This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Orem • A teenager accused of stabbing five classmates in an Orem high school locker room will undergo a competency evaluation, a juvenile court judge ordered Tuesday.
The 16-year-old faces five counts of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, and misdemeanor charges of possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to assault and failure to stop at command of a law officer after an attack that left five students with serious injuries Nov. 15 in a locker room at Mountain View High School.
In the teen's first court appearance, 4th District Juvenile Judge Douglas Nielsen ruled that the teen will remain in detention until a competency review, scheduled for Feb. 14.
All other proceedings in the case will be delayed while the review is pending; the Utah County attorney's office has not decided whether to seek to have the teen charged as an adult, said prosecutor Sam Pead.
"There are still ... a number of factors" to look at, he said, and prosecutors are reviewing evidence.
On the morning of the attack, the teen went into the locker room, approached a student from behind, and struck him on the head with a bow staff, causing the staff to break, charges allege.
The first victim, described in court documents as V1 and his initials, suffered a significant laceration and lost consciousness, investigators wrote, but he regained consciousness and ran from the locker room as attacks continued.
The 16-year-old then stabbed a second student in the left side of the neck, causing "a deep wound" that severed a main vein, charges state. The victim also was wounded on the hand when he grabbed the serrated edges of the knife wielded by the attacker, charges state.
A third boy was stabbed on the right side of his back, neck and shoulder area; the blade struck his esophagus and cut a central nerve, which has disabled his elbow and shoulder movement, charges state.
That boy described being stabbed again and again after he fell to the floor.
"V3 then attempted to lay dead as a method of survival," charges state.
A fourth boy, who saw another victim "down and bleeding all over the place," was not sure what was going on, investigators wrote. The 16-year-old then stabbed him in the neck, leaving a deep puncture, charges state.
A fifth boy, V5, was walking toward a wounded boy to give help when the 16-year-old "called V5 by name and then stabbed him in the neck," charges state. "V5 ran out of the west side of the locker room and hid until he could be helped and treated with stitches."
The 16-year-old tried to go after another person, who slammed a door to keep him out," charges state. The teen then threatened another person but went into a bathroom area without harming that person, police said.
Eventually, a school police officer cornered the teen in the bathroom and fired a stun gun. After the teen was shocked, charges state, he stabbed himself in his own neck with a knife and was arrested.
After being arrested, the teen told police he had planned the "violent rampage the day before and had prepared for it by bringing instruments of violence to school with him," charges state.
"He stated that he wore red because he expected there would be a lot of blood," charges state. "He said he picked sturdy steak-style knives because they were less likely to break. He clarified that it was his intent to kill people [describing going for the neck/jugular area when attacking] and that he wanted to feel what that was like prior to dying himself, and remarked that he was surprised he was able to try and kill more people than he expected to be able to."
The teen, who left behind a suicide note at his house, "also spoke freely about what he felt, thought and observed when he hit and stabbed others intending to kill them and how that compared to what he thought it would be like," charges state.
"The defendant made it very clear that he did not target anyone for any reason," charges state, "and merely went after who was available with the goal of creating as many victims as possible."
The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not identify juveniles charged with crimes unless they have been certified to stand trial in adult court.
School officials have said the teen is a straight-A student with no record of disciplinary action.
Twitter: @erinalberty