Two Florida High School Students Accused Of Plotting Columbine-Like Mass Shooting

Two Florida teens have been accused of plotting a domestic terrorist attack similar to the Columbine shooting.

On Thursday, two boys, 13 and 14, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit a mass shooting. The boys’ plans were revealed after another student at Harns Marsh Middle School in Lehigh Acres told a teacher that one of the boys had a gun in their backpack Wednesday.

“This could have been the next Parkland massacre, but we stopped them in the planning stages,” said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “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.”

When investigators searched through an eighth grader’s bag, they didn’t find the gun, but they did find a map of the school’s surveillance cameras. Authorities learned through the investigation that the two boys had been studying the 1999 Columbine massacre acted out by two white domestic terrorists who were students at the school.

Like the Columbine domestic terrorists, the boys had a slew of weapons at their home. Authorities believe the male students were trying to make pipe bombs and learn how to purchase guns on the black market, NBC News reports. The boys were taken to a mental health facility to be evaluated.

“I commend the students who came forward to report the threat and the quick action of the staff,” said the school’s principal Alex Dworzanski said. “The safety of our students and staff is at the core of what we do.”