A North Scott seventh grader who aimed a loaded gun at a junior high teacher Aug. 31 will be tried as an adult, a Scott County judge ruled today.
Judge Christine Dalton Ploof made the decision after a 90-minute hearing closed hearing, during which psychiatrist Kirk Witherspoon testifed.
The boy’s parents, grandparents and a sibling attended the 9 a.m. Friday hearing at Scott County Courthouse.
The boy’s mother left the courthouse in tears and declined to discuss the ruling.
Police records and witness accounts said the seventh-grader was 12 when he brought a loaded gun from home to his fifth day of class at the junior high.
He pointed it at teacher Dawn Spring, but the gun safety prevented it from firing. The teacher was able to disarm the student and bring him to a counselor’s office, where Eldridge police found him.
The boy has been in juvenile detention since then.