The 14-year-old, who was arrested for the massacre, has been charged with four murders – two of his classmates and two teachers at Appalachian High School in Georgia.
State prosecutors, who have announced he will be tried as an adult, said yesterday that the defendant will be arraigned today.
“The investigation (…) continues,” the agency said via X. “We are on the second day of a very complex investigation and compliance with procedures is crucial,” it added, recalling that an autopsy on the victims was scheduled for yesterday.
AR-15 gift from his father
Tragedies of this nature are repeated over and over again in the US, where there are more guns than residents and the regulatory framework for the purchase and possession of even weapons of war is remarkably lax.
As CNN reported yesterday, the weapon used yesterday was an AR-15 rifle, as is often the case in tragedies of this kind, which his father had given him as a gift.
The 54-year-old father has already been arrested.
The issue of parental responsibility for juvenile crime has been increasingly prominent in the United States recently.
“How can you have an assault rifle in your home, not have it locked up, and your child know where it is?” President Joe Biden asked rhetorically yesterday. “We need to make sure that parents who allow their children to have access to guns are held accountable,” he added.
The antecedent of parental conviction
In April, the parents of a teenager who killed four students at his Michigan high school were sentenced to ten to fifteen years in prison, an unprecedented decision that drew national attention.
Polls show that a majority of Americans want stronger controls on gun ownership and purchases – an idea strongly opposed by the powerful NRA gun lobby.
Notable in the high school massacre case: In May 2023, the teenager, then just 13, and his father were questioned by police about threats to attack a school via social media, but no follow-up was done because there was no probable cause; considered to exist, the FBI said.
Source: APE – MEB