California school shooter to be charged as adult

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The boy who opened fire on his classmates at Taft Union High School in California last week will be charged as an adult.

Bryan Oliver, 16, will face two counts of premeditated attempted murder and three counts of assault with a firearm, according to the Associated Press. The chief deputy district attorney said Oliver was being charged as an adult rather than a juvenile because of the severity of the incident.

The boy faces decades in prison for walking into a science classroom and shooting another 16-year-old student in the chest with a Winchester 12-guage shotgun. The student was hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Oliver allegedly intended to also shoot another boy, but the science teacher in the classroom, Ryan Heber, convinced him to drop his weapon and give himself up to police.

Police said Oliver was targeting peers who had bullied him.

Students and parents confirmed that Oliver was frequently teased at school. One student said Oliver was previously kicked out of school for claiming to have a “hit list” of those he intended to kill.

[Crime scene tape via Shutterstock]