Four Dead in Ohio

Anniversy of Kent State tomorrow.  I was in the 6th grade I think, or 5th, when this happened (living in Chicago at the time).  This was one of the first times I ever heard of Ohio.

(The arrows indicate the route the Guard took on campus that day. The spray of lighter lines indicates the direction of the shots.)

Apparenlty events of that day never have been adequately explained, leading to rise of conspiracy theories...

From the Free Times

The Kent State Conspiracies

"he gunfire has just ended, almost as abruptly as it began. Student Harold Reid maneuvers his way up Blanket Hill among some of the casualties, perhaps a couple hundred feet from the National Guardsmen. That's when he notices a young man pointing a handgun in the direction of another man who is lying on the ground. The armed man obviously is not a member of the National Guard; he's wearing a light sports jacket and tan trousers, and a camera and a gas mask hang around his neck. When the man sees Reid, he begins to run.

"Stop that man, he has a weapon!" shouts Reid, chasing after him.

That man — Terrence Brookes Norman — has never stopped running. He has avoided attention for 36 years, perhaps for good reason. He was an FBI informant in 1970, and some believe he fired the first shot at Kent State that day in May, instigating the National Guard to fire on protestors.

Norman's role and long silence are not the only factors fueling conspiracy theories surrounding the events of May 4, 1970. Although the lives of everyone present were profoundly affected by the 13 seconds they shared, few agree on many specifics. Questions remain. Cover-ups are alleged. And only one thing is clear: Someone has to be lying..."