Ga. School Shooter Gets 40 Years

C O N Y E R S, Ga., Nov. 10 -- A teenager who shot and wounded sixhigh school classmates last year hasbeen sentenced to 40 years in prison and 65 years of probation.

T.J. Solomon, 17, who pleaded guilty but mentally ill a dayearlier, held his head in his hands through much of Thursday’shearing. He stood up straight and had no visible reaction to thesentence.

“I apologize to the court and everyone who was hurt. I’m sorryfor what I did,” Solomon said at the beginning of the hearing. “Idon’t understand why I did it. I see myself as a little confusedand I’d like to get help.”

For Community Safety

Superior Court Judge Sidney Nation said he felt sorry forSolomon, but said he would “err on the side of safety for thecommunity.” Solomon opened fire with a sawed-off rifle at Heritage HighSchool in suburban Atlanta on May 20, 1999, one month after theColumbine High School massacre in Colorado, in which 15 people werekilled.

No one was killed or critically injured in the Heritage HighSchool shooting, and witnesses said Solomon, then 15, aimed belowthe waist.

Witnesses said he surrendered to an assistant principal with atearful: “Oh, my God, I’m so scared!”

Appeal for Mental TreatmentSolomon’s attorney, Ed Garland, had recommended 10 years inprison and indicated he may appeal.

“I’m very sad, I’m very disappointed T.J. will not be providedtreatment for his mental illness,” Garland said.

Victims who were in the courtroom hugged after the sentence wasannounced.

Michael Cheek, whose son Jason was shot twice, described thesentencing as “bittersweet.”

“I feel sorry for T.J. and his family but he did the crime andhe should be punished for it,” Cheek said. Jason Cheek, now afreshman at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Ky., was notin court.