Two boys from Fredericksburg will be arraigned this morning – charged with planning a mass shooting at their high school. Sandy Hausman has that story.
Over the weekend, officials announced they had arrested two students, aged 15 and 17, after another kid told police of a plot described on social media. Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney Bill Neely told reporters:
“These youths had access to firearms, and apparently their plot was to phone in a bomb threat and then shoot people as they came out of school.”
School board member Amanda Blalock says students and faculty were never in danger, lockdown drills at Riverbend High are routine, and an armed officer is on the premises.
“We have a school resource officer, which is an armed deputy in every single high school – we have five high schools in Spotsylvania County – and in every single middle school. “
Even so, she says administrators, teachers, parents and students were upset by the news.
“I think everyone is shook, but the most overwhelming comment I’m getting is the appreciation they have for the sheriff’s department and the school division for acting so quickly and making sure that the threat didn’t come to fruition at all, because this could have gone very differently.”
Blalock praised the student who reported the plot to police.
“I hope that the student that reported this has set a precedent for other students to realize, this isn’t about telling on friends. This is about possibly even helping the person who is the culprit. They may need help themselves, and you may have saved their life as well as others.”
And she said counselors would be on duty today to talk with any student who’s feeling uneasy about a return to classes at Riverbend High.
