Ellis County Judge Orders Psychiatric Evaluation, Juvenile Detention for Accused Italy High School Shooter

ELLIS COUNTY (WBAP/KLIF News) – A judge has decided that the teenager accused of shooting an Italy High School student this week must stay in juvenile detention.

Ellis County District Attorney Patrick Wilson said the boy has proven that he’s a danger to himself and others.

“It’s our position, certainly by default, that when a 16-year-old kid gets a hold of a handgun and makes his way to school and shoots up a cafeteria…clearly he’s lacking in adult supervision,” he said.

Noelle “Cricket” Jones
[photo courtesy of GoFundMe]

Prosecutors said that surveillance video showed the teen shooting until he ran out of bullets, then stomping around angrily until he was eventually arrested.

15-year-old Noelle “Cricket” Jones sustained serious injuries that included a bullet lodged in her neck, another removed from her abdomen and her small intestine had to be removed.

Wilson said as a parent, this case is an emotional one.

“I have children in school as well and I am not unimpacted by the events that take place in our world today. I worried for them and I worry for the family of the kid that did this,” he said.

The court also ordered a psychological exam for the teenager between now and another hearing scheduled for next month.