9 charges filed in school shooting

The 13-year-old accused of shooting in a crowded middle-school cafeteria Monday was charged yesterday with eight felonies and a misdemeanor.

Instead of charging the youth as an adult, King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng said he would ask for an exceptional sentence in Juvenile Court because the crime was committed at a school - A.W. Dimmitt Middle School in Skyway, part of the Renton School District.

"The sanctions available in the juvenile-justice system will be adequate for the case," Maleng said. "There will be time and resources in the juvenile system to understand what caused this 13-year-old boy with no criminal history to attempt such a desperate act."

Although the typical sentence for such a conviction would be two to three years, prosecutors could ask that he be held in detention until age 21, Maleng said.

The youth was charged with three counts of assault, three counts of attempted kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, and possession of a stolen firearm, all felonies. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in King County Juvenile Court.

A second boy, a 12-year-old classmate, is being held for investigation of assault, kidnapping and possession of a firearm. He waived his right to attend a preliminary hearing in juvenile court yesterday.

Although the 12-year-old was not armed during the incident, detectives believe he had planned to help corral students onto the stage and "go from there."

"This was not a sophisticated plan," Maleng said.

Formal charges for the 12-year-old aren't expected to be filed until early next week.

As a general policy, The Seattle Times does not publish the names of juvenile crime suspects unless a court has decided to try them as adults.

A school official said yesterday that three or four other students have been suspended for either knowing about the attack and not reporting it, or having a "peripheral connection" to it. They were suspended for the remainder of summer school, which ends Thursday.

On Monday, detectives say, the 13-year-old was sitting in the school cafeteria when he told fellow summer-school students, "Let's get on the news."

Climbing on a table, the youth pulled out his grandmother's heirloom revolver and fired a shot into the ceiling. No one was injured.

The single shot sent about 40 students scrambling for the doors, even though the youth tried ordering them onto the cafeteria's stage.

As the room cleared, detectives say, the youth pointed the gun at four students and teacher Charles Ward.

He fled through a back door, handing several suicide notes to a fellow student. The teen hid in the woods overnight and turned himself in about 24 hours later.

Inside the school, police recovered the teen's backpack, which contained more than 100 .22 caliber rounds, an empty holster, a large knife and a notebook filled with homework, Maleng said.

Governor visits Dimmitt

Gov. Gary Locke visited Dimmitt yesterday, telling a group of parents, students and teachers that the shooting should remind school districts to look hard at safety plans and find ways to improve them.

Locke said he found it troubling that some students didn't tell teachers they had heard of the boy's plan before Monday.

"We need to break the code of silence among our kids, our teachers and the parents," he said. "We must be even more vigilant."

Wendy Sharlow, whose son is attending summer school at Dimmitt, said she went to the meeting to see how the district planned to improve school safety. She said some parents were concerned that Renton hadn't adequately prepared for possible shootings.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson and King County Sheriff Dave Reichert also attended the meeting, which was closed to the media.

Bergeson said some parents suggested that children who witnessed the shooting could serve as safety ambassadors and travel around the district telling other children what to do in an emergency.

Dimmitt will be staffed with three district security guards for the remainder of summer school, Renton school spokesman Peter Daniels said.

Jim Nodding, Nelson Middle School principal, said officials are considering hiring security guards during subsequent summer schools and staffing the sessions with teachers from all three Renton middle schools to make students more comfortable.

"Clearly, we're going to add a summer-school orientation where kids know, God help us, if you've got to run, this is where you run to," Nodding said.