Attorneys argue to toss school shooting suspect’s statements

BENTON, Ky. (AP) — Attorneys for a Kentucky teenager charged with fatally shooting two classmates and wounding 14 others at a high school have asked a judge to suppress his statements to investigators.

News outlets report 13 witnesses including several police officers and the mother of the suspect testified during Monday’s hearing in Marshall Circuit Court.

The now 17-year-old Gabriel Parker is accused of fatally shooting Preston Cope and Bailey Holt at Marshall County High School in January 2018. He’s charged as an adult.

Defense lawyers say investigators didn’t obtain a proper waiver of Parker’s Miranda rights, didn’t correctly contact his mother and didn’t properly comply with the mother’s request for an attorney.

Prosecutor Dennis Foust said after the hearing that he believes testimony shows police followed all procedures correctly.

The judge said he expects to issue a ruling next month.