Alleged Springfield teen shooter not being charged as adult

A Clark County 15-year-old accused of shooting another teen in the chest last month will remain in juvenile court.

Clark County prosecutor Dan Driscoll said the teen’s case will continue to be heard in the lower court instead of charging the suspect as an adult.

“At this point, the minor will be kept in juvenile court,” Driscoll said in an email to the Springfield News-Sun.

» PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 15-year-old charged in shooting near Springfield McDonald's

Driscoll declined further comment. The Springfield News-Sun is not naming the suspect because he is younger than 18 and is not being charged as an adult.

The suspect is facing attempted murder and felonious assault charges in Clark County Juvenile Court.

He is accused of shooting 16-year-old Kellen Etherington at the McDonald’s on East Main Street in Springfield on April 17.

The Springfield Police Division responded to the McDonald’s around 5 p.m. after Etherington ran into the restaurant for help after being shot.

A woman ordering in the drive-thru heard the shooting and ran to help the boy.

Etherington was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center and then taken by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital.

After the shooting, the suspect ran away. Police found him and a gun at an apartment in the 300 block of Burnett Road.

Linda Neville said the bullet hit her grandson’s lung and and doctors said it’s too dangerous to remove it — so he will live with it and any resulting complications for the rest of his life.

Neville said Etherington knows the 15-year-old boy who allegedly shot him — at one point in their lives, the two had been friends.

» EXTRA: 16-year-old hurt in Springfield shooting lost brother to gun violence

The is the second time in just over a year the family has experienced a shooting.

Etherington’s brother, 19-year-old Cobey Etherington, was shot and killed in the passenger seat of a car on West Mulberry Street on Feb. 19, 2018.

Cobey Etherington’s death was Springfield’s first homicide of 2018. His murder is still unsolved.

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