OCALA, Fla. – A man who donned a tactical vest and hid a sawed-off shotgun in a guitar case so he could smuggle it on campus has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting a student at Forest High School in Ocala.
Marion County deputies said Sky Bouche, who was 19 at the time, went to his former high school on April 20, 2018 and fired through a door, shooting a 17-year-old student in his ankle.
[TRENDING: What the shell? Car passenger hit in head by turtle | DeSantis sued over ‘anti-riot’ law | How long do COVID vaccines work?]
Bouche then dropped the gun and immediately surrendered.
He told deputies he felt he had been ignored and that he wanted to go to jail. He said he had researched church shootings and felt they got no attention in the media and that school shootings receive more publicity, the report said.
He told deputies his internet searches on both kinds of shootings motivated his decision to open fire at Forest High School, records show.
Bouche, now 22, claimed he had no intention of killing anyone.
He initially entered a plea of not guilty but on Thursday he pleaded no contest to charges of terrorism, aggravated assault with a firearm, culpable negligence, carrying a concealed firearm, possession of a firearm on school property, possession of a short-barreled shotgun, interference in a school function and armed trespassing on school property.
Court records show jury selection for his trial would have begun on Monday.
Bouche was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison and an additional 30 years of probation after he is released. He must serve at least 25 years of that sentence and if he gets out at that time, he’ll be 47 years old.