Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Memorial Middle School shooter to stand trial

Thomas Gregory White, 14, will stand trial on five felony counts in connection with the Oct. 27 shooting incident at Memorial Middle School.
According to the Joplin Globe account, Memorial Principal Steve Gilbreth testified during Monday's preliminary hearing that White, after firing a shot into the ceiling, repeatedly tried to shoot him, but the gun jammed:

The boy already had discharged the weapon once in the school, and Gilbreth suspected the boy was trying to fire it at him at that time but "wasn't really sure," he said. The boy made similar motions with the gun pointed at Gilbreth’s face seconds later, after the principal had followed him toward an exit and the boy started down a first-floor hallway instead of leaving the school as he was being asked to do, Gilbreth told the court.

"Did I see his finger pull the trigger? No," Gilbreth responded on cross-examination by one of the boy's public defenders. "Did I see his finger on the trigger? Yes."


White is charged with three counts of assault, one count of armed criminal action, and one count of attempted escape. His next hearing is Friday.

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