A year ago, a 12-year-old Idaho girl shot 3 people at school. Here’s where she is now
The then-12-year-old girl who shot two students and a custodian at Rigby Middle School on May 6, 2021, could be in the custody of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections until she is an adult.
That information comes from newly unsealed court documents that reveal the charges and outcome of the case against the juvenile shooter, whom EastIdahoNews.com is not identifying because of her age.
Those documents were part of a public records lawsuit EastIdahoNews.com filed earlier this year. Until this spring, much of the information about the shooting and events that day were off-limits to the public. But in April, District Judge Stevan H. Thompson ordered the release of investigative documents related to the shooting.
Last week, Magistrate Judge Stephen J. Clark ordered the release of some court documents related to the case. They reveal that the juvenile shooter was charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, but there was no trial because the girl entered a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to all three charges.
“The court concludes that this was an exceptional event. … To state the obvious, the public has a right to access information concerning an exceptional event,” Clark wrote.
However, Clark also addressed the importance of protecting the privacy of the victims and the juvenile. As such, the documents were released with the names of everyone except law enforcement redacted.
The child was committed to the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections until her 19th birthday or until the Custody Review Board deems her rehabilitated. If the Custody Review Board does not deem her rehabilitated by the time she’s 19, she could be held until she is 21.
After she is released, she will be on probation for 36 months.
Jefferson County Prosecutor Mark Taylor told EastIdahoNews.com that this was the best possible outcome given the law. He said he considered having the case moved to adult court, but regardless, it was clear that the juvenile would be incarcerated only until she was an adult, at most.
As a result, Taylor decided to focus on rehabilitation to minimize any threats going forward. To do that, he opted to keep the case in juvenile court.
“Juvenile correction is all about rehabilitation and helping these people get what they need in order to no longer be a threat to themselves or society,” Taylor said. “Knowing that she was going to get out of jail while still a young adult, regardless of the court, it became very clear that the juvenile system was where we needed to stay.”
Taylor said that his office has checked on the shooter and that she is getting the best help possible.
No one was killed in the shooting, and all three victims recovered from their gunshot wounds.
