FARMINGTON, Utah, Feb. 13, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A 15-year-old accused of bringing guns to school and firing a bullet in a classroom at Bountiful’s Mueller Park Junior High pleaded guilty on Monday.
The boy pleaded guilty to reduced charges of shooting toward a building, a third-degree felony, and to theft of a firearm, a second-degree felony. He appeared in Farmington’s 2nd District Court with his parents.
At a December court date, the teen pleaded not guilty to two counts of theft, second-degree felonies; one count of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony; and two counts of possession of a firearm, class A misdemeanors.
On Nov. 30, the teen took his parents’ stored guns from the house without their knowledge and the next day, Dec. 1, took the weapons to school. As students gathered for their first classes of the day, the teen reportedly entered a science classroom without speaking and fired one bullet into the ceiling.
His parents, who had discovered the guns missing, raced to his school and began to search for their son. They were nearby when they heard the gunshot, and rushed into the classroom to tackle and disarm the teen and hold him in the hallway for police.
The teenager, who is being held at Farmington Bay Youth Detention Center, has a sentencing hearing on Feb. 23.
To see Gephardt Daily’s coverage of the Dec. 1 incident, including a video and photos, click here.
To see a body camera recording from the first Bountiful City Police officer to respond to the scene, click on the video player below.
