This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Orem • A resolution may be in the works for a Utah teen charged in juvenile court with attacking five of his classmates with knives in an Orem high school in November.

The 16-year-old boy is charged in 4th District Juvenile Court with five counts of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, along with other misdemeanor charges, connected to the locker-room attack that left five students with serious injuries.

In court Wednesday, several victims of the attack and their families filled the Orem courtroom. The accused youth looked slightly disheveled, his shaggy brown hair and beard unkempt, and he sat quietly next to his attorney through the hearing.

Law enforcement officials allege that on Nov. 15, the boy brought five knives and a wooden staff with him to Mountain View High School. The boy allegedly attacked the first student with the wooden staff, which broke when he struck his classmate. He then stabbed four other students before stabbing himself, police have said.

A detective wrote in a search warrant affidavit that there appeared to be no motive for the stabbing, but noted the boy reported he had been suicidal from a young age.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Sam Pead indicated Wednesday the case may resolve at the boy's next hearing, scheduled for April 4. If the parties can't agree, however, a competency evaluation for the boy will held on that date instead. If he is found competent, the state will move forward with preliminary and certification hearings — an attempt to push the case into adult court. The juvenile would face the same possible penalties that an adult would if his case were moved to district court.

Pead would not say whether the proposed resolution would keep the youth in the juvenile court system, saying that negotiations at this point are confidential.

"I think both sides have been working really hard," Pead said, "in trying to find a resolution that appropriately balances the needs for justice in this case, along with recognizing the [juvenile]'s status as a minor."

The Salt Lake Tribune does not generally identify juveniles charged with crimes unless they have been certified to stand trial in adult court.

jmiller@sltrib.com

Twitter: @jm_miller