PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A teenager recalled Friday how she helped save a girl who was severely wounded during a Michigan school shooting in 2021, telling a judge that she moved her to an empty classroom, applied pressure to stop the bleeding and started to pray.
"I asked her if she knew who God was. She said, 'Not really,'" the 17-year-old recalled. "I think I'm supposed to be here right now. Because there's no other reason that I'm OK, that I'm in this hallway, completely untouched."
She testified at a hearing to determine whether the shooter, 17, will get a life prison sentence, or a shorter term with an opportunity for parole, for killing four students and wounding seven other people at Oxford High School.
She said she recognized him as soon as he exited a bathroom and brandished a gun.
"It fired," she recalled. "Everything kind of slowed down for me. It was all slow motion. I had covered my head. I dropped down. ... It sounded like a balloon popping or a locker slamming. It was very loud.
"I just prayed and covered my head," she said. "I didn't know if those were my last moments."
She wasn't shot but others were. She said she took a girl into a classroom, installed a portable lock on the door and applied pressure to the girl's wounds. The victim survived.
"I just kept reassuring her she was going to be OK. She was crying," the teen testified. "I don't fully remember what she was saying. I was trying to stay calm."
Weeks after the shooting, she was publicly honored by the sheriff for her heroic actions.
The shooter, who was 15 at the time, pleaded guilty to murder, terrorism and other crimes. But a life sentence for minors isn't automatic after a series of decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and Michigan's top court.
Defense attorneys are arguing that he can be rehabilitated in prison. They said the shooting followed years of a turbulent family life, grossly negligent parents and untreated mental illness.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are separately charged with involuntary manslaughter. They're accused of buying a gun for their son and ignoring his mental health needs.
Earlier Friday, Judge Kwame Rowe denied a request by the shooter's lawyers to stop students from testifying. They argued that it's irrelevant when applying key factors set by the U.S. Supreme Court when determining a sentence for a minor.
"I'm able to discern what's relevant to the... factors and what's not relevant," the judge said.
If the shooter doesn't get a life sentence, he would be given a minimum prison sentence somewhere from 25 years to 40 years. He would then be eligible for parole, though the parole board has much discretion to keep a prisoner in custody.
There were opportunities to possibly prevent the shooting earlier that day. The boy and his parents met with school staff after a teacher was troubled by drawings that included a gun pointing at the words: "The thoughts won't stop. Help me."
The teen was allowed to stay in school, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Detroit, though his backpack was not checked for weapons.
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