The 16-year-old student charged in a stabbing spree at a Pittsburgh-area high school has met with mental health experts, as his parents struggle to comprehend what triggered the violence, his lawyer said Saturday.
Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said his client, Alex Hribal, doesn't have a history of mental illness, nor has he talked about being bullied at school. But the lawyer said something could have happened that Hribal didn't tell anyone about.
“Something went wrong, somewhere,” Thomassey said.
He added that Hribal's demeanor and the way that he answered questions made Thomassey believe that the teen suspect hadn't spoken about "some things" that happened at school.
“I want to find out if there’s a mental health issue here that may have caused the attack,” Thomassey said.
Moving through hallways and classrooms, armed with two kitchen knives, Hribal allegedly stabbed 21 classmates and a security guard at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville on Wednesday.
Thomassey said he wants to move the charges against Hribal to juvenile court, where he could be rehabilitated. Prosecutors have charged him as an adult.
The criminal charges against him include attempted homicide, aggravated assault and carrying a prohibited weapon.
Thomassey said Hribal's parents feel “horrible” about the attack and are concerned about those injured.
“They never saw this coming. Never,” Thomassey said, adding: “They want people to know that this is not an evil young man, this is not a disturbed young man, this is just a…normal kid where something went wrong that they didn’t know of.”