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Parents alarmed by tweets of suspect in Spotsylvania mass shooting plot

Posted at 8:18 PM, Oct 27, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-27 20:19:42-04

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. -- Upset parents and community members in Spotsylvania County are concerned by what they said are the disturbing social media posts by a teen involved in amass shooting plot at Riverbend High School.

The posts were allegedly put online by one of the teen suspects police said was involved in a mass shooting plot at Riverbend High School. That teen has not yet been identified by police.

Parents believe some of the Twitter posts may give a small glimpse into the mindset of one of the suspects, weeks before the foiled plot was exposed by investigators.

One tweet read: “Your whole group gunna [sic] get what's coming to you, don't say I didn't warn you its [sic] all been here you've chosen to ignore the signs.”

Another post said: “One day I’m going to hurt all the people that make me feel this way inside and everyone will see what effect they had on me.”

“Looks like another year of no homecoming or prom or anything cause I'm a loser that no one talks to,” read another.

“Ima [sic] die soon and I know it but f*** it I’m not gunna [sic] die like a b****” is another tweet that left parents upset.

The teens planned to phone in a bomb threat and shoot students and staff as they exited the building, according to Cpt. Jeffery Pearce, with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.

“This was a serious threat,” said Spotsylvania County Sheriff Roger L. Harris.

The first juvenile was arrested on Oct. 12 after the Student Resource Officer received information from Sheriff's deputies which indicated that the student intended to commit acts of violence against others at the school.

He was charged with the felony crime of "Threatening Violence by Means of Internet" and ordered held in the Juvenile Detention center by the court.

During the investigation, additional information was uncovered which linked a second student to the attack. The second juvenile male was arrested on Friday, Oct. 23.

Search warrants were executed on the residences of both suspects.  The students had numerous guns available to them, according to Pearce, though he would not say how they were able to get their hands on the guns.

After gathering more evidence, detectives amended the charges facing the first student to "Conspiracy to Commit Murder," and the other student was given the same charge.

“We were able to catch this thing long before it became a different kind of story,” Pearce said.

Investigators wouldn't comment specifically on the tweets but said they are aware of the suspect’s activities on social media.

They sent this message to parents.
“Parents if there’s anything I would suggest to you, it’s to watch your kids. Look at their chats, their tweets and pay attention to their social media. If there are issues there for you to see, this is a golden opportunity to find it,” Pearce said.

Sue Gibney's grandson attends Riverbend High School and she’s disturbed by the tweets.

“You know, really none of these threats in this day and age are a joke,” she said. “I think most of these school shootings show how remiss the parents have been. I do think about how wonderful it is that some kids had the nerve to report it.”

That’s good, because in this day and age I do think kids are afraid” Gibney added.

CBS 6 News analyst Todd Stone spoke about the tweets, that are now evidence in this case. He expects that they will likely play prominently in court.

Normally an out of court statement is hearsay, but Stone says when it is made by the person who is charged, that’s an exception.

“It’s admissible against the person,” Stone said. “Also, in this situation, you`re talking about tweets that might show his state of mind, and that`s also an exception to the hearsay rule.”
“There are many reasons why they would be admissible against him in a trial,” Stone said.

The seventeen year old suspect is due in court Wednesday morning for an arraignment.

Prosecutors said they are considering trying both suspects as adults. A judge will make that decision.

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