Teen accused in Dixon High School shooting appears in court

Milby appeared in video court Wednesday, May 23, one week after the shooting.

Police said Milby, a graduating senior, brought a 9mm semi-automatic rifle to the school Wednesday, May 16, and fired at a school resource officer, Mark Dallas. Officer Dallas returned fire, leaving Milby with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said Milby was taken into custody and was charged with aggravated discharge of a weapon toward a peace officer, aggravated discharge of a weapon at a school employee and aggravated discharge of a weapon at a school. Milby pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday, May 18.

Milby's attorney, Thomas Murray, said the teen is "struggling."

"He's never been incarcerated before," said Murray, adding that the biggest problem is the 15 minutes of visitation time he gets per week.

"His family would like to see him more than that," Murray said.

On the parents' end, Murray said they're concerned for their son's future.

"It's a very very difficult time for them," Murray said. "(Milby's parents) are very worried about Matt, very confused about why this happened. They're just extremely worried about what's going to happen. These are some very serious charges."

According to WGN, Illinois State Police confirmed Milby's mother, Julie, owned the rifle that her son allegedly brought to school; she purchased it in 2012.

Murray said to his knowledge, Julie Milby had a FOID card and was eligible to purchase the firearm. He told WGN that he believes she bought the gun in Illinois.

Entities involved in the incident, like the school, law enforcement, and the hospital, have been ordered by the court to not share any information about the case.

A preliminary hearing was set for Thursday, June 7 at 9 a.m.