The suspect in a Kentucky school shooting has been charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of first-degree assault, according to Marshall County Assistant Attorney Jason Darnall in a CNN report.
The 15-year-old suspect, whose identity has not been released, was charged in a juvenile court. He is currently being held in police custody. Darnall told reporters that he intends to request that the boy be charged as an adult, according to a USA Today report.
Darnall’s office originally intended to charge the suspect with 12 counts of attempted murder but they felt that there would be a better case under the assault charge, which carries the same penalty, according to USA Today.
The shooting started at 8:57 a.m. on Tuesday, January 23. The suspect opened fire on students in a commons area of the school, leaving sixteen students injured. Four of those students sustained non-gunshot injuries. The two students who died from gunshot wounds have been identified as Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15 years old.
This is the eleventh school shooting so far this year as of January 23, according to ABC News Reporter Peter Alexander in a White House press briefing. It happened one day after another school shooting that took place in Texas on Monday, January 22, in which a 15-year-old girl was shot.
“It is unbelievable that this would happen in a small, close-knit community like Marshall County,” said Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin in a CNN article. “This is a tremendous tragedy and speaks to the heartbreak present in our communities.”
