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Teen charged with plotting school attack to be tried as a juvenile

Posted at 9:22 AM, May 03, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-03 14:58:15-04

A Michigan teenager charged with planning a school shooting at Paw Paw High School will not be tried as an adult.

The 15-year-old boy was in court Wednesday when a judge denied prosecutors request to try him as an adult.

The prosecution cited the teen's journal entries about committing a mass murder.

Investigators said the 15-year-old had a hit list and was prepared to act on his plot with an arsenal of guns, ammunition, and explosives. The boy allegedly stole the guns from his grandparents and cut them down so they would fit in his backpack. Investigators said the boy had been planning to kill classmates who were bullying him at Paw Paw High School.

Once his parents found out about the plot, they took him to police where they say he confessed to plotting the attack.

Testimony from the boy's mother and a therapist who evaluated him painted him in a different light. They said he was suffering from mental illness and crying out for help.

"He's not getting the support at school and then he's got the girlfriend who he thought -- was in love with -- say -- I'm so embarrassed of you, I don't even want to see you. So, his resources are slowly fading away," said Jennifer Zoltowski, a therapist who evaluated the boy.

A deputy stationed at the school said after interviewing at least 50 students, all of them said they'd never heard about or seen any bullying. The teen is charged with ten felonies and would have faced 28 years in prison if he was tried and convicted as an adult.