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Judge dismisses case against Baker teen accused of planning school shooting

BAKER COUNTY, Fla. — When a Baker County High School student was arrested in September on suspicion of planning a school shooting, anxiety quickly spread in the small town.

Investigators said the boy shared a six-page school shooting plan in chilling detail with a classmate.

The Baker County Sheriff's Office said some notes included specific dates and times a shooting would occur, the locations on campus in which the act(s) would be carried out and the order in which certain people would be attacked.

"It disrupted everything. I think the initial reaction that everyone had was a shock that this was happening in our small town," said Tracy Lamb, whose 15-year-old daughter attends the high school.

Lamb said she was pleased with the swift action taken by the school officials and Sheriff's Office.

Now, Lamb and other parents are questioning a judge's decision to drop the second-degree felony charges against the boy and release him back into the community.

"I feel like the Sheriff's Office and the school system did everything that they should've done. The system still failed us. In particular, this judge failed us. Not only did she fail our children in the school system, but she failed this child as well," Lamb said.

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Judge Gloria Walker threw out the case because she said prosecutors could not prove the threat had been transmitted as described in the law.

Now, a petition urges state lawmakers to remove the judge.

It's collected more than 1,700 signatures since Sunday.

Tony Harris, whose daughter is in the ninth grade, started the petition.

"Do I think this 15-year-old boy should be in jail for the rest of his life? No, but he needs help and throwing out the case he's never going to get it," Harris said.

Action News Jax reached out to Walker for comment but she can't talk about the case.

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