PORTLAND, Maine — A teenager accused of plotting a mass shooting at South Portland High School will face charges in juvenile court, a judge decided Tuesday.
The South Portland teen was arrested in April for allegedly trying to convince his friend to be a second shooter. That friend went to the police.
Cumberland County Judge Peter Darvin decided the teen would be tried in the juvenile system instead of adult criminal court, after hearing two days' worth of testimony from the teenager's friend, along with doctors, criminal justice professionals, and psychologists.
The judge believes the teen would adequately be tried in the juvenile system. He noted that the 17-year-old hasn't made any additional threats to the public and pointed out he doesn't have a prior criminal record.
Darvin also said it's rare to move a juvenile case to the adult court system when no one was injured or harmed.
Prosecutors in closing statements argued the teenager should be tried in the adult system based on four criteria: the seriousness of the crime, the teen's behavior, his risk to the public, and whether the juvenile court system would have adequate punishments.
In the past, the teen has reportedly been involved in neo-Nazi group chats and videoed himself throwing Molotov cocktails near South Portland High School while playing a 2011 song by Foster the People about school shootings called "Pumped Up Kicks," among other things.
The teenager is facing charges of solicitation for murder, arson, and terrorism. The court will schedule pretrial hearings in the coming weeks.