Two 14-year-old boys are scheduled to appear tomorrow in Barrow County, Ga., Juvenile Court on charges that they planned what police called a “Columbine-type” assault at their middle school. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says they were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, making terroristic threats, and disruption of a public school.
Winder, Ga., police Lt. Kristi Schmitt said the two were arrested Friday after a tip from other students who were “in tears and near hysterical” when they reported to the school’s resource officer, a Winder policeman, that the two were making threats to kill people on Friday, the last day of class. Schmitt said students discovered the boys’ alleged plans through an Internet chat room. “We found evidence in the school and in their homes that indicated elaborate plans,” she said. “We took it very seriously.” Schmitt said the boys planned to kill a teacher and then anyone else who got in their way. They also planned to kill themselves.
A search of their homes revealed both “long guns and handguns” that belonged to their parents. Barrow County School Superintendent Ron Saunders said, “If there is anything positive in this . . . it is that kids at school reported it to us and we acted on it quickly.”
Link: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0504/19winder.html