NEWS SOURCE

MADISON - A judge will determine at a hearing Monday whether a Discovery Middle School student accused in the shooting death of a classmate will be charged as an adult, officials said Saturday.

Madison Superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler also said security will be high at all Madison schools when students return to school Monday.

"Concern for the well being of our children is the top priority for parents, the school system, and the city," Fowler said at a Saturday news conference. "Increased police presence will exist at the schools beginning Monday, and other local school systems and support organizations are lending assistance to provide extra counseling resources at all schools on Monday."

Madison Police Chief Larry Muncey said the suspect's home was searched Friday and a number of items were confiscated. A small caliber pistol was recovered at the school Friday.

Discovery Middle School ninth-grader Todd Brown, 14, was gunned down Friday between classes and died at Huntsville Hospital Friday night. The suspect, also a ninth grader, was arrested and taken to the Neaves Davis Center for Children in Huntsville where he will remain until the hearing, Muncey said.

The Times has confirmed the identity of the suspect, but his name won't be released by authorities unless he is certified to be tried as an adult. The hearing Monday is set for 1:30 p.m.

Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard said if the alleged shooter, reportedly 14 years old, is charged as an adult  he would face the same penalties as any adult charged with murder.

Assistant District Attorney Tim Gann, formerly in charge of juvenile court prosecution, said he expects the process to go "very fast." He said juveniles committing this type of "serious crime" are usually certified as an adult.

The last juvenile to be tried as an adult in Huntsville was Michael Steger, who was convicted last fall for the murder of 16-year-old Jamie Collier. Steger, now 17, was 14 when he committed the crime.

Madison city and school officials spent all day Saturday in meetings trying to come to grips with the shooting that has rocked the city. A community meeting is scheduled for today from 2 to 3 p.m. at Bob Jones High School auditorium. The meeting will also be streamed live on the school's Web site,www.madisoncityk12.al.us.

The city plans to establish a community support line Monday staffed by volunteers trained in grief counseling. The number and hours will be posted sometime today. An anonymous school safety tip line is open at 464-6575.

Madison Mayor Paul Finley, who has children at Liberty Middle School, said he was drained by the ordeal.

"When we contacted the (Brown) family and offered our support, they were overwhelmed," Finley said. "As a parent you are just helpless to know what to do."

Despite the shooting, Finley said he believes that other than in his home, his children are safer in the Madison schools than anywhere.

Muncey described the Brown family as being "devastated."

He assured the public that Madison police will be doing everything possible to make sure the schools are safe, but encouraged parents to do their part, too.

"We all need to open better lines of communication with our children and our students," he said. "As parents, we need to be involved on a daily basis and know where our children are, what they are doing, who they are talking to, what Web sites they are visiting, and create an environment of trust where they feel comfortable sharing information with us."

Not only was the crime tough for him professionally just seven months after becoming Madison's police chief, but it hit home personally as well, Muncey said.

"I was horrified," said Muncey, who was in Birmingham when his son, Jake, a student at Discovery, sent him a text message at 1:46 p.m. Friday, about a minute after the shooting, saying "There's been a shooting ... I'm OK."

"It's the most scared I've been in my life," Muncey.

Madison Fire Chief Ralph Cobb said he too could empathize with parents' fears as they rushed to the school, creating a massive traffic jam on Hughes Road Friday afternoon. His son is a former Discovery student.

"My son was texting me from Bob Jones and my mother 200 miles away was on the phone calling," said Cobb. "This is a system we've been building for 10 years and we are a prepared city. We've prepared for everything except a tsunami or volcanic eruption."

Cobb credited Bonnie Davis, Madison City Schools' nursing supervisor, for having everyone prepared for the unexpected.

"Bonnie planned it and put it into the system," he said. "Everyone knew exactly what to do and where to go. It didn't matter that we could get there in two minutes if we didn't know where to go because Discovery is a big school."

A fire station is directly across the street from Discovery and paramedics arrived just a couple of minutes after the shooting which occurred in an area where three hallways meet, said Muncey.

Madison School Superintendent Dee Fowler called Saturday "very emotional" for the staff and administrators, who began meeting about how to respond to Friday's shooting at 9 a.m. and finished late into the evening. The meetings included board members, city officials, counselors and local clergy to determine a strategy to help the children as they return to school Monday.

Jim Stewart, who is principal at Lincoln County High School in nearby Fayetteville, Tenn., where a fatal shooting happened in 1998, also offered advice on how to deal with the situation in the days ahead.

AL.com