MURRYSVILLE, Pa. — The legal fate of the 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing or slashing 21 fellow students and a security guard at his high school will probably pivot more on his mental state than his age, attorneys say.
The sheer number of victims won’t preclude him from being treated as a juvenile, something that would assure his freedom by age 21, lawyers say.
Alex Hribal’s attorney is seeking a psychiatric evaluation and will seek to have his client transferred to juvenile court.
“Now, once it’s determined what his mental health issues are, if any, that’ll go a long way in determining, I would assume, what a judge would do here,” said Hribal’s attorney, Patrick Thomassey.
Authorities say Hribal took the knives to the 1,200-student Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, east of Pittsburgh, on Wednesday and randomly attacked other students in a crowded hallway just before the start of classes.
