Shoshana Walter

Hillsdale High Bombing Suspect Testifies

Alexander Youshock, the San Mateo student charged with plotting an attack to kill three of his former teachers, testified in court yesterday that he "never had any second thoughts about it," according to the Bay City News Service.

The 18-year-old is charged with two counts of attempted murder for the Aug. 24, 2009 attack. He testified he planned the attack for months before going to Hillsdale High in San Mateo that morning with a chainsaw, 10 homemade bombs and a mini-samurai sword. A teacher tackled him after he set off two bombs, and no one was injured.

 

The defense rested its case yesterday with Youshock's testimony. 

According to Bay City News, Youshock said he first began hearing voices in the eighth grade, when he set a backpack on the floor at his dad's house and heard a voice say, "Ouch." Youshock also testified that he fantasized building his own city in Antarctica where everyone was under his control.

Prosecutors plan to begin their rebuttal tomorrow. If Youshock is found guilty, he faces a second trial to determine his sanity. Witnesses called by the defense have testified Youshock is schizophrenic, while prosecutors have described him as a sociopath. Youshock has pled not guilty by reason of insanity.

Shoshana Walter
Shoshana is the crime and punishment reporter for The Bay Citizen. Send/call tips to swalter@baycitizen.org or 415-821-8524. Before moving to the Mission, she wrote about runaway monkeys, murders and all sorts of mayhem as a ... View Profile
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