Defendant in Erie High shooting is 14; at hearing, lawyer links case to feuding juveniles

The defendant in Tuesday's shooting at Erie High School is 14 years old, and the incident appears to be related to a dispute among groups of juveniles, according to information disclosed at a brief detention hearing for the defendant in juvenile court on Friday.

"Pockets of juveniles that don't get along" are linked to the case, the defendant's lawyer said.

The defendant participated at the hearing by phone from the Edmund L. Thomas Adolescent Center, where he has been held since he turned himself into the Erie police on Wednesday. The defense and the Erie County District Attorney's Office agreed at the hearing that the defendant will remain at the adolescent center, a secure facility.

Timeline:Erie High shooting suspect in custody: How the events unfolded since Tuesday

The defendant said little at the hearing. He gave "yes" and "no" answers when the presiding officer confirmed his birthdate and asked whether he understood the case against him. The charges include the felonies of attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

The defendant's mother was present in person but did not comment during the hearing. The hearing, in the juvenile probation offices at the Erie County Courthouse, took less than 10 minutes.

In custody:Erie High shooting suspect turns self in, placed in juvenile detention

Erie County Deputy Sheriff Tommy Beebe, at left, and Deputy Sheriff Tyler Festa, background, talk with Jason Peterson, at right, following a shooting at Erie High School on Tuesday. Peterson said he was waiting for his child, who is a student at the school.
Erie County Deputy Sheriff Tommy Beebe, at left, and Deputy Sheriff Tyler Festa, background, talk with Jason Peterson, at right, following a shooting at Erie High School on Tuesday. Peterson said he was waiting for his child, who is a student at the school.

The Erie Times-News is not naming the defendant because he is a juvenile who was not charged as an adult in the case. The authorities had not publicly disclosed the defendant's age before Friday's hearing, other than to say he is younger than 15, the threshold age for juveniles to be charged as adults in Pennsylvania.

The shooting defendant is too young to be charged as an adult under the Fisher Bill, the state law that permits the police to charge juveniles accused of violent crimes as adults if they are at least 15 years old. The exception is that juveniles of any age can be charged with homicide.

Initial report:DA: Suspect in Erie High shooting is under 15, faces juvenile charges

The defendant in the shooting turns 15 in June, according to the birthdate disclosed at Friday's hearing. He and the shooting victim, another male, are both students at 2,300-student Erie High School, 3325 Cherry St., the Erie police said. Police said the victim was shot three times while in a hallway at about 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday, with injuries to the abdomen and lower extremities.

The authorities have not identified the victim or released his age, but said he was in stable condition at the hospital. A school nurse immediately tended to him after the shooting, and he left Erie High on stretcher and was placed in an ambulance.

Start of process in juvenile court

In addition to facing the felony charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault, the defendant in the shooting is also charged with offenses including reckless endangerment, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm as a minor and possession of a weapon on school property, the police said. The defendant is accused of firing a 9 mm pistol at least five times, based on the number of shell casings collected at the scene, police said.

The male shooting victim is loaded into an ambulance in front of Erie High School on Tuesday.
The male shooting victim is loaded into an ambulance in front of Erie High School on Tuesday.

The defendant, for now, will remain at the Edmund L. Thomas Adolescent Center, on the grounds of the former Pleasant Ridge Manor East in Millcreek Township. The defense on Friday could have petitioned for his release, with or without electronic monitoring, but reached a stipulation with the prosecution that the defendant will stay in the adolescent center.

The next hearing for the defendant is a status conference on Monday, according to information released in court. The case eventually will proceed to an adjudication hearing, similar to a trial, at which a judge can dismiss the case or find that the juvenile has committed a delinquent act, similar to finding a defendant guilty in adult criminal court. If the defendant is found delinquent, the judge would then hold a dispositional hearing, similar to a sentencing in adult criminal court.

If found to be delinquent, the defendant could be placed under juvenile supervision, including at a facility for juveniles, until he turns 21.

