‘Something sinister’: court hears boy intended to ‘shoot up school’
New details have been revealed in court about a 15-year-old boy who allegedly fired three shots at a school from a rifle in the carpark.
Cryptic social media messages sent from the boy accused of firing shots outside a Perth school have been detailed during his latest court appearance.
One of them, sent to a friend on the instant messaging service Snapchat, featured an image of the 15-year-old with the French phrase “quelque chose de sinister” – “something sinister” in English.
The 15-year-old, who can’t be named, appeared in Perth Children’s Court on Wednesday afternoon where he was granted bail at a bail hostel instead of his parents’ home.
State prosecutor Brad Hollingsworth strongly opposed bail on the grounds that the alleged offences were “extremely serious” and the potential risk to the community was “too great”.
Evidence presented to Magistrate Alana Padmanabham included social media messages allegedly found through a preliminary police analysis of the boy’s phone.
Mr Hollingsworth said indicated the boy’s intent to “shoot up the school” and “kill people”.
It was revealed in court that his search engine history had “ramped up” in the weeks leading up to the alleged incident, with queries for guns, US school shootings, and if prisoners are given solitary confinement for shooting offences.
Mr Hollingsworth said on May 20, the boy had talked with a friend about shootings in the US and automatic weapons.
In the following days he allegedly talked about “shooting up the school” and warned the friend not to go to school; the friend didn’t take the messages seriously.
Ms Padmanabham had ordered the boy to undergo a psychiatrist’s assessment.
The psychiatrist said her assessment indicated the boy did not pose a risk to the community or to himself.
However, she noted he did have mental health needs that required treatment.
WA Police charged the boy with seven offences following the incident last Wednesday.
It’s alleged he fired three shots from a rifle in the carpark of Atlantis Beach Baptist College in the outer-northern Perth suburb of Two Rocks.
Two of the three shots pierced the side of a demountable classroom 60m away, which had a student and staff member inside at the time, but no one was injured.
A third round was unable to be located; police believe it may be embedded in the ground at the school.
Mr Hollingsworth on Wednesday also provided more details about the alleged incident and a triple-0 call the boy made in the moments after the shooting.
He told the court the two Savage Arms rifles allegedly used in the incident – one chambered for .22 rounds, the other .243 calibre – were legally registered to the boy’s father and kept in a gun safe at their home.
More details of the triple-0 call were also revealed; Mr Hollingsworth said the boy called emergency services immediately after the shooting, spoke calmly, alleged he had “200 rounds” of ammunition and didn’t know if he had hurt anyone.
Asked if he intended to hurt anyone anymore, he said “not anymore”, Mr Hollingworth told the court.
“He‘s calm, he’s cool, he’s collected, he’s certainly not raving and carrying on like someone who’s mentally unwell,” said Mr Hollingsworth, describing the call.
“He’s not shouting, he’s not saying things that don’t make sense.”
Magistrate Padmanabham determined while the boy wouldn’t be released into the custody of his parents, he would be put in the care of a bail hostel until his next court appearance on July 12.
He will also have a 24-hour curfew as part of his bail conditions, meaning he will not be allowed to leave the hostel.
The magistrate said it was not a criticism but rather she had concerns over their ability to supervise him.
She also imposed an order forbidding the boy from having unsupervised internet access, and he must stay 100m away from Atlantis Beach Baptist College as well as not making contact with any students or staff.
The boy has been held at Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre since his arrest last Wednesday, appearing in court via video link due to ongoing problems at Banksia Hill making detainee transport difficult.
The boy will remain in Banksia Hill in the interim, as the bail hostel to which he has been assigned did not have an available place at the time of the bail hearing.
The shooting placed the school into lockdown for about an hour, with the college partially closed until normal classes resumed on Monday.
Outgoing WA Premier Mark McGowan held a media conference outside the school on Thursday after a tour of the college.
He said there were too many guns in WA and talked up proposed gun law reforms he announced in April.
He said, if passed, it would make WA’s gun laws “the toughest in Australia”.
Read related topics:Perth