A Washington teen who shot a 15 year-old classmate dead and injured three others in a 2017 school shooting has admitted his crime , afte...
A Washington teen who shot a 15 year-old classmate dead and injured three others in a 2017 school shooting has admitted his crime, after previously saying he felt no remorse.
Caleb Sharpe, now 20, has pleaded guilty to premeditated murder, three counts of attempted murder and second-degree assault for the shooting at Freeman High School in 2017 when he was 16 on Thursday, just days before his trial is set to begin.
He could face up to life in prison for allegedly slaying Sam Strahan, 15, and injuring three girls on September 13, 2017.
Sharpe took a plea deal that dropped many of his second-degree assault charges, leaving only one to represent the 45 students whose lives were put at risk.
When detectives asked Sharpe if he felt remorseful for the shooting, he answered: 'No.'
Caleb Sharpe, 20, pleaded guilty on Thursday to premeditated murder, three counts of attempted murder and second-degree assault for the shooting at Freeman High School in 2017 when he was 16. He is pictured in court today
He could face up to life in prison for allegedly slaying Sam Strahan, 15, and injuring three girls on September 13, 2017
Sparke (pictured in 2017) said he did not feel remorseful for the shooting
Despite his lack of emotion, Spokane County Superior Judge Michael Price still read out each initial of the victims before allowing Sharpe to enter his plea, the -Spokesman-Review reported.
Victims' families were allowed to give impact statements.
In the front row sat Sam's mother Ami, as well as Sharpe's family and law enforcement.
Earlier this year, Sharpe's defense team attempted to change the young man's plea to guilty by insanity, but a judge denied it, saying it was 'a little too late.'
Strahan, who was friends with Sharpe, was shot abdomen and then in the face. Sharpe said that Strahan was bullying him. Strahan's mother Ami was sitting front row in court on Thursday
Sharpe's lawyers have also attempted to move the trial out of Spokane - where the shooting took place - and to question jurors individually, according to KHQ 6.
Sharpe walked to a second-floor hallway of Freeman High School in 2017, where he pulled an assault weapon from a duffle bag and tried to load it, authorities said.
It jammed, and classmate and friend Sam Strahan, 15, reportedly walked up to him.
Sharpe pulled a pistol from his coat pocket and shot his classmate in the abdomen and then in the face, killing him, according to the documents.
He then walked down the hallway, firing at other students or into the ceiling, authorities say. Three female students were wounded. They were named Emma Nees, Gracie Jensen and Jordyn Goldsmith.
Police found what they described as finding a 'manifesto' in his bedroom which contained a 'list of dad's ammo' in 2017
Sharpe told police that he had been bullied by Strahan, but did not target him specifically.
Students said at the time that he brought notes to school about doing 'something stupid,' was obsessed with past school shootings and posted videos online that showed him playing with guns.
And he was allegedly seeing a therapist for suicidal thoughts.
Police found what they described as finding a 'manifesto' in his bedroom which contained a 'list of dad's ammo.'
It was in a binder in front of a dresser in the boy's room, they said.
In the second drawer of his dresser was a yearbook in which Sharpe had marked the faces of students with an 'X = kill'. Police will not reveal whether any of the students who were hurt or killed had their faces marked in the yearbook.
His trial is expected to start on January 18.
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