Mo. teen who fired shot in school sentenced to 10 years

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A southwest Missouri boy who was 13 when he fired an assault rifle inside a Joplin middle school was sentenced Friday to 10 years in state custody.

Thomas G. White, who's now 16, had been certified to stand trial as an adult and pleaded guilty in June to two counts of first-degree assault and a single count of armed criminal action.

The Joplin Globe reported that Jasper County Circuit Judge David Mouton sentenced White to 10 years on each count Friday, with the sentences to be served concurrently. The judge ordered the teen turned over to the Division of Youth Services for placement in its dual-jurisdiction program at Montgomery City for juveniles who commit serious crimes.

White was a seventh-grader when he was arrested in October 2006 after firing one round from an assault rifle into a hallway ceiling at Memorial Middle School.

He also tried repeatedly to shoot principal Stephen Gilbreth at near-point-blank range as Gilbreth ushered him out of the school. Joplin police say the attempt was foiled by an improperly seated ammunition clip in the rifle. No one was injured.

Since his arrest, White has been held in jail -- including 18 months in solitary confinement -- and in a psychiatric facility for children. He could be released from the dual-jurisdiction program by his 18th birthday, after which he could be moved to an adult prison or could request consideration for probation.

White was one of the youngest offenders ever to be certified in Missouri for trial as an adult. Prosecutors cited the seriousness of the offense and the threat to public safety in seeking the certification.

On the day of the shooting, White dressed in a trench coat and camouflage pants and donned a crudely fashioned mask before opening fire with the assault rifle he had brought from home.

A psychologist who evaluated White testified that in the weeks before the shooting the boy felt increased pressure to improve his grades -- mostly from his father, who, the boy said, had threatened to beat him with a belt unless he earned better grades.

Police who searched White's home after the school shooting said they found four rifles, two shotguns, a pistol and a large amount of ammunition.

The boy's father was later charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.