HAMILTON, Ohio — A 14-year-old boy accused of shooting students in a school cafeteria denied charges including attempted murder on Tuesday, while the sheriff in the southwest Ohio county urged that he be prosecuted as an adult and that all schools step up security.
James Austin Hancock kept his head down and showed no emotion during a brief juvenile court hearing. His attorney, Ed Perry, said he hasn’t been willing to talk much so far.
“I think he’s overcome by what’s going on,” Perry said.
Perry said he wasn’t aware of Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones’ contention that Hancock’s case should be moved to adult court, but said “that’s something we will be concerned about.”
The school district said classes will resume today, with extra staff on buses, greeting students outside, and visible throughout the schools, particularly in the cafeteria where the shooting took place Monday.
Hancock is charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic threats. He sat at the defense table with his ankles shackled as a prosecutor read the complaint against him, alleging he took a loaded handgun into school, fired “several shots, hitting two students,” causing a lockdown and bringing “a huge law enforcement presence.”
Perry entered a denial of the charges, the juvenile court equivalent of a not guilty plea, and a magistrate ordered that the suspect remain in juvenile detention pending a hearing April 5.
The boy’s family and supporters declined to talk with reporters thronged outside the courtroom, but Perry said later that they want the families of the students who were hurt and the school community in general to know that they are “very, very concerned” and saddened about the other students.
Jones said authorities believe they know a motive, but they won’t reveal it while their investigation is continuing.
