SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Prosecutors filed 51 new charges Wednesday against a 15-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting a classmate and wounding three others at his rural Washington state high school.
Caleb Sharpe already has been charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder in the Sept. 13 shooting at Freeman High School near the tiny town of Rockford. He previously pleaded not guilty.
Spokane County prosecutors upgraded the murder charge to premeditated murder and added 51 counts of assault, representing other students in the vicinity of the gunfire, according to court documents.
Sharpe also appeared in court for the first time, where a judge said a decision on whether to try the teen as an adult will not occur until next year. In juvenile court, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price set an April 2 date for a weeklong hearing, saying the case was too complex to hold it within 14 days as required by law.
Defense attorney Bevan Maxey agreed with the delay, though his client will remain in custody.