CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) – An Illinois high school student accused of shooting a classmate last year has been sentenced to juvenile prison, with the threat of adult prison if he commits another crime.
The 15-year-old, who is unidentified because of his age, was sentenced Thursday by Coles County Circuit Judge Matt Sullivan.
In handing down the sentence, Sullivan said he didn’t care whether the shots the teen fired were intentional or accidental. He said the only thing that mattered was the teen took a gun to school planning to shoot someone.
The Journal Gazette and Times-Courier reports that in August, the teenager pleaded guilty in a juvenile court petition to aggravated battery with a firearm.
A 25-year sentence in adult prison can be imposed if the teen commits other crimes or otherwise violates sentence requirements. Detention in the juvenile system can’t go past age 21.
The September 2017 shooting in the Mattoon High School cafeteria left one student hospitalized.
