Prosecutor wants to try 14-year-old as adult in deadly S.C. school shooting
TOWNVILLE, S.C. -- Prosecutors want to try a 14-year-old South Carolina boy as an adult on charges of killing his father and fatally shooting a first-grader at an elementary school.
Solicitor Chrissy Adams announced filing a petition Thursday to transfer the teen from family court, where he’s charged as a juvenile, to circuit court.
Her petition comes a day after the superhero-themed funeral of 6-year-old Jacob Hall, who was laid to rest as Batman. His family encouraged attendees to dress as the superheroes he loved, and so they did. His mother dressed as Robin.
“I don’t want suits and ties and all that,” Renae Hall, Jacob’s mother, previously told WHNS-TV. “There will be a lot of children there and I don’t want it to be scary for them.”
Speakers celebrated the boy who imagined himself roaming his small, rural town to save people as others slept.
John Buckland, who drove his Batmobile from West Virginia to attend, said he envisions Jacob asking God to “create the biggest hope-filled superhero bash this world has ever seen.”
“Take what we’ve learned from Jacob,” he told more than 1,000 people at Oakdale Baptist Church in Townville. “Let it make you a better husband, a better father ... a better everything. May a 6-year-old boy become such a part of our lives, this community shows the rest of this world what hope is all about.”
The teen accused of shooting Jacob is charged with two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and five counts of possessing a weapon during a violent crime.
Family court will set a hearing on Adams’ request after an evaluation. The Associated Press generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes.
Authorities say the teen fatally shot his father Sept. 28 before driving a truck to Townville Elementary School and crashing into the playground fence. Sheriff John Skipper has said the teen began shooting as he got out of the pickup.
A bullet struck Jacob in the main artery in his thigh. He died at a Greenville hospital Saturday.
A classmate shot in the foot and his first-grade teacher, shot in the shoulder, were treated and released the day of the shooting. Authorities say those three were shot as they exited a door for recess. A third student injured on the playground didn’t require medical attention.
District officials hope to turn the shooting site into a “tranquility park” to honor Jacob and the others injured.
A new playground for Townville Elementary students will “help with the healing,” Anderson 4 Superintendent Joanne Avery said.
The district is raising money to cover the expected $750,000 cost. That estimate includes putting new play equipment elsewhere on school property and creating an open park in the existing space, Avery said.
She said just 10 students were absent when classes resumed Thursday.
The school day began with classroom visits from counselors and therapy dogs, “which provided for lots of smiles and calmed the nerves of both teachers and students,” Avery said.