Man pleads guilty to shooting 4 students near Westinghouse Academy

PITTSBURGH — A man accused of shooting four students outside Westinghouse Academy pleaded guilty in court on Thursday.

James Pritchard admitted to causing the chaos two years ago on Valentine’s Day.

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He and a 14-year-old boy who was never identified fired guns into a crowd of students as school was letting out. Four students were shot and all of them survived.

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“He’s remorseful. At the time he was 16 years old, and made a horrible mistake. There’s really no excuse,” defense attorney Casey White said.

Sources tell Channel 11 that the shooting stemmed from a love triangle between teenagers.

Surveillance video from outside the school showed Pritchard walking with balloons and delivering them to a girl who live nearby. Minutes later he fired his gun.

“None of this is a win. It’s a school shooting. It’s tragic it’s scary it puts people on edge, as it should,” White said.

Police searched for Pritchard for several months before they took him into custody.

He will spend four to nine years in prison.

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