Hell has frozen over, the Seventh Seal has been broken and grab two of each animal and head for the border because the end is nigh. Two parents in Bountiful, Utah, actually prevented their 15-year-old son from possibly shooting up Mueller Park Junior High. The suspect allegedly stole two guns from his parents’ gun safe and took them to the school. The parents not only noticed the guns were missing, but that their son was acting strangely the morning of the incident. Let’s hear it for attentive parenting for once.
The parents rushed to the school in order to locate their son when they heard a gunshot. The suspect fired a shot into the ceiling of a classroom then held the gun to his neck. His mother found him in the classroom and disarmed him before anything else could happen. Luckily no one was physically injured. The guns were said to have been secured properly in their safe, but it has not been made public how the suspect obtained the guns.
The suspect is currently being held in a juvenile facility and has been charged only with misdemeanors so far. Felonies could be forthcoming. So far no motive has been made public.
How many school shootings in the US could have been prevented just by parents being more attentive than they were? How many more people would be alive today if more people acted as parents rather than friends? Not just friends though, a lot of parents of school shooters acted even more like acquaintances being barely involved in their children’s life. Too many parents are trying to be the cool parents rather than good parents. Luckily these parents were very good.
UPDATE 12/17/2016: Local prosecutors are looking to charge the suspect as an adult. He has been charged with three felonies of two counts of theft and a count of discharging a firearm on school ground.
UPDATE 12/26/2016: The teen suspect has pleaded not guilty. His attorney says it was a ‘cry or help’ and he never meant to hurt anyone.
In my opinion that doesn’t matter. He allegedly took multiple guns to the school and fired one of the guns. It’s only by sheer luck that one was injured or killed.
UPDATE 2/13/2017: The suspect has entered a guilty plea to discharging a firearm at the school. The plea agreement means three other charges have been dropped. He could be held in juvenile detention until he is 21 when he is sentenced on February 23rd.
UPDATE 2/27/2017: Late last week the suspect was sentenced to juvenile detention for an indeterminate amount of time. According to reports, he could be held as little as six months and as much as until he’s 21. The judge left that matter in the hands of the Youth Parole Authority.
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 