Police: Boy warned 3 not to be at school

A boy accused of plotting to kill dozens of people at Harrison High School warned at least three classmates to stay away the day police believe he and a girl planned to carry it out, the school’s resource officer testified Monday.

The boy told a female friend about plans for an armed assault during a school assembly, said Officer Brian Strickland. The friend told police the boy warned her not to attend school the day of the assembly, May 4, Strickland said.

With another friend, the boy discussed attacking while students were crowded into a common area before school. Another scenario involved attacking during a lockdown drill, targeting security officers or others who might stop them and then moving on to classrooms.

“The point was to do as much damage and kill as many students as they possibly could,” he said. “They’d be easy targets because they’d be huddled in a corner and all in one place.”

Strickland testified at a preliminary hearing for the 17-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl, who face charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. A judge will decide after the hearing whether there’s enough evidence to put them on trial. The hearing is scheduled to continue July 3.

The boy told police and at least one friend he was preparing for an English class paper about school violence and not serious about the attack. Another friend initially told investigators she believed he would not follow through, but she later told police she believed he was “capable” of such violence, Strickland said.

Police allege the boy and girl settled on a plan to attack during the assembly with the goal of exceeding the death toll of 32 gunned down April 16 at Virginia Tech.

The Gazette isn’t naming the boy or girl because of their ages. Both are under the supervision of their families. Acting 4th Judicial District Judge Barney Iuppa on Monday freed the boy from a tracking program that involves frequent check-ins with authorities and instead imposed a $20,000 bond.

Iuppa released the girl from an ankle bracelet monitoring program, where police can tell her location, but said she has to continue with a tracking program.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0187 or perry.swanson@gazette.com