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Ky. School Shooting Suspect Makes 1st Court Appearance

Posted at 7:04 AM, Jan 25, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-25 19:14:49-05

The 15-year-old accused of killing two students and wounding multiple others at a Kentucky high school made his first court appearance.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that the juvenile would be tried as an adult in the case. Due to his juvenile status, Thursday morning’s court proceedings were closed.

The only people allowed in the courtroom Thursday included essential court personnel, victims, their parents, and the suspect's parents.

In a case like this, Kentucky law has required a detention hearing be held within 48 hours of someone’s arrest.

Prosecutors said they're making "very good progress" in the ongoing investigation.

The juvenile has been charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of assault first-degree, which carries the same penalty as attempted murder.

The District Attorney believes at this time they have a better cause to prove "assault" as opposed to "attempted murder," which requires a motive and specific intent to be proven.

Those charges could be upgraded when the Grand Jury meets on February 13. At that point, the case becomes public.   

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2 Students Dead, 18 More Hurt In Kentucky School Shooting