Teen, 14, shouldn't be tried as adult, lawyer, others say
Tension was building at Oxnard's E.O. Green School weeks before a fatal shooting on campus.
Students say eighth-grader Larry King, 15, was teased for being gay and wearing makeup and high-heeled boots to school. Some said King teased other kids as well, at times chasing after boys on campus.
On Feb. 12, King was shot during an English class minutes after school started, and classmate Brandon McInerney, 14, was arrested a few blocks away. King later died in an Oxnard hospital, and McInerney was charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime.
It's a tragedy, McInerney's defense attorney said in an interview, but one he believes might have been avoided if someone had stepped in to help beforehand. Senior Deputy Public Defender William Quest said E.O. Green's administration knew about tension on the middle school campus and allowed the situation to fester — allegations the school district says are untrue.
Nothing could justify what happened, but, Quest said, "I think there were other causes that contributed to this and Brandon should not face the most severe punishment."
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