Carmen de Patagones school shooting✩
(strictly educational content. i do not support the actions of the perpetrator)
Rafael “Juniors” Solich (October 27, 1988) was born and raised in Carmen de Patagones, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. He got his nickname Juniors because his father is named Rafael Solich as well, but also after the argentinian football club Boca Juniors. He has one brother named Ayrton.
His father was involved in the Argentine Naval Prefecture, a branch of Argentine’s Ministry of National Security responsible for coast guard duties, maritime law enforcement, and the protection of the country’s waterways.
According to some news outlets, the relationship dynamic between the father and son was tense, with Rafael Sr. allegedly berating his son due to his bad grades, quiet personality and lack of friends. One time he caught Rafael Jr. with a cigarette and smacked him so hard blood started flowing out of his nose.
Rafael had one friend at school, a classmate named Dante Pena, who introduced him to goth subculture. The pair spoke together in English to keep their conversations private, dressed in black, listened to Marilyn Manson, drew “Satanic imagery” in their school books, and fantasized about suicide. They also went to see the movie Elephant when it was still playing in cinemas.
The night before the shooting, Rafael listened to the controversial song “The nobodies” by Marilyn Manson, which is a direct response to Columbine. The song addresses how both Harris and Klebold were outcasts (“nobodies”) and turned to violence in order to be acknowledged. It was written in the perspective of the shooters. He later confessed during the court hearing that he couldn’t fall asleep that night due to being nervous.
The attack happened during the morning of September 28, 2004 at Islas Malvinas middle school. Rafael walked to his classroom and started shooting, killing three classmates and injuring five. He was armed with Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol (which he stole from his father), along with two full magazines and a hunting knife hidden in a military coat.
Rafael had shown the knife to Dante prior to the shooting, but did not tell him about the gun. The knife ended up not being used in the attack.
After emptying one entire magazine in his classroom, Rafael moved to the hall where he loaded a second magazine, later shooting at a person in charge of the school buffet, whom he did not manage to injure.
Rafael kept walking through the hall until his friend Dante stopped the killing spree by tackling him and taking the gun. The police soon arrived and Rafael let himself be arrested without showing any signs of resistance.
The then-president declared two days of national mourning after the attack. It was one of the first school massacres in Latin America.
꒰COURT AND LIFE AFTER THE ATTACK꒱
The age of criminal responsibility in Argentina is sixteen, which meant that the then-fifteen year old Rafael could not be criminally prosecuted, only his father went to jail for 45 days and was forced to give up the gun. Rafael expressed no regret and no remorse when describing his actions during court. His father begged the judge to let the whole family change their identities, but the request was denied.
Dante became a target of judgement and ostracism due to his connection to Rafael. Parents threatened to not send their kids to school if he was there, eventually causing him and his family to move out of town.
At first Rafael stayed at a coastal station base for 3 months before moving to an institute for juvenile offenders in Ensenada. His mental health got worse during the stay at said institution, he cut his arms and even tried to commit suicide, all while dealing with harassment and bullying from other inmates. When the situation got unbearable, he moved to a psychiatric hospital in Santa Clara. In 2005, he requested a permit to be able to spend the end of the year with his family and take short walks outside the hospital with an escort, which the court ended up allowing.
After reaching adulthood, he was moved to a clinic in La Plata, where he is kept to this day. Starting in 2007, the court allowed him to visit his family for longer periods of time (24hours/week, 48hours/week and then 96hours/week) due to his good behavior. He could also take English lessons, read books about philosophy, and take walks on the beach while accompanied by a therapist.
He dated a girl who visited him in this clinic. They even have a son together! But the relationship ended and both her and the son aren’t in contact with Rafael anymore.
As of now, he’s 37 years old and doing much better than in the past. He is still waiting and preparing to be freed into society.
His official diagnosis is schizofrenia, but several professionals described what he was dealing with as a "personality disorder with psychopathic traits" instead.
- officialy not concluded as he refused to answer questions about the motive during court
- most likely a combination of mental health issues, suicidal ideation and revenge for bullying
- “They say that I am strange...they fuck with me because I have this spot on my nose" is what he said in relation to the bullying, along with admitting to hating his peers since kindergarten and planning the shooting since 7th grade
- there are speculations about it also being a Columbine copycat crime
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