St. Cloud, Minn. ? A 15-year-old boy charged with murder Friday in the death of one of two students shot at a Minnesota high school was described by his attorney as “overwhelmed” by the events.

John Jason McLaughlin, a freshman, was charged as a juvenile in the shootings at Rocori High School in Cold Spring.

“It’s just difficult for him to understand how it happened,” his lawyer, Dan Eller, said after a court hearing.

Senior Aaron Rollins died in Wednesday’s attack. Freshman Seth Bartell, 14, remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday.

Because McLaughlin was charged as a juvenile, the hearing was closed, but Eller confirmed second-degree murder is among the charges he faces. He said the state Attorney General’s Office filed papers to have him charged as an adult.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office said she could not discuss the case because McLaughlin was in the juvenile court system.

McLaughlin is the son of David McLaughlin, a Stearns County sheriff’s deputy and leader of the Central Minnesota Drug Task Force. In a statement issued through Eller, the McLaughlins offered “our deepest sympathy to everyone involved in this terrible tragedy.”

Bartell, the injured student, requires a ventilator to breathe. A bullet remains lodged in the back of his brain, and doctors declined to comment on his chance for recovery.

Authorities say McLaughlin initially shot the two boys in a hallway outside the weight room with a .22-caliber pistol, one from a range of about 10 feet and the other from about 50 feet. Authorities refused to identify a motive.

Adults line the sidewalk leading into Rocori High School as they applaud arriving students. Friday was students' first full day back at the Cold Spring, Minn., school after Wednesday's shootings that killed one student and left another injured.