A 14-year-old South Carolina boy was charged as a juvenile Friday with murder and three counts of attempted murder after authorities say he killed his father and opened fire on students at a school playground, wounding three people.
The boy did not show any emotion as he walked into the courtroom wearing a yellow jumpsuit. He was unrestrained, not wearing handcuffs or leg shackles, as required by state law in most juvenile cases.
As the hearing unfolded, one of the wounded students, 6-year-old Jacob Hall, was on life support and fighting for his life at a hospital about 30 miles away. His family said they were praying for a miracle.
Inside the courtroom, the boy’s lawyer, Frank Epps, noted that the teen has given a statement to law enforcement and asked that investigators not question him again without his lawyer present. The judge agreed to that, and ordered the teen to be held in jail.
The boy’s mother sat on the front row during the brief hearing and left the courtroom sobbing and leaning on another woman.
The Associated Press typically does not identify juveniles charged with crimes.
Authorities say the teen shot his 47-year-old father Jeffrey Osborne at their home on Wednesday afternoon before driving a pickup truck 3 miles down a country road to Townville Elementary. The teen had to make only two turns to arrive at the school, where he crashed the truck, got out and started firing.