Planned ‘Columbine-Style’ Attack Averted: Student Arrested

The boy was only 14, his parents especially his mother who purchased the weapons should be held fully liable. What kind of parent would purchase a semi-automatic for their 14 year old boy as a Christmas present? The boy needs to be psychologically evaluated and released into the foster care system, and paired with caring parents, away from his mother, and the judge should throw the book at the mother for raising her son to be a killer.

Great job to all involved and a medal for the kid who had the courage to speak up!

Just the type of person Blackwater wants on their team !

what other industrialized country could a 14 year old boy accumulate that much weaponry…it is a lesson to those who bully others…disrespect people at your own risk…if we just treated everyone with respect…people wouldn’t feel the need to act out like this…

What’s happening to our kids these days!?

Earth to Clueless Mom: your son has been bullied at school, has emotional/psychological problems, and had such a tough time that you pulled him out of school. Might not be the best idea to buy him a freaking assault rifle! What an idiot!

A FOURTEEN year-old w/THAT kind of arsenal (even if the mother purchased them)…HOW INSANE!!! And I bet, they’ll be gun-bearing advocates defending her!!! Anyway, another common thread throughout ALL these school shootings is, they’ve all been BULLIED…MOST parents AND schools these days DON’T BOTHER to TRULY TEACH kids about RESPECTING OTHERS (INSTEAD, they’re too busy teaching them to be SELF-ABSORBED, & how BAD it is to be a “TATTLE-TALE” when someone bullies/insults you)!?!?

I don’t care what the gun nuts say anymore – there is something seriously wrong in our country when a 14 year old can assemble an arsenal like that. The gun lobby needs to stop hiding behind their interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and realize that they are killing America’s youth.

The air-powered weapons are toys, not part of an “arsenal”.

WE CAN NEVER ASSUME THAT AN ATTACK IS UNLIKELY IMMINENT. I AM SUPRISED SOMEONE WOULD EVER SAY THAT!!!!! HE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HIMSELF FOR SAYING THAT!!!!!!! WHAT ARE WE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN IF WE SAY THAT AN ATTACK IS UNLIKELY IMMINENT. NOT TO REPORT WHAT MAY HAPPEN??

Every loving and intelligent mother buys her kid guns. Especially when they are so absolutely stable, as this one appears to be. What is wrong with this woman anyway? If the kid can’t cope at school due to the teasing and torment, why in the name of God would she provide him with weapons. Here’s your sign!

The photo is misleading, makes me assume the rest of the article is bogus also.

I forgot to say, revenge for having been BULLIED isn’t a main reason for school shootings ONLY, it’s the main reason for alot of OTHER shootings ALSO (ie. the cop in Wisconsin)!

Exactly, so was this kid going to shoot up the school with a bunch of pellat/BB guns? I know this because I owned one of the same exact BB guns 5 years ago. I hate when people look at one photo and automatically assume and freak out. But then come to think about it, 30 air soft guns is a lot.

Adds to the hysteria? are you serious? there should be more hysteria… enough to change the way things are done in this loser country. there is no sane argument that says why people need to own guns. i know they’ll spout about their rights blah, blah blah. You know what? some rights are more fundamental….namely the right of children to go to school without the fear of being shot dead while there. and don’t blame it on the parents. not because it isn’t their fault, but because you take away the power to make a change. shaking your head and saying “those stupid parents (which they are) should be ashamed of themselves” does no good… because there are thousands and thousands of other stupid parents out there who will allow their kids to do the same thing. we as a society have proven that we cannot handle this “right” to bear arms. we can’t. more and more kids will be shot dead in greater and greater numbers until we are so immune we don’t even care anymore. we won’t even notice the story as we skip ahead to the comics.
The photo is dishonest. Displaying “airsoft” bb-guns as real firearms creates the idea that a large number of firearms were present. Just adds to the hysteria.

Thats what happens when you take prayer out of school; they live like a bunch of wild vilains. have no respect for anyone else.

