FARMINGTON — A 15-year-old Bountiful boy pleaded guilty Monday to stealing his parents' guns, taking them to Mueller Park Junior High School and firing a round into a classroom ceiling.

As part of a plea agreement, the teen pleaded guilty in 2nd District Juvenile Court to discharging a firearm, a third-degree felony, and theft of a single firearm, a second-degree felony. In exchange for his pleas, prosecutors dropped charges of theft and two counts of possession of a gun on school property.

Lindsay Jarvis, the boy's attorney, said she believes it is a just resolution.

"There's really no debating what took place that day. We're grateful the (Davis County) Attorney's Office finally realized keeping him in the juvenile system was the most appropriate thing for him," she said.

Jarvis said what the boy needs is counseling and treatment, not jail time in the adult system.

"He is not a violent kid by any means," she said. "He's a sad kid and his actions were desperate, and unfortunately this is where we ended up."

On Nov. 30, the boy, whom KSL has opted not to identify, stole two guns — a 12-gauge shotgun and a 9 mm handgun, as well as ammunition for both weapons — from his parents' safe and took them to Mueller Park Junior High, 955 E. 1800 South in Bountiful, the next day.

The boy went into a science classroom and fired a round into the ceiling without saying a word while 26 other students and a teacher looked on. The teacher and a student in the class, a friend of the boy, then urged him not to do anything else as the boy paused for a moment before pointing one of the guns at himself.

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Criminal charges were filed Thursday against a 15-year-old boy who police say took two guns to school and fired one of them in a classroom before he was stopped by his parents.

Fortunately, the boys' parents were tuned-in enough to their son's behaviors that they knew something was off in the days leading up to the incident, police say. When they noticed the guns were missing that morning, they immediately went to the school and were in the building when the shot was fired. The parents rushed into the classroom and took the guns away from their son before he could do anything else.

Jarvis does not believe the boy was intending to hurt anyone but himself.

"I truly believe 100 percent that (he) was hoping for a suicide by cop, more than likely," she said.

Standing next to his parents and Jarvis in the courtroom Monday, the shaggy haired, skinny teen, who turned 15 in August, quietly answered “yes” when the judge read each charge and asked if he did it.

Several Mueller Park students were also in the courtroom Monday and prepared to speak if sentencing had happened. Some were there to speak in support of the boy, according to Jarvis. Others who were still traumatized by the event were also expected to speak.

The boy will be sentenced Feb. 23. As part of the plea deal, the defense will agree to recommend that the boy spend some time in a secure juvenile facility — which could be several months to a year — before receiving additional treatment in other juvenile housing, such as a halfway house. Under juvenile law, he could be held in the juvenile court system until he's 21. However, Jarvis noted the boy has no prior criminal history, and if he has no problems while in juvenile detention, he could be released much earlier.

"Really, what needs to happen here is (the boy) needs to get some treatment and figure out what's going on," Jarvis said, "(He) was desperate for some help, for lack of a better word. He had actually reported to some individuals prior to this point that he was hurting and that he was struggling and I think this was just a desperate effort to get that attention that he was so desperately seeking."

Jarvis said the boy realizes now that what he did was wrong.

The boy's parents, who did not speak to reporters following the hearing, have been devastated by the events, according to Jarvis.

"They have second guessed everything they've done," she said.

But Jarvis called the parents a "phenomenal couple" who are "very much involved" in their son's life, and noted that if not for their awareness, the incident could have had a much more tragic outcome.

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