Teen Accused in Georgia School Shooting Set for Plea Hearing

Court documents filed Friday in Barrow County Superior Court in Winder, Georgia, schedule a plea and sentencing hearing for July 24. The teen, who was 14 at the time of the incident, faces 55 counts including malice murder, aggravated battery and aggravated assault.

The documents indicate the hearing is designated a "non-negotiated" plea proceeding. He had previously entered a not-guilty plea after being charged as an adult.

Background on the case The shooting occurred in September 2024 at Apalachee High School. The defendant carried a semiautomatic assault-style rifle onto a school bus and later emerged from a bathroom to shoot people in a classroom and hallways, according to the documents.

A notebook recovered after the incident contained handwritten instructions and a classroom diagram, the documents state. The defendant has remained in custody at a juvenile detention center since his arrest. His father was convicted in March of second-degree murder and all other charges after admitting he gave his son the rifle used in the shooting.

Prosecutors said the father ignored prior instances of violence by his son. The father was the first adult charged in connection with a school shooting in Georgia, and his prosecution marked the third time a parent has faced charges tied to a mass shooting allegedly carried out by a child.