I disagree with the statement “because the school district’s early warning system system and its relationship with police, which in the past had been in disrepair, worked perfectly this time. ” This statement is misleading to the reader. It was the care and concern of an individual student that was the reason this tragedy was averted. The media needs to publically praise this kind of activity so others will view this as a valuable action. My hats off to this brave young person with maturity beyond their years. They are the hero in this incident.

The picture is deceptive and dishonest. It has nothing to do with what was found on the kid.

This is the high school my kids attend. The pictures were of all the weapons confiscated from the kids room – including the assault rifle, hand grenades, numberous real-looking pellet guns, swords, knives and bomb making material.
I agree with some of the other posters that a kid who’s removed from school with “psychological and emotional problems” is probably not a good candidate for giving an assault rifle as a Christmas gift. It’s my opinion that the parents were at fault for not keeping an eye on him. There HAD to be signs.
Just my opinion.

I say send kids like this to the schools and neighborhoods of the people who think this is no big deal. Take him, and the ones like this kid. He’s all yours.

The picture is only misleading to idiots that don’t read the entire article. I agree the real problem are the bullies in the schools. People ask what they get for sometimes. Although, shooting someone is a harsh crime and should be dealt with accordingly. I think parents should encourage their kids if bullied to bring them out back of the school and kick the the bullies face into the cement. Guns aren’t the problem here as they are inanimate objects. The kid could of easily constructed his own bomb, used swords or other lethal devices. In the end I am glad a tragedy was adverted and think both the child and parents should be dealt with accordingly. Also, it was good for the nark in this situation to report his friend to the authorities.

What’s different 33 years later? I’ll tell you, it’s simple: Parents these days are afraid to discipline their children, period.
I don’t blame them.

This seems too much of a coincidence to me. Yesterday Ohio, today Philly. I’m seeing a bigger picture here & it doesn’t look good. Seems that those behind the scenes wants the public to get into a state of “fear” again and to back some legislative policy that would take away our right to bear arms, our rights as individuals, and what is left of our privacy. Don’t believe the hype, it all comes down to self-responsibility and parental responsibility. Principals in our education system need to come up w/ a plan that works to stop bullying in schools rather than making those feel powerless and feeling like they have to leave the school in order for the bullying to stop. Parents we need to teach our kids how to be more respectful to ourselves and others. Any other suggestions?

I try really hard not to say or do things that would result in many of you lumping me together with the “survivalist” nuts who are training for a war in Wyoming and think Hitler was a god. But when I see some of the comments posted here, it’s hard not to respond rather vigorously.
Many of you are aghast that a Mom would buy a handgun for a 14 year old, but at that age my parents had purchased two rifles, a revolver, and a shotgun for me – and I used them for target practice and hunting. Strangely enough, I never used any of them, or their successors, to go on a rampage (for the record, I qualify for the Senior’s discount everywhere now). It isn’t the age of the person that makes a difference, it is their willingness to accept responsibility, and their parent’s willingness to enforce a set of rules – that is what makes the difference.
As to the “arsenal” this kid collected: the number of items is extreme, and I don’t understand why he was allowed to amass them, but don’t lose sight of the fact that these were bb guns – at the most they might be lethal to a sparrow, but to assault a school? I would be concerned about the 9mm pistol, and would insist on an investigation into where this kid got a live grenade, but the rest is just silly. This kid was trying to recruit an army, and planned to equip them with bb guns for an assault on a school – if he had problems before, can you imagine the laughing-stock this would have made him?
Let’s drop the hysteria, wait for all the facts, and overlook that this site feels it appropriate to illustrate this story with a picture of an arsenal that would intimidate Al Capone.

tj – “because there are thousands and thousands of other stupid parents”
I disagree. The number is actually quite small, it’s just the stupid people make the news far more often.
I do not think banning guns will solve anything, it’s not just a matter of rights, but common sense too. For example, drugs are illegal, but I’ll bet any 13 year old knows where they could get some heroin if they so desired. The black market for guns would profit tremendously, and we’d have a whole new problem.
This kid is disturbed. Killing people is illegal, but that wasn’t going to stop him… what makes you think the gun being illegal, would?

