When police arrested a 13-year-old boy in Washington state last week accused of making threats to kill, they found he had “everything ready to go to commit a mass shooting” – including a trove of more than 20 guns in his home.
He was arrested after the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office received information Friday from an internet watch group that reports threatening online posts, Deputy Carly Cappetto told CNN.
“After reviewing the suspect’s social media posts, it was warranted to immediately move forward with an arrest,” Cappetto said. Authorities believe the boy had “school shooter ideations.”
When a SWAT team descended on the boy’s home, located in a suburban area of Parkland, Washington, around 1 a.m. Saturday, they found a collection of 23 firearms, several boxes of ammunition, loaded magazines “with school shooter writings on them,” as well as clothing and writings typical to a mass shooting scenario, Cappetto said.
The arrest comes as students around the United States settle into a new school year and the persistent threat of gun violence that comes with it. Last month, two young children were killed and more than a dozen people were wounded in a shooting during Mass marking the first week of classes at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, just as a wave of active shooter hoaxes at more than dozen universities strained law enforcement resources and stoked fears about carnage on school campuses.
What investigators found in the boy’s bedroom revealed what they describe as an obsession with past school shooters. He “imitated similar behaviors, with photos and inscriptions spread throughout his room,” the sheriff’s office said.
“It is unknown who or what the intended target was going to be, but it’s clear it was a matter of time before a tragic incident occurred,” the sheriff’s office said.
Experts on the psychology of school shooters say one of the biggest red flags for future attackers is an unhealthy obsession with past perpetrators.
Investigators are serving warrants on the electronic devices found in the home in hopes of getting “a clear idea on who/what he intended to hit,” Cappetto said.
Some firearms were mounted on the walls, fully accessible, while others were spread around the home, unsecured, the sheriff’s office said.
Images released by authorities of the firearms seized show rows of long rifles and handguns, lined up one by one. It’s unclear whether the guns were purchased legally, Cappetto said, noting that many have no serial numbers and are essentially “untraceable.”
Some also appear to be homemade from a 3D printer, Cappetto said.
The boy, who is detained at a juvenile detention center in Tacoma, pleaded not guilty to five charges in juvenile court Monday, including one count of a threat to bomb or injure property and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, CNN affiliate KOMO reported.
Outside the courtroom, his parents told KOMO the situation is a misunderstanding. His mother suggested his social media posts were an attempt to “be cool” among peers, and his father said he had no intention to harm anyone, KOMO reported.
The boy has not been enrolled in school since 2021 when he was registered with the Franklin Pierce School District in Tacoma, the sheriff’s office said.
“We have not received any specific threats toward individuals or schools in our community,” said Joel Zylstra, the school district’s executive director of strategic partnerships and communications, confirming the boy was a student in 2021.
Washington state law dictates guns must be stored out of reach of children.
The boy’s parents had not been arrested as of Tuesday morning, though police still need to conduct many interviews with the adults who were in the home, Cappetto said.
The prosecutor will ultimately decide whether the parents will be charged with improper storage and safekeeping of firearms or other potential crimes, Cappetto noted.
