Student, 16 when he stabbed classmates, to face adult trial
Source: Associated Press
Student, 16 when he stabbed classmates, to face adult trial
Updated 4:17 pm, Monday, May 9, 2016
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) A young man who was 16 years old when he stabbed 20 fellow students and a security guard at his high school apparently in remembrance of the Columbine massacre should stand trial as an adult, not as a juvenile, a judge ruled Monday.
A defense attorney for Alex Hribal had argued juvenile court supervision ending when he's 21 would provide a better chance for him to receive treatment for mental health issues that fueled his rampage at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville in April 2014.
But Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani agreed with District Attorney John Peck that the enormity of the attack and the risk Hribal could reoffend make adult sanctions more appropriate.
"Simply put, the court finds that the risk of the defendant's relapse ... and many unknown and unpredictable psychological/psychiatric factors outweigh the likelihood that defendant's re-entry into our community would be safe and of no concern to the community," the judge wrote.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Suspect-then-16-to-face-adult-trial-in-school-7423293.php