PAW PAW (WKZO AM/FM) — Classes will resume Tuesday at Paw Paw Schools, with beefed up security on hand, after a plot by a 15-year-old to attack the school with guns and bombs has been averted, thanks to a tip from the would-be gunman’s own family.
The teen had apparently been bullied and pushed to the edge of violence after embarrassing photos of him began to circulate around the school.
His family apparently became aware of his plans and tipped off authorities on Sunday, prompting them to cancel classes on Monday.
The Prosecutor is asking that the juvenile be considered an adult for their purposes after they claim he has been planning and preparing for the assault for some time, actively planning how he would do it, preparing a hit list of targets and experimenting with bombs.
A determination on whether he will be tried as an adult or a juvenile will be made later.
Van Buren County Sheriff Dan Abbott says the teenager had apparently taken a shotgun and a rifle from his grandparent’s home, sawed off the barrels so they would fit in a backpack, and had made Molotov cocktails. He says they also found the makings of pipe bombs in his backpack.
The teen is charged with making a terrorist threat and multiple counts of possession of stolen and sawed off firearms and bomb-making materials.
