This terrifying news from the Star Tribune: “[The Attempted Murderer] had it all figured out. He would kill his mother, father and sister and then create a diversion to keep first responders busy while he went to Waseca Junior/Senior High School to wreak havoc. There, the 17-year-old planned to set off pressure-cooker bombs full of nails and metal ball bearings in the cafeteria. Students who weren’t maimed or killed would be gunned down in the halls, he told police.” I have redacted the name of the kid who planned the murder of his family, schoolmates and teachers . . .
I have no interest in making him famous. An alert citizen noted some hinky behavior by the teen in question as he skulked to his lair – a storage building where he’d been stockpiling bomb-making materials, ammunition and similar supplies. The cops showed up based on the report from a suspicious neighbor and arrested the 17-year-old, who’s described as idolizing the Columbine killers.
A few key points to ponder:
A young man bent on mass murder was not stopped by the fact that his school is a gun-free zone, laws against minors having firearms, laws against anyone making bombs, the presence of a “school liaison officer,” the lavish sprinkling of fairy dust or the liberal application of unicorn farts. Thanks to good guys with guns stopped a bad guy with guns, in this case before he caused any actual harm.
This particular student had “plenty of friends” and apparently wasn’t bullied. The report does not say if he had trouble at home or exhibited any particular symptoms of depression or disaffection. While I personally think it’s important for a school environment to be peaceful for all students, here is an example of a kid who would likely have been missed in any kind of dragnet of outcasts.
Obviously, the school in question is a designated gun-free zone, so the prospect of resistance likely never entered the yoot’s fevered mind. That said, if he had known that, in addition to the liaison officer, some teachers and staff were armed and trained, would that have changed his calculus? We’ll never know. I am grateful that this killing spree was averted, but the satisfactory outcome had nothing at all to do with any of the measures promoted by the civilian disarmament crowd.