Preliminary hearing rescheduled for Tyrone Smith, accused of pointing pellet gun at police

WAUKESHA -- Tyrone Smith was in court on Tuesday, Dec. 17 for what was anticipated to be a preliminary hearing on charges associated with an incident at Waukesha South High School earlier this month. But the hearing was rescheduled for Feb. 5, 2020.

Smith faces the following criminal counts:

Prosecutors say Smith, 18, pointed a gun at a classmate's head after the student asked Smith about his birthday. Police say it was not clear the weapon was a BB gun, causing the school to go into lockdown -- and many students to fear for their lives.

Tyrone Smith

A police sergeant ultimately shot Smith after the sergeant said Smith removed his hands too quickly -- and he feared for his life. Officials say a pellet gun was recovered -- and they say a second pellet gun was found in Smith's backpack.

Guns recovered after Waukesha South HS incident

When interviewed by investigators, the criminal complaint says Smith denied bringing guns to school before that day and "stated that he was tired of being picked on by other students." Smith told police "he wanted to use the gun to scare" those who had picked on him or might pick on him in the future. Smith said, "he thought other kids would hear about this and be scared."

Smith told police "he was sorry, and he knew it was wrong to bring a gun to school and he would not do it again," the complaint says.

For now, Smith is ordered to have no contact with anyone at Waukesha South High School -- and he must comply with GPS monitoring and possess no weapons of any kind.