Young suspect in Ohio school shooting denies charges

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — A 14-year-old boy accused of shooting students in a school cafeteria denied charges including attempted murder on Tuesday, while the sheriff in the southwest Ohio county urged that he be prosecuted as an adult and that all schools step up security.

The school district said classes will resume Wednesday, with extra staff on buses, greeting students outside, and visible throughout the schools, particularly in the cafeteria where the shooting took place Monday.

Hancock is charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic threats.

Perry entered a denial of the charges, the juvenile court equivalent of a not guilty plea, and a magistrate ordered that the suspect remain in juvenile detention pending a hearing April 5.

Madison Local Schools Superintendent Curtis Philpot said crisis counselors were available and that schools were open Tuesday evening for families to walk through and ask questions so students will feel "safe and comfortable" back in class.

A sheriff's deputy stationed in the school had just been in the cafeteria, said Jones, who said the shooting underscores the need for every school to have such a police presence and to allow specially trained staff members to have access to firearms, too.