Boy Who Brought Shotgun, Knives To Lakeside H.S. To Be Sentenced April 22

A former Lakeside High School student who admitted will find out his punishment April 22.

The 16-year-old boy is expected to get a year of formal probation, which would mean regular meetings with a probation officer.

A hearing on the matter was held Friday at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley. Lakeside Principal Jason Moscowitz and Kathleen Roberts, an assistant superintendent, attended the hearing.

Over her objections, Judge Mark Cope reduced a firearm assault charge to a misdemeanor.

A lawyer for the youth asked that the boy be allowed to go home pending sentencing, but Cope denied the request and ordered the child to stay in Juvenile Hall.

Authorities have refused to say what happened after the boy arrived on campus with the gun and knives on March 2, but they did say he got into a classroom.

The day of the March 2 incident, Mark Dennis, coordinator of community and media relations for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, said, “the student quickly surrendered to school authorities. The incident did not develop into a further threat or tragedy. The school did not go to a lockdown."

Dennis said the boy sought out a teacher.

“I think it was more of a cry for help," he said.

There are press reports that the boy is autistic.

The youth was a high school student at another campus. --City News Service contributed to this report.