Police arrested two male students, ages 15 and 17, who they say were planning a school shooting at a high school in Virginia.
The Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office placed both boys in the Rappahannock Regional Juvenile Detention Center after they were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
The 17-year-old was arrested earlier this month by a school resource officer at Riverbend High School after the SRO had been told of a potential violent plot by the county’s sheriff’s deputies, according to wtvr.com. The boy was initially charged with threatening violence by means of internet.
An investigation of the threats by SROs and detectives revealed a second student was involved in the school shooting plot, and that student was arrested Oct. 23.
The investigation also revealed the students were planning to use guns, which led to the execution of search warrants. The charges against the 17-year-old were recently updated to conspiracy to commit murder. Police also discovered that the students had access to firearms, according to wtkr.com.
“Their plot was to phone in a bomb threat and then shoot people as they came out,” County Commonwealth Attorney Bill Neely said.
“This case was a prime example of how the coordination of law enforcement, Commonwealth Attorneys and school administration worked together to stop an incident like this from occurring,” said Sheriff Roger L. Harris.
