Larry King

Lawrence “Larry” King was a gay youth who was shot to death by his classmate, Brandon McInerney, on February 12, 2008, at E.O. Green Junior High School.

Lawrence King

At the time of the shooting King, 15, was living at Casa Pacifica, a shelter for abused and troubled children in Camarillo, CA. His classmates said he was known to wear make-up and jewelry, and called himself gay.¹⁾ Students said that King endured some taunting, but appeared to be holding her own.²⁾

According to students, King and McInerney had a falling out related to King's sexual orientation. several students said that King and several other male student had some king of altercation during the lunch period. Some students said King had sometimes come to school wearing “high-heeled boots, makeup, jewelry and painted nails – the whole thing.”³⁾

At 2:00 p.m. on February 13, 2008, King was declared brain dead by two surgeons at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, CA. His body was kept on a ventilator for possible organ donation.⁴⁾

On February 16, 2008, King was removed from life support. His family had asked that his body be kept on a ventilator until his organs could be donated, and he was removed from life support after that had taken place.⁵⁾

King's funeral was held on February 22, 2008.

On February 19, 2008, hundreds of parents sat in an Oxnard gymnasium, there to ask questions of school officials about King's shooting, including why officials did not intervene more aggressively in the escalating feud between King and McInerney. Questions were answered by a panel including school officials, counselors, and Oxnard Police Chief John Crombach. Further details about the incident were also revealed. One parent said her daughter told her that several students exchanged text messages the day before, about what McInerney planned to do.⁶⁾ Cromberg and school officials told parents that they were reviewing safety procedures and considering installing metal detectors.⁷⁾

A series of candlelight vigils were held in the wake of King's death. The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) made King's murder one of the central themes in the organization's Day of Silence on April 25, 2008.⁸⁾

In August 2008, King's family — his father Gregory, his mother Dawn, and his brother Rocky — filed a personal injury suit against Ventura County and the Hueneme School District. The family alleged that the school district did not enforce the school dress code, and thus failed to protect King from harm, and that the county failed to protect him by permitting him to go to public school rather than Casa Pacifica. The family claimed that the county also had knowledge of death threats against King at a previous school, but did not protect him by enforcing the dress code.

School officials said they were aware of the friction between King and McInerney, and offered them both counseling. Superintendent Jerry Dannenberg said the school staff did nothing wrong, and ⁹⁾ Dannenberg said that the school had done “a lot of counseling and a lot of work with [King], to help him with some of his concerns and issues,” but would not go into further detail.¹⁰⁾

On August 11, 2008, Judge James Cloninger, ruled that records documenting King's behavior must be released to McInerney's defense attorney, William Quest. Cloninger said he would privately review the record requested by Quest to aid in his clients defense; records which are expected to disclose information on King's behavior during the time he was living at Casa Pacifica and attending school at E.O. Green School.¹¹⁾

On August 21, 2008,