NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — The teenager who shot two people inside Noblesville West Middle School in 2018 will be transferred to the Hamilton County Juvenile Services Center before being placed in a residential placement facility later this year.
According to an order issued on Monday by Judge Michael A. Casati, a temporary judge in this case for the Hamilton Circuit Court, the shooter has been placed in the secure unit of the Hamilton County Juvenile Service Center for 120 days, with credit given for time served since June 7.
The probation department was ordered to investigate residential placement options for the shooter, where he is expected to be place after he is released from the secure unit. The order reads that a review hearing is scheduled prior to his release at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 4.
According to previous reports, the teen was 13 years old when he brought a handgun into the school and shot a classmate and science teacher. The gun was wrestled away from the teen and both the classmate and teacher survived.
Earlier this month, the Hamilton County Probation Department recommended the teen be released into his parents’ custody with restrictions, including GPS monitoring and mandated therapy.
Officials previously said he was not released because of a battery charge from when the shooter fist-bumped an employee’s breasts at the juvenile facility where he was serving his sentence. Prosecutors argued that, because of the battery charge, he should serve 120 days in juvenile lockup and be moved to a transitional treatment facility.
According to Monday’s order, Casati said the shooter continues to be a risk to the community and he does not find it consistent with the community’s safety and the teen’s best interests to be released to his home.
Casati also said in the order that he had “concerns” with some of the findings given by a medical professional, which stated the shooter is “a low to moderate risk for violence.” The concerns stemmed from the shooter’s “history and.. the lack of remorse and empathy shown.”
“The Court finds that placement in a secure detention facility and then movement to a residential placement as a transition before reintegration into the home and community is in the Juvenile’s best interests and well-being,” the order read.
An additional hearing regarding the shooter’s permanency is scheduled for June 3, 2024, the order reads. According to previous reports, FOX59/CBS4 is not naming the shooter because he has only been charged as a juvenile.