Florida Middle School Students Arrested After ‘Plotting To Carry Out Mass Shooting After Studying 1999 Columbine High School Massacre
Two Florida middle school students, aged 13 and 14, were arrested Thursday after a student told a teacher at Harns Middle School that one of the suspects had a gun in their bookbag.
After authorities were contacted about the plot by school administrators, they said a weapon was not found in the bookbag but there was a map indicating where each security camera was located in the school.
According to the DailyMail, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement that the ‘students took an interest in the Columbine High School shooting.
They were extensively studying to learn more about the incident and the shooters. Detectives also learned the students were attempting to learn how to construct pipe bombs and how to purchase firearms on the black market.’
He said that investigators have possibly prevented a deadly mass shooting similar to the Parkland shooting in 2018 and both boys will be charged with conspiracy to commit a mass shooting. Weapons were also found at the boys’ homes and they will undergo a mental health check as part of the investigation.
Marceno also thanked the students for their quick thinking and reporting the potential threat.
‘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.’