Story highlights T.J. Lane is charged with killing three classmates in Chardon, Ohio

A judge ordered him tried as an adult Thursday

Witnesses said Lane walked up to a table full of students and opened fire

The teenager charged with killing three classmates at his Ohio school and wounding three more will be tried as an adult, a judge ruled Thursday.

T.J. Lane is faces three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of felonious assault in the February 27 killings at his high school in Chardon, about 25 miles east of Cleveland. Geauga County Judge Timothy Grendell has ordered Lane's case tried in adult court.

Witnesses told police Lane, 17, silently walked up to a table of students in the Chardon High School cafeteria and opened fire. An assistant football coach chased him out of the school, and police arrested him nearby a short time later.

Lane could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted, and Grendell ordered him held without bail. the teen appeared in court in an open-necked, pale blue button-down shirt.

Defense lawyers opposed his transfer, arguing Lane suffers from mental illness. Grendell said he had no choice under state law but the make the transfer -- but he delayed sending him from the county's juvenile detention facility jail until June 8 to let authorities make arrangements to keep him in juvenile detention.

"The court feels there is ample opportunity for (Lane) to get whatever care he needs while he is in either the detention center or the Geauga County Safety Center," Grendell said.