On March 5, 2001, 15-year-old Andy Williams opened fire from a boy’s restroom at Santana High School in Santee, California. Two students were killed and thirteen were injured. Williams pleaded guilty and was sentenced as adult to 50 years to life in prison. His father, Jeff Williams, spoke to Crimejunkies for an update on his son.

HOW IS YOUR SON DOING?

Andy is doing well. He is still taking college courses via correspondence and works, generally Tuesday through Saturday in the D yard canteen.

WAS YOUR SON'S BEHAVIOR ANY DIFFERENT IN THE WEEKS BEFORE THE SHOOTINGS?

His grades deteriorated, he was skipping school and was being placed in lock out for tardiness.

DID HE MAKE ANY PRIOR THREATS?

Not to my knowledge.

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO LEARNING HE WOULD BE SENTENCED AS AN ADULT AND WOULD RECEIVE 50 YEARS TO LIFE?

I knew he was going to be tried as an adult from about the second day after the shooting. California has Proposition 21, in which kids as young as 14 can be tried as adults. The District Attorney directly files in Adult Court, without the case being reviewed by a Juvenile Judge. If Andy went to trial, because of mandatory sentencing, if found guilty on all counts, Andy could have received up to 450 years in prison. By not going to trial and sparing the community all the heartache of reliving that terrible day, Andy plead guilty and received 50 years to life on four counts.

DO YOU REGRET ANDY'S GUILTY PLEA?

At the time, I thought it best for all involved.

WHAT IS THE LATEST ON HIS CASE?

Andy has an attorney working on a Habeus Corpus for the Federal Court, since all appeals to the California Supreme Court have been exhausted.

DOES ANDY EVER DISCUSS THE SHOOTINGS?

Only on occasion on the anniversary of the shootings.

DOES ANDY EVER DISCUSS THE TRAGIC SCHOOL SHOOTINGS THAT CONTINUE TO OCCUR ACROSS THE COUNTRY?

Not with me.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR TEACHERS OR PARENTS ON HOW TO PREVENT FUTURE SHOOTINGS?

For parents, pay close attention to your child's behavior at school, the kids they are associating with and their attitude at home. For teachers, if you know a child's school work is deteriorating, by all means try and find out why, whether by sending the child to the school counselor or by contacting directly the parents or guardians.