South Dakota Man Shoots Former School Bully in Face, Citing 50-Year-Old Grudge
A South Dakota man shot a former classmate twice in the face on Friday, telling a judge the act stemmed from a decades-old grievance. Paul Ericsson, in court during his May arraignment, stated the motive “was from something that happened over 50 years ago. It was apparently in my subconscious.”
The victim, David Johnson, 52 at the time of the shooting, was a retired teacher and football coach from Madison High School, where he’d worked for over 30 years after earning degrees from Augustana College, General Beadle State Teachers College, and South Dakota State University.
During a hearing, johnson’s daughters spoke of their grief, stating, “We miss my dad very much.” Ribstein described to Ericsson how Johnson cherished his daughters, grandchildren, and animals, noting Ericsson also owned a dog, which stayed by Johnson’s side the night of the shooting.
Ericsson offered a direct apology to Johnson’s widow, Barb, expressing, “I just wish I could turn the calendar back.” He did not elaborate on the original dispute during Friday’s hearing.
Psychiatric evaluations revealed Ericsson has a long history of anxiety and “severe and recurrent depression that is, for the most part, treatment resistant,” according to psychiatrist Robert Giebink’s affidavit. Giebink reported Ericsson was deeply depressed and suicidal when they first met in January, experiencing “irrational” thinking and impaired judgment, and expressing a desire not to wake up each morning.
