OLYMPIA — A 14-year-old Tumwater boy who had done Internet research on school shootings and expressed a “fascination with Columbine,” was arrested after a friend reported the teen had threatened to shoot students at his school and harm himself, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Police found three guns and ammunition in the boy’s home, and arrested him Monday, The Olympian reported.
Thurston County Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Graham said Tuesday in court that the boy had expressed a fascination with the 1999 Colorado school shooting in which two student gunmen killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves.
Police went to the student’s home Monday after hearing of the threats to shoot students at Black Hills High School, Tumwater police Detective Jen Kolb said. Two of the guns and the ammunition were found in the boy’s bedroom, Kolb said, adding those guns were unloaded.