LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (WFLA/WBBH) — The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two teenagers for allegedly planning a mass shooting at school, according to Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
NBC 2 reports that students, ages 13 and 14, face charges of conspiracy to commit a mass shooting at Harns Marsh Middle School.
The sheriff’s office said that another student told a teacher that one of the teenage boys could possibly have a gun in his backpack. When one of the boys was searched, they didn’t find any weapons. A map of the school, however, was found with markings showing where the middle school’s cameras were, the sheriff said.
Deputies say they learned the boys were studying the Columbine High School massacre and learning how to make and obtain pipe bombs and guns off the black market.
During a search of the boys’ homes, the sheriff’s office found a gun and multiple knives. During his press conference, Marceno said the situation could have been another Parkland shooting and praised his deputies for stopping any potential bloodshed.
The sheriff’s office said in total, deputies responded to the students’ homes almost 80 times.