4 teens charged for planning to 'shoot up' school on 25th Columbine anniversary
SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA: Four Pennsylvania teenagers have been charged with plotting to "shoot up" their school, Dunmore High School, outside Scranton. While 15-year-old students Zavier Lewis and Alyssa Kucharski are being charged as adults, two others will be charged as juveniles, Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell said Friday, September 24. The students planned to attack the school on the 25th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, April 20, 2024.
The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting and attempted bombing that took place on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators were twelfth grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. At least 12 students and one teacher were murdered in the massacre.
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Court documents revealed that the students exchanged text messages planning to attack the school with Molotov cocktails and other guns, which the police uncovered. In the texts, they even discussed targeting a specific victim. The students wrote that they "hated" the high school and wanted "everything to go down" like the 1999 Columbine shooting.
As police searched Kucharski's home, they recovered components for bombs, BB pellets, CO2 cartridges, a handwritten list of guns and tactical gear, and a five-subject notebook. The notebook, in fact, had a section devoted to the mass murder. Rochester First quoted one entry in Kucharski's notebook as saying, "I think I'm gonna go with Klebold setup, (referring to Columbine shooter Dylan Klebold). A Tech-9 and a sawed-off shotgun, but instead of a double barrel, I want one like Eric shot." 'Eric' refers to Eric Harris, the other Columbine shooter. Another entry read, "notebook read "4-20-24 April 20, 2024, you'll all be dead soon anyways."
Kucharski's mother informed police that her daughter was "obsessed with" the Columbine massacre. Lewis told police during investigation that he learn about the Columbine massacre only after Kucharski told him about it. In September 2020, they began planning the attack. The teenagers were charged for weapons of mass destruction, terroristic threat, aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy and possession of explosive material charges, and preliminary hearings will be held on October 4.
“While the investigation is ongoing, I want to assure the parents, students and staff at Dunmore High School that we do not believe there is any active threat at this time,” Powell said. “We are relieved that this plot was uncovered before anyone was hurt and urge anyone who has information about potential threats of school violence to contact police immediately.”
"We are charging two students as adults because of the serious nature of the charges and to reassure the public that all threats to the safety of our children will be aggressively prosecuted. Two additional students have been charged as juveniles," Powell said in a statement. "We are relieved that this plot was uncovered before anyone was hurt and urge anyone who has information about potential threats of school violence to contact police immediately," he added.