Mother Turns in Teen Son after Finding Plans for High School Massacre
Mom found son's journal with plot to bomb his school and 'execute survivors'
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A mother has turned in her teenage son to police after she found his journal which contained detailed plans to launch a high school massacre attack, according to reports.
The mom, known only as "Nicole," says she alerted the authorities after discovering the detailed plot by her 17-year-old son to bomb his school and "execute survivors."
Nicole, from Washington state, is being hailed a hero for preventing the mass-casualty attack that her son was allegedly planning to mark the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
Police say the teenage College Place High School student was arrested on September 17.
The unnamed boy has been charged with felony harassment and threats to bomb or injure property.
The teen's detailed journal included times, specific explosives and firearms, locations, an established date of April 20, 2020, and plans to kill his mother and her boyfriend, authorities revealed.
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Police say officers informed the southeast Washington school of the threat, but the school was already done for the day, according to the Daily Mail.
The 17-year-old, who has not been named, was arrested as soon as he returned home from school that afternoon and was booked into the Walla Walla County Juvenile Justice Center.
The suspect's mother, who identified herself only by her first name, Nicole, told CBS News that when she found her son's journal last month and confronted him about it, the boy claimed that he had been doing creative writing and that it was all "just a story."
In his notebook, the high school student wrote about detonating pipe bombs and propane bombs placed inside a backpack, duffel bags, the school cafeteria and a van parked on campus.
He also reportedly detailed using various firearms to "blast anyone in sight" and "execute survivors."
One chilling passage in the journal read, "Kill everyone possible, fight to the death," and "kill self after maximum damage."
The alleged attack was planned for the 21st anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, which left 12 students and one teacher dead before the perpetrators, a pair of seniors, committed suicide.
When police searched the College Park High School student's bedroom, they discovered the books "The Anarchist Cookbook," which describes how to make explosives, and "The Truth Behind Death at Columbine," reported My Columbia Basin.
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Detectives also seized several other notebooks from the teenager's room containing writings about murder and suicide, along with images of shooting guns in school.
However, no weapons were found during the search.
Mother Nicole told CBS she wrestled with the decision of reporting her son, whom she described as suffering from depression, to the police, but in the end, she felt like she did the right thing.
"I know a lot of people that go to College Place High School," the woman tearfully told the news outlet.
"Their lives would have been forever changed."
College Place Police Chief Troy Tomaras said he was grateful to the boy's mother for coming forward and described her as "very courageous."
The woman said she loves her son and that he needs help.
"It takes a lot to do what I did," Nicole added.
"It wasn't easy."
