Parents of Nevada Shooter, 12: He Kissed Us Every Day

Jose Reyes was a loving boy, his parents insist in first interview
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 5, 2013 6:59 AM CST
Updated Nov 5, 2013 7:17 AM CST
Parents of Nevada Shooter, 12: He Kissed Us Every Day
Friends have added a message to Jose Reyes and a small wooden cross at a memorial pictured Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, outside Sparks Middle School.   (AP Photo/By Scott Sonner)

When described by his parents, Jose Reyes doesn't sound like a killer: He kissed them every day, worked at the family restaurant and saved his money, then used it to buy dinner for his parents or presents for his two younger sisters. Yet the 12-year-old shot two students and killed a teacher at Sparks Middle School in Nevada last month before turning the gun, taken from his parents' home, on himself. "We did not know Jose was angry or upset about conditions at school," the boy's father, also named Jose Reyes, tells the Reno Gazette-Journal in the family's first interview since the shootings.

"He had never complained about any particular teacher or student," the elder Reyes continues. "We knew that he had been teased and that he was trying to work through a speech problem that he had." Several students have indicated Jose was bullied at school; others have said he was shy but did have friends. Jose's father and mother, Liliana Reyes, also expressed "sincere condolences" to the family of Michael Landsberry, the teacher who was killed. They said their daughters, ages 7 and 8, miss their brother. The 8-year-old "said the only thing she wants for Christmas is for her brother to be here," Liliana Reyes says. (More Jose Reyes stories.)

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