BUFFALO, NY – Two suspects in two separate incidents of violence at McKinley High School in Buffalo have been sentenced for their crimes.
Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced that an 18-year-old male from Buffalo has pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and assault in the second degree before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case, a designated Youth Part judge.
The adolescent offender intentionally shot a school security officer who was running toward a crowd as he attempted to break up a fight outside of McKinley High School on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, at approximately 3:45 p.m. A 27-year-old security officer was transported by ambulance to ECMC where he was treated and released for a gunshot wound to his left leg after the adolescent offender intentionally fired multiple rounds from an illegal weapon.
During his sentencing on Friday, March 10, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., the adolescent offender, who was 17 years old at the time of the crime, will be eligible for a youthful offender adjudication. He will remain in the custody of the Erie County Youth Services Center until sentencing.
Another 18-year-old male from Buffalo was sentenced for his role in the violence that occurred outside McKinley High School last February. The adolescent offender today received an indeterminate sentence of between one and three years in prison. He was adjudicated as a juvenile offender despite opposition from the prosecution.
The adolescent offender, along with an unknown individual, assaulted a student outside McKinley High School on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, at approximately 3:45 p.m. Multiple times during the altercation, the 14-year-old male student was beaten and stabbed.
In the aftermath of the incident, the victim was transported by ambulance to Oishei Children’s Hospital, where he was hospitalized with serious injuries as a result of multiple stab wounds.
As the offender was 17 years of age when the crime occurred, he pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the first degree (both violent felonies of the class “B” category). In January 2023, the adolescent offender pleaded guilty to all the charges outlined in the indictment.