Lane, 17, faces life in prison without parole if tried as an adult for the killing of three students at Chardon High School
A teenager has been charged with killing three students in an Ohio school shooting, the first step in proceedings that could see him charged as an adult and facing the possibility of life without parole if convicted.
The charges filed on Thursday accuse TJ Lane, 17, of killing three students and wounding two others in the shooting on Monday morning at Chardon High School, about 30 miles east of Cleveland.
He was charged in Geauga County juvenile court with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault
No motive has been determined. The prosecutor, David Joyce, has said victims were selected at random and that Lane was someone "who's not well".
Children convicted of juvenile crimes in Ohio are typically kept behind bars only until they turn 21 in the most serious cases. But Joyce has already said he plans to charge Lane as an adult, meaning he could face life in prison without parole if convicted of similar adult charges.
Minors are not eligible for the death penalty in Ohio, whether they are convicted as juveniles or adults.
Lane, who attended an alternative school for students who have not succeeded in traditional schools, admitted taking a .22-calibre pistol and a knife to Chardon High and firing 10 shots at a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table, Joyce said.
Those who died were Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr, 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16. Joyce appeared to rule out theories involving bullying or drug-dealing as motives.
Hewlin attended Chardon High. King and Parmertor were students at a vocational school and were waiting in the Chardon High cafeteria for their daily bus when they were shot.
Parmertor had just got his first job at a bowling alley and couldn't stop talking about how excited he was to pick up his first paycheck later this week, his parents said.
Two other students were wounded. Nick Walczak remains in serious condition. An 18-year-old girl was released from the hospital on Tuesday.
Lane was a normal boy who excelled in school and played outside often with his sister, building snow hills and skateboarding, according to Steve Sawczak, a family friend and pastor who has worked with troubled children.
He said he never would have allowed his own grandchildren to play nearby if he thought anything was wrong with Lane.