Two more Madison school district students have been charged in connection with Monday's shooting in the Madison Jr/Sr High School cafeteria which injured four people.
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says two boys knew the suspect, Austin Hancock, had a gun and planned to take it to school. They are each charged with failure to report a crime, which is a fourth degree misdemeanor.
"They seen the weapons and they did not report 'em," says Jones. "And they seen 'em for quite some time and knew that he had the weapon and did not report it."
Jones says knowing about the gun and not saying anything is a serious offense.
"When you witness and know that there's a weapon and you see it, the policy in the school is one thing, but it's also a violation of the law. If you're a teenager, and you're in school, it doesn't give you immunity from not reporting that," Jones says.
Fourteen-year-old Austin Hancock is being held in the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center on charges included attempted murder following Monday's events. Jones still won't comment on Hancock's possible motive but says that information has been turned over to the prosecutor's office. He would also not discuss where Hancock got the gun. Previous news reports have said it belonged to a family member.
Students Charged In Separate Incidents
The Butler County Sheriff's Office reports three other juveniles also face weapons-related charges in separate events this week.
According to a release:
One student from Edgewood City Schools allegedly made statements that he was ready for another school shooting and was going to bring a gun to school. A second Edgewood City School student allegedly made threats over social media and is charged through the City of Trenton Police Department. A Madison Local School student brought knives disguised as credit cards in to the school.
All the incidents were reported quickly. The School Resource Officers at both schools acted right away as did the City of Trenton Police and all were charged. Both Edgewood students, one, a 12 year old male, the other, a 14 year old male, were charged with making terroristic threats. The Madison student, a 15 year old male, was charged with illegal conveyance of a weapon in a school safety zone. All the charges are felonies.
