2 boys, aged 14 and 13, were arrested in Florida for planning a Columbine-style mass shooting and bombing at a school in Florida.
The boys were taken into custody last week after the police got to know about their plot.
The 2 boys are from Lehigh Acres, Lee County.
The county’s sheriff’s office said that the teens have been charged with conspiracy to commit a mass shooting.
They are going to be held at a juvenile detention center for 3 weeks until a mental health evaluation is carried out.
Carmine Marceno, the Sheriff, said that the boys studies the 1999 Columbine High School shooting.
The Columbine High-School shooting resulted in the death of 15 people.
The two boys researched on how to buy weapons on the black market and how they could make pipe bombs.
The authorities were alerted after a teacher was told that one of the students had a gun with them at school.
The officers were dispatched right away and no firearms were found.
However, the authorities did find a map of the school, which had markings indicating the interior cameras that were there.
A gun and a number of knives were found on the homes of the boys after authorities executed a search warrant.
According to the Washington Post, the boys had discussed carrying out the mass shooting during classes, while eating in the cafeteria and via numerous Zoom virtual meetings.
The mother of the boy, who was not named, broke down in tears when they appeared in court.
The mother said:
He’s just a little boy. He didn’t think this was really serious. He didn’t think they were serious.
Sheriff Marceno was present during a press conference.
They said:
This could have turned disastrous. We were one second away from a Columbine here. I’m certain that my team of dedicated deputies and detectives acted promptly, investigated thoroughly and prevented a very violent and dangerous act from being carried out. This could have been the next Parkland massacre, but we stopped them in the planning stages.
Superintendent Dr. Ken Savage was thankful for the quick response of the police.
Dr. Savage said that the quick actions and response time of the police helped them protect their students and staff.
They added:
As soon as students reported the potential threat, the teacher notified administrators, who immediately brought in the school resource officer. I commend the students who came forward to report the potential threat and the quick action by our staff and SROs to prevent harm to our campus.
Good thing nothing bad happened this time.