I have always had this soft spot in my heart for the nerdy over-weight kids who are obsessed with video games and not socializing. Kids are mean and after awhile it wears you down, we need more outlets for these children to talk to someone about how they feel and have someone help them out because apparently alot of “parents” aren’t doing there damn job.
There are way to many families out there that should have never had children in the first place, so the child doesn’t even have a chance to grow up in a some what normal house hold. When Columbine happened, all I could think of was how horrible they had to feel to do something soooo horribly evil and how awful there families must of felt.
Who let’s there children grow up and be a bully?? If my child ever harassed another kid once because he was fat or nerdy or just different, you better believe that would be the last time. Of course we all are happy that he didn’t go through with his plan but I pray for those children who are different and I pray for the bullies, being a kid isn’t all that easy. Sad

What’s wrong with things today is the fact that we can’t disapline our children without getting Social services called on us. We need to give rights back to parents and not let our kids bullu us into letting them do as they please. Too many children are being killed and parents are being blamed when it should be the damn law makers that took parents right away. Kids know if we disapline them and they don’t agree with the punishment they can call Social Services or the police and the parents get in trouble and the kid gets there way.. We need control back to parents.

From the reports I read and heard, the kid’s mother had purchased an assault weapon recently. The weapons pictured are air rifles made to look like assault and military weapons. He also had some home-made grenades filled with black powder and BBs. If the mother did buy a kid an assault weapon, she needs to be investigated and obviously the kid has serious issues and needs help.

When we start eliminating the laws that put parents in jail for spanking their children then you will see a better USA…Taking everyones guns is an invitation for terrorist and foriegn countrys to invade our land…We have NEVER been invaded because almost every house has a gun or two. There is NOTHING wrong with spanking children especially in their developmentaly influencial years…THATS WHATS DIFFRENT FROM 33 YEARS AGO!!! Discipline breeds respect…NO discipline breeds TROUBLE.

America is too obsessed with guns. We need a Constitutional convention to amend the second amendment to reflect today’s realities.

Various quotes:
The boy was only 14, his parents especially his mother who purchased the weapons should be held fully liable. What kind of parent would purchase a semi-automatic for their 14 year old boy as a Christmas present? The boy needs to be psychologically evaluated and released into the foster care system, and paired with caring parents, away from his mother, and the judge should throw the book at the mother for raising her son to be a killer.
Earth to Clueless Mom: your son has been bullied at school, has emotional/psychological problems, and had such a tough time that you pulled him out of school. Might not be the best idea to buy him a freaking assault rifle! What an idiot!
—
Where in the article does it say that she bought them for HIM?

My kids are victims of school bullies. One bully went so far asto construct and conceal a ‘shank’. I’ve read most of the comments here and have to agree with those who say, there’s no respect for others. All one has to do is watch how adults drive, behave in stores..in public in general. Adults aren’t shining examples for kids to look up to any more. We’re so engrossed in the ‘me generation’ philosophy that we can’t see what marks we’re making on those observing.

since when is spanking discipline… hopefully nugct knows some other ways to discipline… i can think of, oh, about 500 other ways… one last thing… guns suck

You are all missing the point !!! A 14 year old should not be thinking of bringing a gun to school. The bb guns where going to be used with other stuff on them and that the 9mm was and can be used to Kill. This whole thing started because the mother and Dillion where FAT and they where teased all the time. Set the facts straight School and kids don’t go together. Hail to the father and kid who told police. My school will NEVER be the same. Dr. Cotter, THANKS for letting my parents know via Voice mail and Email before the media.

Just a another example of sensationalism. The kid did have a 9mm which was totally unacceptable, but the rest were BB guns.

