Two teenage Villages Charter School students were arrested Thursday after plotting a Columbine-style shooting.
The male students, ages 13 and 14, from The Villages Charter Middle School were arrested after law enforcement and school officials learned of, and intervened in a plot to initiate a mass shooting at their school.
The shooting was supposed to take place on Friday.
On Tuesday, after school hours, school officials and the schools resource officer became aware of rumors circulating between students at the school.Witnesses indicated that some students had been warned not to come to school on Friday.
The 13-year-old student alleged to be planning the attack was intercepted by authorities on Wednesday as he attempted to arrive for school. At that time, he acknowledged conversations involving the plot and referenced the mass shooting at Columbine High School. During this conversation, officials learned of a second student’s potential involvement and quickly located the 14-year-old male student on campus. No weapons were found on either of the students or in their bags or lockers.
The 14-year-old student acknowledged his involvement in conversations with the 13-year-old student again referencing the Columbine shooting. The student informed officials that the two students had planned an attack which included what they would use as a signal to open fire.
Both students were arrested Thursday at their homes during the service of search warrants. The 13-year-old student was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on a juvenile order at his home in Fruitland Park. The 14-year-old student was arrested by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office at his home in Wildwood. Both students are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and placed into the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Firearms were recovered from both suspects’ homes during the search warrant service.
There is scheduled to be an increased deputy presence at the school on Friday; however, no additional arrests are anticipated.
“The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is grateful for those students brave enough to speak out about the plot. Their heroic actions may have prevented a deadly tragedy and loss of precious lives,” Sheriff Bill Farmer said.
