BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A judge has sentenced a 74-year-old man to 30 years in prison for firing a shotgun at his southern Indiana neighbors who he had become convinced were Islamic terrorists.
Monroe County Judge Kenneth Todd said during Thursday’s sentencing hearing he believed Robert Walp of Gosport was delusional when he attacked the married couple and their 12-year-old son who were his longtime neighbors in the rural area north of Bloomington.
A jury convicted Walp in July on three counts of attempted murder for the May 2013 attack. The Herald-Times reports Walp’s neighbors weren’t wounded and mental health experts determined he was sane and able to understand events taking place around him.
Walp told the judge he didn’t commit the crimes and was considering whether to appeal his convictions.