On March 24, 1998, 11-year-old Britthney Varner, a student at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, was shot during an attack by two fellow students. The assailants, aged 11 and 13, triggered a fire alarm and opened fire as classmates and teachers exited the building. Britthney was taken to a local hospital after hours of surgery but could not be saved.

The two boys were arrested while attempting to flee and were tried as juveniles. They were convicted of five counts of murder and ten counts of battery and received confinement in a juvenile detention facility until age 21, the maximum penalty available under Arkansas law at the time. The attack drew national attention and renewed debate about juvenile justice and gun violence.