KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 19-year-old charged in a shooting that injured a former Olathe East assistant principal and Olathe police officer in an administrative office at the school last year appeared Wednesday in Johnson County District Court.
Lawyers for Jaylon Elmore — a student at Olathe East at the time of the March 4, 2022, shooting — asked for and were granted a two-month continuance in the case.
He is scheduled to appear July 31 for a scheduling conference.
READ | Complete coverage of Olathe East shooting
Elmore has been charged with attempted capital murder for shooting Olathe East School Resource Officer Erik Clark with what prosecutors described as a “ghost gun.”
He also was charged in January 2023 with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, stemming from a prior armed robbery conviction, and two counts of criminal use of a weapon for bringing a firearm to school and refusing to surrender the weapon when confronted.
Elmore received four continuances before the amended charges were filed four months ago.
After the amended complaint was filed, Elmore also received a continuance in April. No trial date has been set.
Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Kalen Stoppel also was shot during the encounter.
A female administrator in the room with Stoppel as they questioned Elmore after another student reported that he’d brought a gun to school was not hurt during the shootout.
Elmore refused to allow administrators to search his bag, prompting Stoppel to text Clark and ask him to come to his office.
When Clark arrived, Elmore allegedly grabbed the gun from his bag and opened fire.
Clark returned fire, striking Elmore and Stoppel inadvertently, according to court documents.
Clark and Stoppel were treated and released from the hospital the day of the shooting. Elmore remained hospitalized for two months before he was transferred to jail.
Elmore remains jailed at the Johnson County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe decided that Clark’s actions were justified and that he wouldn’t be charged in July 2022.
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