Teenage school shooting suspect denies charges
HAMILTON - It only lasted a few seconds. In that regard, Tuesday’s first court hearing for a 14-year-old boy accused of shooting two classmates in their school cafeteria was much like the shooting that preceded it Monday.
James Austin Hancock did not say a word in a brief appearance before a Butler County magistrate in juvenile court. He sat, feet shackled together, and did not show any outward signs of emotion.
He is charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of attempted murder. His attorney entered a denial of those charges, the juvenile equivalent of a not guilty plea.
The magistrate ordered him held in the Butler County Juvenile Justice Center until another hearing April 5.
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The boy’s family recoiled at the heavy news media presence. One relative told The Enquirer, through tears, “You have no idea” how hard this is.
At one point after the hearing, his family turned their backs to television cameras and cried. They stood outside the courtroom like that for several minutes before the teen’s attorney took them into another room.
He is accused of shooting Cameron Smith, 15, and Cooper Caffery, 14, at Madison Jr./Sr. High School. They are expected to fully recover from their injuries. Two other students – Brant Murray, 14, and Katherine Doucette, 14 – were also injured, possibly by shrapnel.
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones said he’s aware of a motive, but won’t release it yet.
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Jones wants the youth prosecuted in adult court.
That might sound harsh, Jones told the Associated Press, but he believes it’s important to “send a message” to students that using guns isn’t like playing a video game.
He says he is making the recommendation to the prosecutor’s office, which hasn’t indicated whether it will seek to move the case from juvenile court. Calls to Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser went unanswered Tuesday.
Jones says besides the students who were wounded or otherwise injured, many others were likely traumatized by the shooting. That’s evident in the seven 911 calls released by the sheriff’s office Tuesday.
In them, several students have trouble remembering their phone numbers when asked by dispatchers. In one call, an eighth-grader breaks down and cries while telling a dispatcher he and other friends were seeking refuge on the school’s football field.
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The incident also led the sheriff to renew his call for all schools to have police resource officers, as Madison Local Schools do, and for specially-trained school staff to be armed.
Jones said in a radio interview that the teen, who he said fled the school after the shooting, was captured by a Middletown police K-9 unit. The boy got the gun, described as one that appeared to be a .380-caliber, from a family member, Jones said.
Madison Schools were closed Tuesday, but staff worked to prepare for the return of students Wednesday.
The school opened its doors for about an hour Tuesday night so parents and students could walk through the school and prepare to return for classes, according to Superintendent Curtis Philpot.
Philpot said there will be additional staff members on buses, and especially in the cafeteria to ease students’ return.
The Associated Press contributed.