A teenager has been charged with killing three students in a US school shooting, the first step in proceedings that could see him charged as an adult and facing the possibility of life without parole if convicted.
The charges filed accuse T.J. Lane, 17, of killing three students and wounding two others in the shooting on Monday morning at Chardon High School, about 48 kilometres east of Cleveland, Ohio.
He is charged in Geauga County juvenile court with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault
No motive has been determined.
Prosecutor David Joyce has said that victims were selected at random and that Lane is someone “who’s not well”.
Children convicted of juvenile crimes in Ohio are typically behind bars only until they turn 21 in the most serious cases.
But Joyce has already said he plans to charge Lane as an adult, meaning he could face life in prison without parole if convicted of similar adult charges.
Minors are not eligible for the death penalty in Ohio, whether they are convicted as juveniles or adults.
Lane, who attends an alternative school for students who haven’t done well in traditional schools, admitted taking a .22-calibre pistol and a knife to Chardon High and firing 10 shots at a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table on Monday morning, Joyce said.
Killed were Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr, 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16. The motive for the shooting is unclear, although Joyce has appeared to rule out theories involving bullying or drug-dealing.
Hewlin attended Chardon High. King and Parmertor were students at a vocational school and were waiting in the Chardon High cafeteria for their daily bus when they were shot.
Parmertor had just got his first job at a bowling alley and couldn’t stop talking about how excited he was to pick up his first paycheque later this week, his parents said.
Two other students were wounded.
Nick Walczak remains in serious condition.
An 18-year-old girl was released from the hospital on Tuesday.
Lane was a normal boy who excelled in school and played outside often with his sister, building snow hills and skateboarding, according to Steve Sawczak, a family friend who’s a pastor and has worked with troubled children.
He said he never would have allowed his own grandchildren to play nearby if he thought anything was wrong with Lane.