Utah teen in failed backpack bomb attack given probation

A teenager who authorities accused of trying to blow up a homemade backpack bomb at a southern Utah high school after watching Islamic State propaganda been sentenced to four years of probation.

The Spectrum newspaper in St. George reports the 17-year-old boy was sentenced in adult court Thursday.

The boy’s attorney, Edward Flint, said his client snapped after being bullied at school.

Judge G. Michael Westfall disagreed, saying the boy’s planning of the event was troubling. He says if the bomb would have detonated, it would have killed many people.

The teenager was arrested in March 2018 after the incident at Pine View High in St. George. He told police he wanted to cause fear in his community.

The Associated Press is not naming the defendant because he is a minor.