A judge in Washington State has sentenced a 10-year-old boy to a minimum of three years in juvenile detention for conspiring to kill a girl in his class.<\/p>\n
A second boy, age 11, was also charged in the incident and has a
\ncourt hearing in June.<\/p>\n
Back in February, a teacher caught the boy and his friend, whose
\nnames are withheld, trying to sneak a gun and knife into Fort
\nColville Elementary School in Stevens County, which is some 215
\nmiles east of Seattle. According to the Business Insider, the boy
\nhad a .45 caliber Remington 1911 semi-automatic handgun on him.<\/p>\n
Court records state the fifth-graders planned to kill one of
\ntheir classmates because \u201cshe was really annoying\u201d. Previous news
\nreports also suggested the two intended to rape the girl.<\/p>\n
Judge Allen Nielsen sentenced the boy to three to five years in
\na juvenile security facility, which will provide him with schooling
\nand psychological services.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt never escapes my mind that these are children. It is very
\ntroubling when children do things adults do \u2014 it leaves you
\nquestioning why,\u201d<\/i> said Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen.<\/p>\n
Washington law states that children between the ages of 8 and 12
\ndo not have the mental capacity to intentionally commit crimes, but
\nJudge Nielson ruled in March that the boys were competent to stand
\ntrial.<\/p>\n
The 10-year old had told investigators that he stole the gun
\nfrom his older brother, who stole it from his late grandfather.<\/p>\n
Police say the boys showed no remorse, although according to
\nlocal newspaper the Spokesman Review, the 10-year old cried and
\ntold the judge \u201cI know that this is a bad thing I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t have an explanation and the explanation that the
\nboys gave for why they had planned to do this is entirely
\ninadequate,”<\/i> Rasmussen told reporters after the trial wrapped
\nup.<\/p>\n