In the hours before Adam Lanza killed his mother and then went to Sandy Hook Elementary to slaughter children and teachers, police in Oklahoma were arresting a teenager for allegedly plotting to attack his school and for trying to recruit classmates to help out.
Sammie Eaglebear Chavez, 18, is behind bars for charges of conspiring to cause serious bodily harm or death at his high school in Bartlesville, Okla., and remains in jail under $1 million bond.
An assistant principal at the school alerted police to Chavez’ alleged plot, and police said the young adult was trying to recruit other students to to assist him with carrying out a plan to lure students into the school auditorium where he planned to begin shooting them after chaining the doors shut.
Chavez allegedly told students he was going to place bombs at the doors to detonate when police arrived and was threatening to kill students who didn’t want to join him, the police said.
Meanwhile, investigators said Chavez told a teacher earlier this month that he had bought a .45-caliber gun, and was learning how to shoot it. A police affidavit also said Chavez was trying to obtain a diagram of school facilities and had used a school computer to research a .22 caliber rifle that could be mounted on a machine gun’s platform.
Other students told authorities they saw the boy researching the 1999 Columbine High School killings.
Parents were alerted Friday about the “potential incident,” which they said was investigated on Thursday before Chavez was arrested Friday morning.
School Superintendent Gary Quinn praised the actions of the police and school administrators in following up the rumors.
We appreciate the excellent relationship we have with our local law enforcement and their swift response to the information we provided them. We will always put the safety of the students of the Bartlesville Public School District first and foremost.