Erie Times-News granted access to hearing

The Erie Times-News does not typically cover hearings in juvenile court, where the proceedings are presumed to be public, though the public can be excluded from the proceedings. The Erie Times-News asked the court for access to the detention hearing for the shooting defendant because the case involves a school shooting and is of high community interest. The Erie Times-News was the only newsgathering organization present at the hearing.

The lawyer for the defendant, Joseph DePalma, objected to the Erie Times-News' presence at the hearing. He said the defendant's family is worried that publicity could endanger the defendant because of "pockets of juveniles that don't get along."

Statewide issue:Tips about potential school violence increased significantly in Pennsylvania in 2020-21

The assistant district attorney for juvenile proceedings, Brian Krowicki, deferred to the presiding officer on whether the hearing should be closed to the news media. The presiding officer, Carrie Munsee, a lawyer known as the juvenile master, then said she would allow the hearing to be open due to the felony charges and the lack of an agreement between the defense and prosecution as to whether the hearing should be closed.

District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz also attended the hearing, as did Erie police officers who investigated the case.

Munsee reports to Judge John J. Trucilla, the administrative judge for juvenile court in the Erie County Court of Common Pleas. A judge presides over the later hearing in a juvenile case.

DePalma could not be immediately reached for comment after the hearing.

Metal detectors coming to Erie High, other schools

The shooting at Erie High occurred amid a spike in juvenile crime during the pandemic — a spike in which Erie police have charged juveniles as young as 15 as adults. The spike has led the Unified Erie anti-crime initiative to focus its efforts on children of middle-school age. The initial focus had been on older youth, particularly those linked to gang activity.

Other juvenile cases:Erie police charge 15-year-old as adult in shooting that damaged passing SUV on Ash Street

The rise in juvenile crime also concerned the Erie School District, which had been considering installing metal detectors at Erie High in the months before Tuesday's shooting. Erie High has never had metal detectors, but school staff have routinely used security wands on students who arrive late, and the staff has also use the wands for random checks on students, according to the district. The district had not had a school shooting before Tuesday.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Andrew Hacke walks near Erie High School after a student was shot and injured in a hallway on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Andrew Hacke walks near Erie High School after a student was shot and injured in a hallway on Tuesday.

The administration of Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito on Feb. 25 received a quote from a vendor for metal detectors, according to district records, and Polito had been in discussions with the School Board about approving the detectors, according to Polito and the board. The Erie Education Association teachers' union had also been pressing for security upgrades, and had union and district officials had been meeting regularly about the concerns, the EEA and the district said.

Major changes:Superintendent: Metal detectors coming to Erie School District middle, high schools after shooting

In response to the shooting, the Erie School District is installing metal detectors at Erie High, Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy and the district's three middle schools, Polito announced on Wednesday. The School Board consented to the metal detectors, as well as a number of other security upgrades, at an executive session on Wednesday night.

The improvements are estimated to cost more than $1 million, Polito said. He said the state authorized the district to use pandemic-relief funding to pay for the upgrades.

Juveniles charged as adults:Juvenile detention or adult prison? New federal law lets Erie County judges decide

The School Board is expected to formally approve the upgrades at its next monthly voting meeting, on April 20 at East Middle School. Polito said emergency nature of the situation allows the district, in the meantime, to pursue the installation of the metal detectors and make the other security changes.

Union upset:Erie High School teachers demand safety fixes, say they will go remote otherwise

Erie High students do not return to class until April 19, the day after the district's spring break, which starts Monday. The district on Tuesday canceled all Erie High classes, in-person and remote, for the rest of this week due to the shooting. The cancellation applied only to Erie High students in the Erie School District, which has more than 10,000 students and 16 school buildings.

The Erie High students will have to attend remote-only classes for some time after April 19 as the district installs the metal detectors and completes the other security upgrades, including installing locks that will allow Erie High teachers to lock more classrooms from the inside.

"All changes will be in place by the time students return to school in person," Polito said in a letter to families on Thursday.

Staff writer Tim Hahn contributed to this report.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie High School shooting: Defendant is 14; among feuding juveniles