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Accused Freeman High School Shooter Pleads Not Guilty

Freeman High School was a crime scene Wednesday morning after a student shot and killed a schoolmate there Wednesday morning.
Emily Schwing
/
Northwest News Network
Freeman High School was a crime scene Wednesday morning after a student shot and killed a schoolmate there Wednesday morning.

The suspect in a shooting that left one student dead and three injured at Freeman High School outside of Spokane, Washington, last week quietly pleaded not guilty on Friday.

But the plea was mostly procedural. 




The accused shooter is a 15-year-old sophomore at Freeman High School. He is charged with one count of first degree murder and three counts of attempted murder in the first degree.

He appeared before a Superior Court judge for only four-and-a-half minutes last Friday, as the rest of the Freeman community prepared for an emotional home football game. He entered a ‘not guilty’ plea through his attorney. 



According to a Spokane Superior Court clerk, a not guilty plea allows lawyers and defendants more time to compile evidence, documentation and information for the case. 



The state has subpoenaed Freeman High School for the defendant’s transcripts, disciplinary action against him, and history of any violent behavior and drug and alcohol use. 



The defendant will be arraigned on September 26. The state aims to try him as an adult for premeditated murder. 

Copyright 2017 Northwest News Network

Emily Schwing
Emily Schwing comes to the Inland Northwest by way of Alaska, where she covered social and environmental issues with an Arctic spin as well as natural resource development, wildlife management and Alaska Native issues for nearly a decade. Her work has been heard on National Public Radio’s programs like “Morning Edition” and “All things Considered.” She has also filed for Public Radio International’s “The World,” American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” and various programs produced by the BBC and the CBC. She has also filed stories for Scientific American, Al Jazeera America and Arctic Deeply.