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Columbine copycats
Boys plotted to hit Saint John High, police say
Richard Foot, with files by Mike Traikos
CanWest News Service
Friday, March 18, 2005
SAINT JOHN, N.B. - Three teenage boys have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to seize control of a school and methodically murder some of its students and teachers.
Police found gunpowder and other material used for making pipe bombs at the boys' homes and believe the youths had practised making bombs.
The boys, aged 15 to 17, were Saint John air cadets and their alleged plot was planned for April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre where 12 students and a teacher were killed.
At a Saint John bail hearing for the two eldest teenagers on Wednesday, police Constable Rick Russell said the boys were plotting a "planned takeover" of Saint John High where one of the boys is a pupil. The other two are from Harbourview High.
He said the boys had been practising making bombs for some time, and were planning to attack the school's administration offices with explosives, where they intended to kill the principal and other officials with bombs and guns. He said the boys then planned to order a list of "hated" students into the offices, one by one, to be executed.
Const. Russell said police had found writing by the boys naming the people they planned to kill.
He said the 17-year-old had also written: "I hate my life ... I hate everyone."
The alleged conspiracy was uncovered last Friday by fellow cadets in a conversation overheard during a March Break trip to Quebec City.
A separate incident involving the same three boys on the Quebec visit is also being investigated by military police, a cadet spokeswoman said yesterday.
After returning to Saint John High School on Monday, two students reported to principal Barry Harbinson what they had learned in Quebec. An emergency staff meeting was called, and within half an hour the three boys had been arrested.
Although no weapons were found at either school, Saint John police did find gunpowder and other material used for making pipe bombs at the boys' homes.
The teenagers cannot be named under Canada's young offender law.
They have each been charged with possessing explosives, placed under house arrest, and suspended from both the cadets and their schools.
Although there are rumours that school bullying is the cause of the boys' anger, it is not yet clear if bullying is a factor in the case.
Officials at the two high schools spent yesterday trying to calm students and parents who learned of the alleged plot this week.
"It's been a very difficult week and has caused me a great deal of concern," Saint John schools superintendent Susan Tipper said in an interview yesterday. "I find it very disheartening and upsetting that any young person today would be so discontent with their own lives, or the world around them, that they would consider something like this."
At Saint John and Harbourview high schools, counsellors were made available to students yesterday. Officials were also busy telephoning parents explaining the week's events and insisting the schools were safe.
Students were also assembled yesterday morning at each school and told if any had more information about the alleged conspiracy, they should give it to police.
source
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Yikes :-\
Edited for spelling in title :-[
Boys plotted to hit Saint John High, police say
Richard Foot, with files by Mike Traikos
CanWest News Service
Friday, March 18, 2005
SAINT JOHN, N.B. - Three teenage boys have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to seize control of a school and methodically murder some of its students and teachers.
Police found gunpowder and other material used for making pipe bombs at the boys' homes and believe the youths had practised making bombs.
The boys, aged 15 to 17, were Saint John air cadets and their alleged plot was planned for April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre where 12 students and a teacher were killed.
At a Saint John bail hearing for the two eldest teenagers on Wednesday, police Constable Rick Russell said the boys were plotting a "planned takeover" of Saint John High where one of the boys is a pupil. The other two are from Harbourview High.
He said the boys had been practising making bombs for some time, and were planning to attack the school's administration offices with explosives, where they intended to kill the principal and other officials with bombs and guns. He said the boys then planned to order a list of "hated" students into the offices, one by one, to be executed.
Const. Russell said police had found writing by the boys naming the people they planned to kill.
He said the 17-year-old had also written: "I hate my life ... I hate everyone."
The alleged conspiracy was uncovered last Friday by fellow cadets in a conversation overheard during a March Break trip to Quebec City.
A separate incident involving the same three boys on the Quebec visit is also being investigated by military police, a cadet spokeswoman said yesterday.
After returning to Saint John High School on Monday, two students reported to principal Barry Harbinson what they had learned in Quebec. An emergency staff meeting was called, and within half an hour the three boys had been arrested.
Although no weapons were found at either school, Saint John police did find gunpowder and other material used for making pipe bombs at the boys' homes.
The teenagers cannot be named under Canada's young offender law.
They have each been charged with possessing explosives, placed under house arrest, and suspended from both the cadets and their schools.
Although there are rumours that school bullying is the cause of the boys' anger, it is not yet clear if bullying is a factor in the case.
Officials at the two high schools spent yesterday trying to calm students and parents who learned of the alleged plot this week.
"It's been a very difficult week and has caused me a great deal of concern," Saint John schools superintendent Susan Tipper said in an interview yesterday. "I find it very disheartening and upsetting that any young person today would be so discontent with their own lives, or the world around them, that they would consider something like this."
At Saint John and Harbourview high schools, counsellors were made available to students yesterday. Officials were also busy telephoning parents explaining the week's events and insisting the schools were safe.
Students were also assembled yesterday morning at each school and told if any had more information about the alleged conspiracy, they should give it to police.
source
--------------------
Yikes :-\
Edited for spelling in title :-[
