BARABOO, Wis. — A 16-year-old boy who claimed he had been severely teased by fellow students was sentenced to life in prison Friday for shooting his high school principal.

Eric Hainstock was found guilty Thursday of first-degree intentional homicide for fatally shooting John Klang, 49, at Weston High School in Cazenovia, Wis.

The teen will be eligible for parole in 30 years.

Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Taggart said that, after reviewing Hainstock's background and taking his age into consideration, he believed the teen "can be rehabilitated in the corrections system."

Taggart urged the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to place Hainstock in one of the state's juvenile detention centers, where he believed the teen's problems could be better addressed.

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A jury found that Hainstock intended to kill Klang when he arrived at school armed with a load 20-gauge shotgun and .22-caliber handgun the morning of Sept. 29, 2006.

His attorneys had sought parole eligibility after 20 years, and argued during the week-long trial that he was guilty only of reckless criminal conduct for accidentally shooting Klang when the principal tried to wrestle the gun away from him.

Hainstock told police he went to school with guns to scare students who had bullied him and faculty who had failed to hear his complaints.

Prosecutors, however, said Hainstock had come to school with the intention of killing someone, and during the sentencing Friday asked the judge for parole eligibility after 50 years from the day of the shooting.

Klang's widow, Sue Klang, addressed the judge wearing a blue T-shirt that read, "John Klang is my superhero."

Sue Klang dabbed away tears as she said she has been "endlessly lost" since Hainstock killed her high school sweetheart, husband of 26 years and father of their three children.

"No matter what happens to Eric, it will be a small pittance for the pain that I and those around me have suffered and are still suffering," Sue Klang said. "Everyone that was a victim of John's murder has suffered great anguish."

Klang's daughter, Kerri, said she got engaged four days before the shooting and had planned to tell her father in person, but never got the chance.

"I shared the happiest news of my life to my mom in a hospital waiting room while my Dad was dying," Kerri told the judge.

No one spoke on Hainstock's behalf during the sentencing Friday, but his father, Shawn Hainstock, was tearful after the hearing.

"He tells me, 'Dad, I don't know how to cry,"' Hainstock said of his son. "He's not heartless. He's a loving boy."

Hainstock was charged with felony child abuse in 2001 for allegedly kicking his son and disciplining him with a paddle and by putting hot sauce in his mouth. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, which was eventually dismissed after he met certain conditions.

Eric Hainstock's mother lost custody of him in 2000 following a bitter divorce from his father.