Bullied Teen Admits to Parents Plan to Blow-Up School. Tells Sheriff Where to Find Everything
Parents in Michigan turned their own son over to the authorities after the 15-year-old admitted to planning a school shooting.
“He came to us and said that he’s been really upset and said that he’s been planning to do something bad,” the boy’s stepfather, who asked to remain anonymous, told WOOD-TV. “It was a big shock.”
According to his parents, their son was being bullied at Paw Paw High School. The situation got even worse when a picture of the teen in his underwear started to circulate among his classmates.
“Since that point, it’s just been relentless,” the stepfather said. He added that the bullies “shoved him into lockers, punched him in the throat (and) knocked him down with no remorse.”
The teen reportedly approached his parents on Sunday and told them he had stolen guns from his grandfather and planned to kill the bullies.
“He wanted to blow the school up on top of him,” the stepfather said. “I was in shock. I just couldn’t believe it. … We couldn’t think at that point. How’d this even get to this point?”
The parents took their distraught teen to the sheriff’s department after he revealed his scheme.
“He wanted to go. He knew that he needed help,” the stepfather said. “He walked right into the lobby and was like, ‘This is what I’ve been planning on doing.’ He said, ‘This is where you can find everything.'”
The authorities found materials to make pipe bombs in their home and two guns with ammunition.
The teen also reportedly had a hit list and a plan to keep his siblings home so that they would be safe.
“I think it was going to happen (Monday) morning,” Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott said. “There’s no question in my mind there was going to be a terrorist act today. The guns were going to go inside a school along with the bombs and it was going to be a bad environment today.”
The sheriff added, “These parents did a good job and I hope the public sees that.”
The school canceled classes on Monday because of the threat, and the teen is now being held in the Allegan County Juvenile Center. Prosecutors, however, want to try the boy as an adult.
“He asked for help. He’s been asking for help,” his stepfather said. “I’m really worried that he might be made an example of.”
These parents had to make a hard decision but ultimately saved their community from a tragedy like the many that have happened in schools across the country since Sandy Hook.
Submit your story here, and subscribe to our best uplifting stories here.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
