Washington Mother Stops Plans Of Impending School Shooting On Columbine Anniversary

A 17-year-old boy was turned over to police by his mother after she discovered a plot to attack his school on the 21st anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, according to College Place, Washington police.

The teen was taken into custody on Tuesday after his mother said she found his plans to attack College Place High School, on April 20, 2020, the anniversary of the Columbine school massacre in Littleton, Colorado, that left 13 people dead. Police said they found additional writings in the teen’s bedroom that supported his alleged plot.

College Place Officer Dylan Schmick told HuffPost, “We did not locate any firearms or explosives in the teen’s possession. However, we did locate literature on how to develop explosives and other weapons.”

College Place Police Chief Troy Tomaras commended the mother in a statement saying, “The mother was very emotional and loves her son. This was not an easy thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. The mother wanted to prevent others from being hurt, and wants her son to get the help he needs.”

In an unrelated incident, another student an hour away in Richland, WA was arrested last week for allegedly threatening their high school in a text message, according to a local TV station. Richland High School was reportedly placed on lockdown until the student could be located and removed from the campus. 

According to HuffPost, a recent study of violent incidents in K-12 schools across the country found that more than 3,434 threats and incidents of violence had taken place during the 2018-2019 school year. Incidents that required outside response from police or emergency teams were found to have increased by 34% from the 2017-2018 school year. 

However, the number of reported threats declined by 9.5% compared to the previous year, according to the Violence in Schools report from the Educator’s School Safety Network. The analysis found that the 3,058 reported threats in the 2018-2019 school year were less than the year before; they still totaled nearly 50% more than compared to the 2016-2017 school year.