A 15-year-old boy who told a friend he would “shoot up” a school has admitted firing gunshots at a classroom, endangering the lives of staff and students.

December 4, 2023

A teenager who fired gunshots at a classroom, sparking fears of a US-style school shooting, has pleaded guilty to endangering the lives of staff and students at a Perth college

The 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took two rifles to the Atlantis Beach Baptist College in Two Rocks, about 70km north of Perth, in May after telling a friend he was going “shoot up the school”.

The teen fired three rounds from a parked car and two bullets hit buildings, one of them a demountable classroom, as a teacher and students scrambled for cover and the school went into lockdown before heavily armed police took him into custody.

The boy pleaded guilty in the Children’s Court on Monday to eight charges, including two counts of unlawfully acting with intent to harm.

He also admitted three counts of possessing a firearm without a licence, discharging a firearm to cause danger or fear, possessing a prohibited weapon and driving without a licence.

Prosecutors dropped one count each unlawfully acting with intent to harm and possessing a prohibited weapon.

The incident shocked the Perth community, with former premier Mark McGowan saying at the time that it was “the sort of thing that you see on television in the United States” and “you’d never think this would happen in Australia”.

Atlantis Beach Baptist College is a co-educational school for boys and girls from kindergarten to year 10.

The teen is scheduled to return to the same court on February 23 for sentencing.