A 17-year-old Minnesota boy has been taken into custody and charged with planning to kill his family and then go to his school and detonate a series of bombs.
The teen suspect, whose name is being withheld by officials, faces charges in juvenile court including four counts of attempted first-degree murder, six counts of possessing explosive or incendiary devices, and two counts of criminal damage to property.
Police were tipped off when a resident noticed something suspicious happening at a self-storage facility.
“This case is a classic example of citizens doing the right thing in calling the police when things seem out of place. By doing the right thing, (an) unimaginable tragedy has been prevented,” Capt. Kris Markeson of the Waseca police said at a press conference.
The teen admitted to police that he planned to kill his mother, father and sister before setting a fire in the rural part of the county to distract emergency responders. The he planned to set fires at the junior and senior high schools before throwing bombs and shooting as many students as possible.
The boy reportedly idolized the shooters of the 1999 Columbine massacre.
