WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — An attorney for the 15-year-old charged in the Mount Tabor High School shooting said the teenager feared for his life after he was shot nine times over the summer.
Evans appeared in court Thursday as his attorney asked for a $4,000 to $35,000 bond. The judge ruled to offer Evans no bond.
During the hearing, his attorney said that the shooting was not a “school shooting,” but a personal dispute between two people that happened to unfold at a school.
Evans was shot nine times in a dispute over the summer. His attorney said he skipped school the day before the Sept. 1 shooting out of a continued fear for his safety.
The defense said the victim, William Miller Jr., allegedly threatened Evans’s life the morning of the shooting and that he would “finish the job,” referring to the shooting over the summer. The defense said the victim had gang ties.
District Attorney Jim O’Neill, calling for the judge to rule no bond, said video evidence directly contradicts the defense’s explanation. Video reportedly shows Evans walking down the hallway, pulling a gun from his backpack and firing at Williams. Evans then ran from the school and allegedly offered another student money for a ride off-campus. The DA said Evans had the know-how to get rid of clothes and evidence of a shooting.
When the prosecution pointed out that Evans refused to help identify his shooters over the summer, the defense responded, “They just tried to kill him.”
Evans is accused of shooting and killing Miller on Sept. 1 at Mount Tabor High School. Authorities were called to the school shortly after noon on a report of a shooting. Evans was found inside the school with a gunshot wound. The student was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries. No other students were shot. Miller was arrested that day.
