(Reuters) - A South Carolina prosecutor on Thursday sought to charge a 14-year-old boy as an adult on two charges of murder and three charges of attempted murder following a schoolyard shooting last month that convulsed the community of Townville.
Officials have accused the boy of shooting his father dead and then driving to Townville Elementary School and opening fire on the playground before he was tackled by a volunteer fire fighter and taken into custody by police.
A teacher and three students were shot in the Sept. 28 rampage. One of the students, a 6-year-old boy, died three days later.
Solicitor Chrissy Adams of South Carolina's 10th Judicial Circuit announced that her office had filed a motion to try Jesse Dewitt Osborne as an adult.
Adams said in a statement that first the Office of Juvenile Justice would conduct an evaluation of the boy and a hearing would be set in Family Court.
A defense lawyer for Osborne did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Defense attorney Frank Eppes previously released a statement from the Osborne family expressing mourning and praising first responders and the "courageous teacher who was wounded while rescuing the children."
It was the latest in a series of shootings at U.S. schools that have fueled debate over the extent of gun regulations in the United States.
The boy's father, Jeffrey Osborne, 47, was killed while watching television at their home about 2 miles (3 km) from the school.
Besides the murder and attempted murder charges, Osborne also faces five charges of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Toni Reinhold)