The case of the alleged Kamiakin High School shooting plot in Kennewick, Washington, is moving forward, with both teens involved now having entered pleas in Benton Franklin Juvenile Court.

To recap, investigators arrested 14-year-old Mason Bently-Ray Ashby at his home on September 20 after a tip from someone in Florida led the FBI to a suspicious TikTok video. The video showed a map of Kamiakin High with areas marked as targets, which police interpreted as a plan for a school shooting. A search of Ashby’s home turned up 24 guns, maps marked with targets, and a manifesto draft that discussed a “massacre.” Court documents also indicate Ashby posted a video of himself handling several firearms. Investigators say he gained access to the weapons by cracking the code to his grandfather’s gun safe. That alone should raise serious concerns, as a safe is supposed to be the last line of defense against unauthorized access, yet here it was defeated by a 14-year-old.

Ashby has now pleaded innocent to a charge of attempted murder with a gun enhancement and 12 other counts. Because of his age, he cannot be tried as an adult unless the charges were for first- or second-degree murder. The maximum sentence he can receive in juvenile court would keep him incarcerated until he turns 21. What good is that going to do if he does not learn the error of his ways? However, I can’t think of a single convicted juvenile plotter who later went on to carry out a mass shooting-style attack. Murder, yes, but not a crime directly tied to their original plot.

Meanwhile, attention also turned to 14-year-old Dylan Charles Carpenter, another Kamiakin student who ended up with one of the guns missing from Ashby’s home after the arrest. Carpenter initially denied knowing anything about the missing weapon, but police later uncovered texts showing he had discussed dumping it. A search near Columbia Center mall turned up the handgun, ammunition, and a magazine scattered in a field.

Carpenter pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession, tampering with evidence, and lying to police. For that, the court sentenced him to 40 days in juvenile detention, a year of probation, and 25 hours of community service, along with a lifetime ban on owning firearms. Is it me, or does that seem pretty fast for our court system? This was punishment for tossing a gun in a field, misleading police, and being at least somewhat aware of Ashby’s alleged shooting plan. At least he can never legally own a gun again.

The court proceedings are just beginning for Ashby, but they carry a weight that goes far beyond one boy’s fate. A manifesto, 24 guns, and a map of targets are not the kind of things that fade away with time served in juvenile detention. The question now is whether the system will be able to stop a dangerous obsession from hardening into something far worse, or whether this is only the first chapter in a much darker story.

(Source)

• 14-year-old accused in Kennewick school shooting plot cannot be tried as adult