Richard W. Allen - PPHS - Largo, FL
Posted by: 
debbado
N 27° 52.836 W 082° 43.438
17R E 330294 N 3085170
Richard Allen, assistant principal of Pinellas Park High School in 1988, was shot by a student at school on February 11, 1988. He died 6 days later. This memorial is located near the 9/11 memorial by the main entrance to the school.
Waymark Code: WMCVME
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 10/15/2011
Views: 3
Richard W. Allen
Educator, Administrator
Richard W. Allen was a respected teacher coach, and administrator in Pinellas County for 18 years. We will remember him as an appreciated teacher, colleague, and friend and shall miss him greatly.
February 11, 1988
"A flame kindled of human decency, courage, and dedication does not die." Mike Mansfield
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(
visit link)
Sad day to pass unnoted at school
But the 1988 shooting rampage will be long remembered by those at Pinellas Park High.
By Donna Winchester, Times Staff Writer
Published February 11, 2008
It's been 20 years since the sound of gunfire silenced lunchroom chatter and sent shock waves through Pinellas Park High School.
Just before noon on Feb. 11, 1988, a 15-year-old student armed with a stolen .38-caliber revolver opened fire in the cafeteria. Jason Harless shot two assistant principals and a student teacher, then turned the gun on police officers as he ran from the school.
The officers returned fire, wounding him in the shoulder. They arrested him along with another 15-year-old, Jason McCoy, who also had come to school that morning with a gun.
One of the administrators, 53-year-old Richard Allen, died six days later of a gunshot wound to the head.
The intervening years have not erased the emotional pain suffered by the handful of teachers who still work at the school, first-year principal John Johnston said Friday. And so they have opted to forgo any type of ceremony to mark the tragedy.
"It was a very emotional time for them," Johnston said. "They would prefer to have it go forward as a regular day."
McCoy was released from jail after serving 14 months of a six-year sentence. Harless was released in 1996 after serving eight years of a 17-year sentence.
[Last modified February 10, 2008, 23:18:12]