BLOOMINGTON – A 15-year-old central Illinois boy who pulled a gun in class and fired shots into the ceiling was sentenced to juvenile prison after he apologized to the students, parents and faculty he terrified that day.

A Normal Community High School teacher tackled and subdued the teen after he fired the shots in a packed classroom Sept. 7. The school’s more than 1,800 students were evacuated to a nearby church. No one was injured.

The boy, whose name is sealed in court records, pleaded guilty but mentally ill in December to weapons charges and unlawful restraint. Eight other counts were dismissed.