Noblesville School Shooter Admits To Crime In Court
A 13-year-old boy has admitted in court that he shot and wounded a classmate in the May shooting at Noblesville West Middle School.
An admission in juvenile court is equivalent to a guilty plea in adult criminal court.
During a hearing Monday in Hamilton County Circuit Court, the boy’s attorneys read a statement in which he apologized for shooting teacher Jason Seaman and 13-year-old classmate Ella Whistler. No computer, phones, recorders, or cameras were allowed inside the courtroom.
During the hearing, the defense team recommended the boy goes to an inpatient mental health treatment facility. The county prosecution team recommended he be sent to the Juvenile Department of Corrections and put on parole until he’s 21 — the maximum age for juvenile criminals.
In the courtroom the accused shooter was stoic. He sat next to his parents in an orange-and-white jumpsuit.
Ella Whistler’s parents and Seaman called for the maximum punishment against the 13-year-old accused shooter.
“Why did he do it?” the prosecution said in closing arguments, “He did it because he wanted to take lives.”
For the first time, a video recorded by the boy the day of the shooting was shown in the courtroom. In the video recorded at 1:01 a.m., he displayed a .45-caliber handgun and a .22-caliber handgun with a silencer.
“I’m not killing myself. I have to take other people’s lives before I take mine,” he recorded in the video.
The guns were taken from his parents’ safe in the home. He put them in a backpack and brought them to school on May 25.
The accused shooter’s internet history showed searches for a Noblesville West Middle School blueprint. He also searched for “Columbine” and “Sandy Hook,” the location of two other school shootings, according to investigators.
The director for the juvenile detention center where the 13-year-old is held testified that they gave the boy Lego building blocks to use in his cell. But the toy had to be taken away after the boy crafted a look-alike rifle from the blocks.
If he were being tried as an adult, the 13-year-old boy that would have be charged with two felony counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery, battery using a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm on school property. But, according to Indiana law, since the student is younger than 14 and not charged with murder, he cannot be tried as an adult. The teen is being tried as a juvenile as required by state law.
A juvenile court judge will decide what actions the state will take in the case at a later date. The judge could order the boy spend time at a mental health treatment center.
The shooting led to a call for increased safety at Noblesville Schools. The district is now asking voters to approve a $50 million property-tax referendum on Tuesday’s ballot for expanded mental health services and new safety initiatives. The safety initiatives including more armed resource officers.
