Features

EL CAJON — Spare ammunition was found in the home of an 18-year-old student accused of shooting five people at his high school last week, officials said. 

Police seized shotgun and handgun ammunition, Navy SEAL literature and hunter safety certificates in Jason Hoffman’s name at his home following the shooting, authorities said in court documents unsealed Monday. 

Police said Hoffman sought to kill a vice principal, who escaped harm during Thursday’s attack at Granite Hills High School near San Diego. 

But Hoffman, speaking through a shattered jaw Monday, told a judge he was innocent of attempted murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon. 

Hoffman, who was shot in the face by a police officer during the rampage, bowed his head, held a cloth to his face and mumbled his plea without looking at the judge. 

Public defender William Trainor said his client was “very emotionally upset about the events of the last few days.” 

Hoffman could face 44 years to life in prison if convicted. He will be held without bail pending a May 10 preliminary hearing. 

Earlier Monday, an arraignment was postponed for 15-year-old Andy Williams, who is accused of killing two classmates and wounding 13 people in a March 5 shooting spree at Santana High School, in nearby Santee. 

The slightly built boy cast his eyes downward for most of the brief court appearance. His parents, who are divorced, sat in the front row. His mother broke into tears upon seeing Williams. 

Williams did not enter a plea. 

Under a California law approved by voters last year, Williams automatically was sent to adult court for trial on two counts of murder, which could send him to prison for life. If Williams were to be convicted as a juvenile, he would face a minimum of 10 years in a youth facility. 

“We believe the adult criminal system has no constitutional jurisdiction over this juvenile matter,” said public defender Randy Mize, who plans to challenge the law. 

Outside, relatives of one of the victims, Bryan Zuckor, expressed their opposition  

to moving the trial to  

juvenile court. 

“The killer in this double murder, whether young or old, is not the victim,” said Bryan’s aunt, Carol Lynn Briens. 

Hoffman’s schoolmates, meanwhile, returned to Granite Hills High on Monday for the first day of classes since the shooting. Parents accompanied many students, walking them past patched-up bullet holes and new glass that replaced windows shattered by gun blasts. 

Superintendent Granger Ward said 93 percent of the 2,800 students, showed up. More than 150 counselors were on hand. 

Derek Haynes, a 17-year-old junior, rode up on a skateboard wearing a bright orange Hawaiian shirt, headphones and sunglasses. Despite his casual demeanor, there was concern. 

“There’s just a real uneasy feeling. I don’t feel safe at school anymore,” he said. 

For 16-year-old junior Michelle Schreiber, it was anything but a normal school day. 

“It kind of felt like there was something missing,” she said. “It felt like our spirit was gone. It felt like it just went away.”