PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Police arrested a 14-year-old boy allegedly planning a Columbine-type event at a Pennsylvania high school.
A student of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, who claimed the suspect tried to recruit him in attacking the high school, informed officials of the potential disaster Oct. 10. Police reacted immediately and the suspect was arrested around 10 p.m.
Upon searching the suspect’s room, whose name is not released because he is a minor, authorities found a 9 mm rifle with a laser scope, an operational hand grenade, bomb making equipment, manuals and three other grenades in construction. His mother is said to have brought the rifle for her son at a gun show.
Police also found neo-Nazi and anarchist literature, as well as pictures and videos of the Columbine shootings.
The suspect was not a student at the high school he planned to attack. Eighteen months prior to his arrest, he had been removed from school due to bullying. His parents were home-schooling him.
Classes are not being canceled at the high school.
The suspect will appear in juvenile court on Oct. 12. He is facing charges of criminal solicitation, weapons possession, making terrorist threats, and possession and manufacturing of weapons. If convicted, he could face jail time, police said.
Pending an investigation, the suspect’s parents may also face criminal charges.