Real guns or BB guns? Draw down on me with a BB gun and see what happens. I will respond/react with a large caliber, very real weapon. The idea of inciting fear with an “almost real gun” doesn’t mitigate the circumstance. You’re dead,

Touch that Constitution and it will be Revolution. We will never give up our right to arm ourselves.

this is stupid you guys are making this up bullying this kid.

something to look at a lot of media hype..on both sides is not good i would say a lot bb or air soft guns… and two problems a live-hand grenade, the 9mm if this was in the house it could have been his mothers …(last time i checked most likely ok for mom to own. now if the 9mm pistol. was the teenagers we have a problem. the a live-hand grenade a problem in almost all cases …

The child needs help because he is caught between the media and a hard place. This report is scary, because it operates on fear, not sense. The troubled boy purportedly had a live hand grenade. If that is correct information, a bloody outcome was definitely averted. Hand grenades are “weapons of mass destruction” that are totally illegal, and also very hard to get. I am so mistrustful of this article that I think the boy had two plastic models of grenades and one inert model. If this boy could not even get a 9mm bullet, it is doubtful that he had a real hand grenade.

I think David (of the 3:29 PM post) is onto something. Is anyone familiar with the Dane-Cook skit “The Creepy Guy at Work?” One of my students introduced me to it, & there’s a grain of truth hidden inside all that hilarity.
All people want the same things: acceptance, acknowledgement love, & respect. The best (& cheapest!) way to prevent school violence is to create an environment where everyone feels as though (s)he has worth.

To look at the picture of all of the weapons this kid had, his copy of the Anarchists cookbook, and the homemade bombs reported in the local news, I can only imagine how bad it would’ve been if he’d been able to carry this out.
And by the way, Who in the hell buys a 14 year old kid a gun?

what a country, 14 yr old…very sad

Basically it all boils down to this, Our Society, needs real help. We are loosing it. and we are also loosing the innocence, in our kids. ALSO remember guns DO NOT KILL, PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE, we must control ourselves not add more gun control. The guns are the also the victims of todays society, we need a psychological examination of our selves and our society. Now, Today before it is too late.

You can tell who really read the article and who didn’t. The one true gun was the pistol, which apparently was the mother’s, and the hand grenades were illegal by the laws of any state. Even most so-called ‘gun nuts’ don’t want to see hand grenades made legal. ‘Air-powered weapons?” Give me a break. What was he going to do, give his tormentors some nasty welts? That picture was designed to inflame, but I expect nothing else from the MSM. That being said, you gotta wonder what the mother was thinking…

First off, while they are bb guns, they shoot PLASTIC bb’s(airsoft guns). From what I can tell after seeing the picture, these are cheap, spring powered, airsoft guns. They look real, because the kid probably took the orange tips off the guns. (which is illegal) However, it is never ok to buy any FFL required weapon to anyone under 18. Lastly, if you do have a firearm in your house, just lock it up.

the guns aren’t real?????? are you kidding me??

Ditto to Patriot2007

i”m from wisconsin, but in china at the moment, i cant even believe what i’m reading from the posters.
so i guess its ok that a “mom” bought a child a 9 mm gun?? get real, my stepson at the age of 15 took gun safety classes in order to go deer hunting w/ his stepfather. does that mean we shoulve gone out and bought him a rifle or hunting gun. i think not, thank god this was stopped before a trgedy occurred. i’m appalled by what i’m reading

i’m kinda shocked at the person that said get real, theres only ONEgun in the picture. ONE gun is obviously more then a disturbed child needs.
i’m not saying noone has the right to own a gun, but use some sense people.

Ok, the fact that the kid did have access to a firearm and was building hand grenades is definitely cause for concern.
But give me a break with the pictures and the sensationalist headlines! My first thought when I saw the picture was shear amazement. I hadn’t seen that many AK-47s since pics of captured weapons caches in Iraq.
But what a shameless attempt to sell the story by emphasizing the huge number of “weapons” found. Though I have to admit that the kid had an impressive amount (30?) of airsoft-type guns, I’d hardly classify them as weapons, let alone arrange them for the media like some huge arms seizure. Airsoft guns are low-powered pellet guns that fire a plastic ball. You can buy them for under $20 at most sporting goods stores. People play (and even compete) with airsoft just like people play paintball.
We live in a sad world where kids shoot other kids at school, but give me a break ABC, have a little integrity in reporting the difference between toys and the real thing.

