NOBLESVILLE — The teen who shot a student and teacher at Noblesville West Middle School five years ago is going to a residential treatment center, a Hamilton County judge ruled Monday.
Hamilton Superior Judge Michael A. Casati on Monday ordered that the now 18-year-old be held in the Hamilton County Juvenile Service Center for 120 days while the probation department finds a suitable secure residential facility for him.
"The juvenile is a risk to the community," Casati said in his five-page order.
The judge ruled that keeping the teen in detention is in the best interests of the teen and society. There will be a hearing on Oct. 4 to determine where the teen will be placed.
The teen will be held in the facility for at least a year. The judge ordered him to appear for a permanency hearing on June 2, 2024. The teen can be detained as a juvenile until the day before he turns 22, under Indiana law.
The teen was 13 years old when he opened fire in a classroom at Noblesville West Middle School wounding teacher Jason Seaman and classmate Ella Whistler on May 25, 2018. He was convicted as a juvenile of attempted murder and other crimes.
The teen was preparing to be released to his family when on March 20 prosecutors say he assaulted a female counselor at the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility by "fist-bumping" her breast, then joking about it with other juveniles.
He was 17 and charged as a juvenile with battery in Madison County. The case was resolved last month.
MORE | Judge orders Noblesville school shooter be released from detention; youth faces new charge in Madison County | Noblesville school shooter to remain in detention, judge orders | Delinquency petition filed for Noblesville school shooter for punching DOC employee in breast |'Shock and terror' remain two years after Noblesville West Middle School shooting
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on Twitter: @vicryc.
