HAWKINS COUNTY, Tn. (WTVR) -- A Tennessee counselor reportedly discovered a plan to shoot up a school in a teen's journal.
The teen had an accomplice, and the pair had planned to kill as many students and teachers as possible at Volunteer Comprehensive High School. The two are now in police custody.
Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson says one of the boys came up with the plan for the deadly mission, and then attempted to recruit other students to help him carry it out. One student did agree to help. The two studied the school and planned to kill the school resource officer first, then block off exits and hit the areas where the max amount of students congregated in lunchrooms and hallways.
Handwritten notes about the attack and weapons were found when deputies searched one of the teens' homes. Sheriff Lawson also said videos of the suspects firing guns and setting off homemade explosives were also found.
The community is in shock after learning about the violent plan.
"It's really scary," Courtney Stapleton, a recent graduate from Volunteer High, said. "I don't know how anyone could plan anything like that."
Sheriff Lawson says that one of the boys had become obsessed with the Columbine High School massacre. He identified all of the killers' mistakes during that attack, and he was going to do his best not to make the same mistakes.
Both teens are facing several charges, including conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
