Arkansas school shooter turns 21, freed

JONESBORO, Ark., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The middle school student convicted of killing four students and a teacher in Arkansas in 1998 will be released from custody Thursday.

KATV-TV in Little Rock, Ark., reports Mitchell Johnson, now 21, will leave a federal detention center in Memphis, Tenn., after seven years behind bars.

Johnson was 13 when he and Drew Golden, then 11, opened fire at Arkansas Westside School in Jonesboro, Ark.

Golden also will be released when he turns 21.

Jonesboro officials say they are prepared for Golden's release into an apprehensive community.

Johnson's mother, Gretchen Woodward, said her son will not return to Jonesboro.