(PIERCE COUNTY, Wash.) – A 13-year-old boy who may have “idolized previous mass shooters” has been arrested after police found a large collection of guns and “mass shooting scenario” writings at his Washington state home, authorities said.
Police were notified on Friday afternoon about the boy, who allegedly had “school shooter ideations,” “was making threats to kill” and said he had access to guns, according to the sheriff’s office in Pierce County, which encompasses Tacoma.
Police searched the boy’s home early Saturday morning. The sheriff’s office said authorities found a “large quantity” of secured and unsecured guns; “loaded magazines with school shooter writings on them;” and clothes and writings that reinforce a “typical mass shooting scenario.”
The teenager allegedly had social media posts dating back to June with photos of him holding guns as well as messaging that appeared to show a “fascination of recent school shootings/mass casualty attacks,” according to court documents. Police recovered posts that appeared to reference the 1999 Columbine High School mass shooting and the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, elementary school mass shooting, according to court documents.
Some AR-style magazines found at the boy’s home “had writing on them referencing mass shootings, including Columbine,” the court documents said.
Materials for fireworks and explosives were also recovered at the house, documents said.
The teenager has been charged with attempted threat to bomb/injure a school, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of fireworks, according to court documents. He is due in court on Monday.
The boy is not currently enrolled in any school district, authorities said, noting that he last attended the Franklin Pierce School District in 2021.
A spokesperson for the Franklin Pierce School District told ABC News, “We were notified by local law enforcement personnel that a young person in our community was arrested for allegedly planning a school shooting. … We continue to work with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office to ensure that this individual is not a threat to our schools or our community as a whole.”
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