THE PHOTO IS NOT THE PROBLEM HERE, THE PROBLEM IS A 14 YEAR OLD BOY WITH WEAPONS, OF ANY KIND, AND THE FACT THAT THE MOTHER BOUGHT THEM, KNOWING HER SON WAS MENTALLY UNSTABLE. MY OWN 14 YEAR OLD WAS SHOT WITH A BB-GUN, IN THE BACK, JUST A WEEK AGO, BY A CLASSMATE THAT HE KNEW. WHAT IF HE HAD HAD A 9MM THAT HIS MOM HAD BOUGHT HIM, MY SON WOULD BE DEAD!!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE, A GOOD OLD FASHIONED SPANKING NEVER HURT ANY OF US, AND I MEAN A SPANKING, NOT A BEATING.A SWAT ON THE HAND OR A PLEASE DON’T DO THAT AGAIN, WILL NOT DO THE TRICK. TALKING TO YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT WHY WHAT THEY DID WAS WRONG AND SHOWING THEM LOVE AND CARING. OH, AND DON’T FORGET ‘PRAYING FOR THEM AND FOR GUIDANCE FOR US AS PARENTS’!!!!!!!!! I UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE HAVE GUNS FOR HUNTING AND I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THOSE WHO USE THEM CORRECTLY. HOWEVER I AM VERY MUCH AGAINST BULLIES, IF ANY OF US IS PERFECT, WHICH WE ARE NOT, THEN WE MIGHT HAVE THE RIGHT TO LOOK DOWN ON OTHERS, HOWEVER WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT AND WE SHOULD RESPECT EACH OTHERS DIFFERENCES, WITHOUT EXPECTING EACH OTHER TO LOWER THEIR MORAL STANDARDS. WE ARE ABLE TO LOVE EACH OTHER WITHOUT LOVING EVERYTHING ABOUT EACH OTHER. DO ANY OF YOU LOVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR SPOUSE, CHILDREN, OR PARENTS? YOU STILL LOVE THEM, DON’T YOU? YOU DON’T LAUGH AT THEM OR MAKE FUN OF THEM, DO YOU? WE NEED TO STOP LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER ONE AND START LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER.

Ok, Wether or not these guns were real,Just the idea that he was thinking about it makes me shudder. When did killing become the answer to everything? This world has gone crazy, we don’t need a war here or a disaster that could wipe us out. We are doing a fine job of that ourselves.Everyone has become immuned to the violence in this world. WAKE UP PEOPLE! What kind of world are we creating here?

And in lieu of real catastrophe, we can always rely on “media apin”.

Will the NRA wait until this young victim of anti-gun hysteria and newly minted culture hero turns older to give him an award or fete him immediately? C’mon, NRA, do your God-given duty now!

I am a gun owner who believes in personal responsibility. In this case the mother bought a gun for a minor who was not of legal age. She should suffer the full consequences of the law and go to jail for a long long time.

Let us all please commend the child and parent who turned this child into authorities. Finally someone was paying attention to all the red flags that were there. As a parent of a student from VA Tech, I am breathing a sigh of relief this morning knowing finally people are starting to pay attention to this desperate child cries for HELP!!

Just another example of why many people should not have children.
The reason for all these misfits in our society, is quite simple……the parents.
If the parents don’t provide the love and guidance, as well as discipline and training, then the child can’t be expected to become a decent citizen.
There is a child in my wife’s distant family, that absolutely has no hope, as his parents are worthless criminals. We have disowned them , but the child will still grow up to be a total misfit in society, just the same.
The world has to STOP glorifying babies.

