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PROVO — A judge on Wednesday ordered a 16-year-old Orem boy charged with stabbing five of his Mountain View High School classmates to remain behind bars without bail.
The teen was charged Tuesday in 4th District Juvenile Court with fives counts of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, among other charges.
On Wednesday, a judge ordered that the teen remain in a juvenile detention facility until his next hearing scheduled for Tuesday. KSL has opted not to name the boy at this time.
The boy is accused of planning an attack on his classmates on Nov. 15 and going to the boys locker room at Mountain View High School in the morning armed with a "bo staff, knives and other tools to inflict physical violence against others," according to charging documents.
On Tuesday, the Utah County Attorney's Office released its charging documents to the media but decided on its own to redact some of the details, claiming information contained in it "would create a danger of depriving a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial hearing."
But in the charges filed in court, which are considered public records under Utah law, the boy told investigators he had planned the violent attack the day before.
"He stated that he wore red because he expected there would be a lot of blood. 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," the charging documents state.
The boy also left a suicide note at his house, according to prosecutors. The student "spoke freely" about the incident with authorities. He remarked that he was "surprised" he was able to attack so many people, described "the ease of forcing the knife in" and "how it looked to see someone go down dying or going unconscious," according to the charges.
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Charges: Teen came to school prepared to 'murder people'
Prosecutors say a 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing five people at Mountain View High School came to school that morning prepared to "murder people."After the attack, the boy's parents released a statement apologizing for their son's actions, saying they are at a loss to explain why it happened. They also said the attack was not racially or ethnically motivated.
The stabbings were also not the result of the boy retaliating for being bullied, according to Orem Police Lt. Craig Martinez. He said the boy did not know his victims, although the alleged attacker knew at least one boy's name. He said it appeared they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"The defendant made it very clear that he did not target anyone for any reason, and merely went after who was available with the goal of creating as many victims as possible," the charging documents state.
In addition to the five counts of attempted murder, the 16-year-old is also charged with two class A misdemeanors: failing to stop at the command of a law enforcer and possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to assault.
