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Murder Charge Filed In Placerville Principal's Shooting Death

PLACERVILLE (CBS13/AP) - The El Dorado County District Attorney's office has filed one count of premeditated murder against the man who confessed to gunning down an elementary school principal on campus.

Prosecutors filed the murder charge against John Luebbers for the murder of Louisiana Schnell Elementary School Principal Sam LaCara. The court documents also reveal the weapon used was a .357 magnum gun and that one shot was fired.

According to William Clark, chief assistant district attorney of El Dorado County, Luebbers faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life if convicted.

His next court appearance was scheduled for early March.

David Weiner, an attorney and friend of Luebbers' family, said the suspect was not in good health when he visited him in jail.

"He has medical problems. He suffers from some extreme diabetic problems and associated high blood pressure," Weiner said. "He's not in good shape at all."

No children were hurt in the attack, but police said one student may have witnessed the shooting about 50 miles east of Sacramento.

The charge comes as students returned to class this morning just two days after the shooting.

Several kids and their parents brought plants and flowers and some brought food, all in an effort to cope with the situation. While some students were very quiet, others wanted to talk about what happened.

"I miss him a lot because he was my favorite principal. He knew everyone's name and was always there to greet us in the morning," said Fourth Grader Vance Harris.

"I didn't really think that would happen because Mr. John was a nice man, too. It was really hard on a whole bunch of kids," said 10-year-old student Brody Griffin.

LaCara's brother-in-law, Guy Clark, told reporters Friday that the family is devastated, especially LaCara's wife.

"They were totally in love," Clark said. "She's crushed."

School superintendent Dr. Nancy Lynch held a press conference today in which she thanked the community and for their continued support. She said that there were about as many parents as students on campus today, helping to bring normalcy to the kids and help deal with any situations that could arise.

When asked how counselors will help the kids, Lynch said: "We have a prepared, consistent statement that all children are going to hear,
which is that we don't understand this; we all have different things going on inside of us, and here's what you might be going through."

"I think some will want back to normal some are going to be crying and sad," said Staff Member and Parent Kamie Harris.

Students are also planting flowers outside their classrooms, and will plant a tree on campus – a crepe myrtle, which Sam LaCara's wife said was his favorite.

Grief counselors will be on hand at all three Placerville Union schools to help students and parents cope with the tragedy. The district has also published some information on their website to help children recovering from loss.

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