SANTA FE — The provincial court has dismissed the case against Gino C., the 15‐year‐old who on March 30 fired indiscriminately with his grandfather’s shotgun inside School No. 40 in the town of San Cristóbal and caused the death of 13‐year‐old Ian Cabrera, a classmate, and injuries to six other students.
The decision is based on the fact that at the time of the fatal shooting the age of criminal responsibility was 16; the new juvenile criminal regime that set the limit at 14 began to apply on September 5. Consequently, he was declared not criminally responsible.
Meanwhile, the boy remains housed in a special assistance center for minors in the city of Santa Fe and a possible “progressive and controlled release” is being evaluated, although that will depend on specific reports from the specialists treating him.
Ian, the boy killed at School No. 40 “Mariano Moreno” in San Cristóbal, Santa FeInstagram
The finding of non‐criminal responsibility closes the criminal case against the minor, but it does not end the legal debate: Ian Cabrera’s family announced they will file civil suits against Gino C.’s parents and grandfather, the school, and the provincial government.
On March 30, at 7:10 a.m., Gino C. entered Mariano Moreno School —where he was in the third year of secondary school— assembled the 12/70 shotgun he had brought in a case (which he had previously taken from his grandfather’s wardrobe), and, upon leaving the restroom area, fired at students arriving for first period.
The first shot took the life of 13‐year‐old Ian Cabrera. As he tried to reload —and amid the panic of students and teachers fleeing— a school attendant threw himself on the shooter and subdued him.
Moment when the adolescent enters the school in San Cristóbal and begins the shooting (Source: Video capture)
The subsequent investigation found that Gino C. had planned the attack. For some time he had been active in the darker corners of the True Crime Community, a global network of young people who glorify mass shootings and school massacres, and influenced by “incel” culture —“involuntary celibates”: young heterosexual men who harbor misogyny and resentment toward men in happy romantic relationships.
Criminal judge José Boaglio ordered the dismissal of charges following a defense motion by Mariana Oroño and Federico Kiener, who requested that he be removed from the criminal process because, given his age at the time of the act, he could not receive a criminal sentence.
The deadly shooting took place at School No. 40 in the town of San Cristóbal, Santa FeMarcelo Manera
The judge granted the motion and ordered the dismissal, clarifying that “the ruling does not imply that the young person’s participation in the attack has been denied, but that he cannot be criminally convicted for the act due to his age and the legal regime applicable when it occurred.”
However, although the criminal process was closed, the court ordered that protective, monitoring, and control measures remain in force under the responsibility of child welfare agencies and the Family Court.
In statements to LA NACION, lawyer Oroño was emphatic in saying that, despite the recent judicial ruling, “in practice nothing has changed.”
This means Gino remains under supervised release and is reportedly completing what is called an “adaptation period,” housed with two other adolescents and periodically evaluated by psychiatrists, in addition to receiving ongoing psychological follow‐up.
School No. 40 in San Cristóbal. A 15‐year‐old began a shooting. He killed a 13‐year‐old and two other students were injured. Students, parents and neighbors gathered in the nearby square after the incident. Santa Fe.Marcelo Manera
Actions by the plaintiff
The declaration of non‐criminal responsibility prompted a swift response from the family of Ian Cabrera, the victim who died in the shooting seven months ago. Their legal representative, Luis Hilbert, announced he will file civil claims against the attacker’s parents, Gino C., his grandfather, the school, and the provincial government.
“The attacker entered [the school] with a shotgun and began firing; this is an extremely serious incident and must be treated with the utmost responsibility. The school is responsible, because if you send a child to school they should return the child in perfect condition. Something failed there,” Hilbert told LA NACION.
Ian, the boy killed at School No. 40 “Mariano Moreno” in San Cristóbal, Santa FeInstagram
Detailing the claims to be filed, he said they will be “against Gino’s mother, against his father and against his grandfather, because the grandfather was the keeper of the shotgun.” He added: “If I own a gun, I must keep it secured, I cannot leave it in plain sight so that a child can take it and later use it. For that reason I believe the grandfather is also responsible.”
In the same vein, he said actions will also target the school, since it is public and there are numerous rulings that establish such liability. He expanded: “If you send a child to school, you trust the child will be safe there, that no one will enter with a shotgun and that they will return healthy and unharmed. That leads me to take action against the Ministry of Education and, of course, against the province of Santa Fe.”
Hilbert noted that his decision, on behalf of the victim, was accepted as valid by the authorities of the Santa Fe government.
This morning a boy arrived at Mariano Moreno school armed with a shotgun and shot several classmates in the town of San Cristóbal, north of Santa Fe; there is one fatality and some injured. That night students, parents and neighbors lit candles in tribute to the killed boyMarcelo Manera – LA NACION
Lasting effects
The San Cristóbal case shocked Santa Fe and the country, and reopened debate over juvenile criminal responsibility, violence prevention and protection mechanisms within educational institutions.
At the time, the new juvenile criminal regime that lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 14 was not yet in force. As a result, a sense of impunity circulated and, in the very short term, there was a copycat effect with the proliferation of threats of shootings across the country; the vast majority were false alarms or “bad jokes” that, at least in the case of Santa Fe, led authorities to fine the parents of those who made the threats to cover the costs of the operations deployed to verify them.
Ian, the boy killed at School No. 40 “Mariano Moreno” in San Cristóbal, Santa FeInstagram
The attack at the San Cristóbal school marked a turning point for the educational community and raised concerns about school safety.
The case exposed a problem that goes beyond the school setting, involving the circulation of violent content online, the radicalization of adolescents and the difficulties in detecting and preventing risky behaviors.
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