Judge's Decision If Alleged Fort Gibson Shooter is Tried as Adult

It will be up to a judge to determine if Seth Trickey will be charged as an adult in the Fort Gibson Middle School shootings. Trickey is alleged to have fired a 9mm pistol at classmates at the school

Friday, December 10th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

It will be up to a judge to determine if Seth Trickey will be charged as an adult in the Fort Gibson Middle School shootings. Trickey is alleged to have fired a 9mm pistol at classmates at the school early Monday morning wounding five children. The first step is a study that includes psychological evaluation and an investigation into Trickeyâ€™s home environment.

The report then will be given to the judge who will then make his decision. The Muskogee County District Attorney says this process could take from 46 to 60 days. He says he hopes his decision will make a statement to the community and the nation that school violence will not be tolerated. "Nobody died in this incident, but we were very close to having an incident like Columbine,â€said district attorney David Luton. â€œI think we need to take this very seriously. Just because the grace of God kept people from dying, doesn't mean we need to take this less seriously."

If Trickey is charged as an adult, court proceedings will be open to the public. If he is tried as a juvenile, very little information will be available. If Trickey is charged and convicted as a juvenile for the crime, he would be released on his 19th birthday.