings, acknowledged an arrest occurred, but said that because the person involved was a juvenile, he could not discuss any aspect of the case.
"I can't make any further comments about the nature, progress and direction of the investigation," he said. "It involves proceedings that are confidential by law."
He declined to say whether his office would seek to have the youth stand trial as an adult. The charges, he said, were the result of "an ongoing and continuing investigation."
In all, Weise killed nine people and then himself in his afternoon killing spree. He began by killing his grandfather and the man's female companion, then went to the school and continued killing.
Heffelfinger said last week that investigators have interviewed more than 300 people in connection with the shootings. The alleged e-mails between Weise and Jourdain reportedly were discovered during a forensic "autopsy" of Weise's computer at the Red Lake home of his grandmother, where he lived.
On his Web site, Jourdain, who has two other sons, ages 22 and 3, called Louis his "pride and joy" after receiving an honor at school.
One source with knowledge of the case said the alleged e-mails between Jourdain and Weise took place days and weeks before the shooting, and involved discussions in which Weise -- and perhaps others -- expressed an intent to commit an act of violence at the school.
Federal prosecutions of juveniles are rare, "but we do them on occasion," Heffelfinger said.
Speaking generally about such cases, Heffelfinger said the federal court system does provide for juveniles to stand trial as an adult, much like in the state court system.
Former U.S. Attorney David Lillehaug said federal prosecutors can file a motion to transfer a case to adult status. A U.S. district judge then weighs several factors before deciding if the juvenile should be treated as an adult.
The factors include age, the charges, prior criminal record, intellectual development, psychological maturity, available programs to treat the juvenile's problems and whether the juvenile played a leadership role or influenced others to take part in a crime that involved drugs or firearms.
Red Lake is one of two Indian reservations in Minnesota where the U.S. attorney's office prosecutes violent crime. Federal authorities in many ways act like the county prosecutors that prosecute felonies in the nine other reservations.
While federal juvenile prosecutions are not typical, they occur occasionally at Red Lake because of the U.S. attorney's special role on the reservation.
U.S. prosecutors would not confirm the nature of the charges Monday. Lillehaug said federal authorities could suspect the defendant of being highly involved with the shooting or they could be charging a lower-level offense seeking to gather more information.
"We don't know if it's a charge related directly to the homicide or whether it might be an unrelated charge that would be an incentive for a defendant to talk," Lillehaug said. Lillehaug said prosecutions on Red Lake, which suffers a high violent crime rate, can pose special challenges.
"It's terribly hard. People are reluctant to testify," Lillehaug said. "Everyone knows everybody, and many people are related by blood. That makes it difficult to find good witnesses who are willing and committed to testifying."
During Lillehaug's tenure, the U.S. attorney's office employed a special liaison at Red Lake to simply keep track of witnesses and victims and ensure they showed up for court.
RED LAKE, Minn. -- The chairman of the Red Lake band of Chippewa confirmed Tuesday that his son was arrested in connection with last week's deadly school shootings but maintained that the teen is innocent.
"My heart is heavy as a result of the tragic events that unfolded here at our nation," Floyd Jourdain Jr. said in a statement. "But it is with optimism that I state my son Louis's innocence. He is a good boy with a good heart, who never harmed anyone in his entire life."
"I know my son and he is incapable of committing such an act," Jourdain said.
The younger Jourdain, 16, was arrested by federal authorities on Sunday.
Jeff Weise, 16, killed nine people in an attack on the reservation on March 21 before taking his own life. Five of the dead were students, killed at the high school. It was the worst U.S. school shooting since the attacks by a pair of students at Columbine High in Colorado.
Federal authorities had announced an unidentified juvenile's arrest on Monday, and a law enforcement source speaking on condition of anonymity had identified the boy to The Associated Press as Louis Jourdain. The source said the arrest was part of an investigation into a potentially wider plot.
A government official briefed on the investigation told AP that prosecutors were contemplating charging Jourdain as an adult with conspiracy to commit murder. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
Authorities began to suspect that Weise may not have plotted the attack by himself after examining his computer and e-mails he exchanged with Jourdain, this official said.
Forliti reports funerals took place Monday for Derrick Brun, the first person shot at the school last week, and for three other people.
The law enforcement official said FBI behavioral analysts brought into the case also doubted that Wiese acted alone, based on personality traits they identified.
More arrests are possible, said this official and the law enforcement official.
In announcing the arrest Monday, U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger had declined to provide any details on Louis Jourdain's role in the case.
The Washington Post, citing two unidentified law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation, reported Tuesday that Louis Jourdain was suspected of helping Weise plan the assault and had expected to take part.
Red Lake High School principal Chris Dunshee said Louis Jourdain was not a discipline problem and didn't seem to be part of Weise's circle of friends.
"He's one of those kids that I didn't have a lot of contact with, because he really wasn't a discipline problem. He was a pretty good student, to tell you the truth," Dunshee said.
The principal said he felt sorry for Floyd Jourdain: "My heart goes out to him, he's such a good guy. If it could happen to his son, it could happen to anybody, because Buck is a good parent."
Dunshee said the district's two elementary schools would reopen Monday but the high school complex, which includes the middle school, might be closed for the rest of the school year.
Floyd Jourdain was 40 when he was sworn in last summer as Red Lake's youngest-ever chairman. On his Web site, he writes about post-college work counseling people in alcohol recovery and celebrating his own 20 years of sobriety in June last year. Among the issues he pledged to address is the concerns of young people.
At a news conference in the days after the shooting, he spoke of tribal members keeping track of their kids: "This is a wake-up call to us all. We need to spend more time with one another and paying more attention to our young people and what they're doing and what they are saying."
On Jourdain's personal Web site, a collection of family photos includes one of him and Louis with the caption: "My pride and joy Louie who always shares his school achievements with me."
