Prosecutors want to try 15-year-old school shooting suspect as adult
— -- Prosecutors are seeking to try a 15-year-old boy accused of opening fire at a high school as an adult.
The Tuesday morning shooting at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, killed two and injured many others.
A closed door bail hearing was held today in juvenile court, and the teen, whose name has not been released, was ordered detained.
Assistant Marshall County Attorney Jason Darnall will file a motion within the week to move the suspect to adult court, after which there will be a hearing on the issue, he said at a news conference today.
Sixteen people suffered gunshot wounds, including the two victims who died, officials said. Bailey Holt, 15, died at the scene, and 15-year-old Preston Cope died at a hospital, officials said.
The suspect has been charged with two counts of murder and he was also expected to be charged with counts of first-degree assault, officials said.
Hours after the shooting, senior Kennadi Spraggs told ABC News in an emotional interview that her friend was shot and injured moments after they were chatting in a group before class.
She said she thought the first gunshot was a balloon popping.
"I heard five more, and it was, like, unmistakable," Spraggs said. "You knew it was about to be really bad. Everyone was just screaming and crying and running and saying 'Get down.' No one knew what to do."
"I thought that if you get down, there’s a chance that you’ll never get back up," she added. "I just took off. I ran as fast as I could."
"My parents had always told me if anything happens ... go to the body shop across the road. At that point, my instincts just kicked in and I just ran as fast as I could out of the school," she said, shaking and tearing up.
"There’s so many people who weren’t as lucky as I was to be able to get out," Spraggs said.
Elementary and middle schools resumed classes today and parents were permitted to attend school with their children, the superintendent said. The high school remained closed.
