Photo: Lee County Sheriff's Office
Authorities in Florida thwarted a potential school shooting at Harns Marsh Middle School in Lehigh Acres. The students, ages 13 and 14, were caught after one of their classmates told a teacher one of them had a gun in their backpack.
Investigators searched the backpack of the eighth-grader but did not find a gun. Instead, they found a map of the school, which was marked with the locations of the security cameras. Detectives searched the homes of both boys and found one gun and several knives. Officials said the boys had been studying the 1999 school shooting at Columbine High School and were trying to learn how to build a pipe bomb.
"This could have been the next Parkland massacre, but we stopped them in the planning stages," Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.
"We were one second away from a Columbine here. I'm certain that my team of dedicated deputies and detectives acted promptly, investigated thoroughly, and prevented a very violent and dangerous act from being carried out," he added.
The two boys were taken into custody and charged with conspiracy to commit a mass shooting. They both underwent a mental health evaluation.
Harns Marsh Middle School Principal Alex Dworzanski praised the student who reported the threat to their teacher.
"I commend the students who came forward to report the threat and the quick action of the staff," Dworzanski said. "The safety of our students and staff is at the core of what we do."