1st question, are those “real” guns? Answer is yes. They are a device or tool that shoots a projectile under pressure. As does a staple gun, a paint gun, or a squirt gun.
2nd question, aren’t those guns dangerous? Answer – The 9mm carbine (which isn’t a handgun like the article suggests) could be a dangerous if SOMEONE makes it so. By itself laying on a table it isn’t any more dangerous than a hammer or a glass of water. Without any bullets, this gun is more dangerous as a club than as a gun. The rest of the “arsenal” was plastic low-power airsoft BB gun toys. These aren’t the BB guns you might remember from your youth. These barely shoot a soft plastic BB (not hard metal BBs or pellets) across the room. They aren’t high powered air rifles (which CAN be dangerous if SOMEONE uses it in that way). These are spring loaded toys much like the suction cup dart gun toys from the 70′s.
3rd question is shouldn’t gun shows be illegal since that’s where the 9mm came from? Answer is no. A gun show is no different than going to a sporting goods store to buy a gun. You still have to fill out the same legal paperwork and background checks. The only advantage to someone shopping at a gun show is the prices tend to be cheaper because of competition between selling dealers.
What DOES concern me is this kid was making bombs out of explosive black powder and fireworks fuses. The live “hand grenade” he had was one he made.
I feel safe in saying that NO ONE would have wanted this kid to have done anything tragic. Kudos to the friend who alerted the authorities of this kid’s schemes. Kudos to the authorities for stepping in and stopping the planning from continuing. I hope the boy gets the help he needs.
Shame on all the news agencies for misleading people into thinking this kid had accumulated $200,000 worth of illegal assault weapons that are extremely rare. That photo is excessively misleading. Shame on the school for allowing the bullying of the kid in the first place. Shame on some of you blog posters for politicising this story. It isn’t about guns. Stop being ignorant. Blaming guns is just an easy way of ignoring the real problem. Dig deeper and ask why this kid wanted to do something violent. That is the real issue that needs to be solved.

What a load of crap. He had load of airsoft guns and the stupid media wanted us to believe he had thousands of dollars worth of AK-47′s. Those things don’t do anything else but leave a welt. And here is actually an example where the law was working. He had no ammo for the real guns because he was under age and therefore could not purchase any. Look at the rest of the posts too. Most of us do believe in the right to bear arms and that is a good thing. Every time I see a media story like this it rubs me the wrong way because it is meant as an attack on our constitutional, god given right. But fortunately it is not a good picture of how the general population feels. Its just liberal hype. And yes, that Mom needed to take far more responsibility, and that kid needed help.

Home Land Security, FBI, Police. No. A mouth as always. Why, because of bullies in schools. There should be such a punishment so bad it would cease. Thease type of kids belong in a cage early instead of when they grow up.

You can’t call yourself an American and seriously state we need to eliminate the 2nd amenment. that is just sick and TOTALY UNAMERICAN. I just don’t get it,I know This I am committed to my Constitution and I will never permit and modification to it.. you are falling into the hands that the gov. wants you to fall into. such statments are statments of , treason.

I will take it a step further and say that double-income families are another component of the problem. We are working on the second generation of kids raised by day care and the school system. Instead of getting their values from the home environment, they are getting their values from their peers and from the schools. Personally, I am not comfortable with either. If you are going to have children, one parent should stay home at least until the kids are all in school.

I dont think anybody gets the real picture.This is ONE news story on CNN.
Yall may not know it but theirs juveniles evry day gettin convicted for violent crimes. I guess you can say this is good since it was stopped,BUT
realize it was a LUCKY ONE. He started solo & recruited members. Guaranteed if he was in a gang his plot wouldve been successful long before anybody “overheard anything suspicious.” Gang members have “nothin to lose feelin” and are always ready for war. Most of todays youth have resort to gangs for backup & protection. Its
all a game off back & forth exchange until flashy colors surround you then your whole sight goes black.