Student plans bomb attack...any other press on it?

[OneLungMcClung]

Did anyone hear about this on the TV news? I remember that there was a lot of press given towards kids who were plotting to commit a gun attack, but here we have a kid who was planning a bombing...and I wonder if it received the same vitriol? Let me know.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/...ol_attack_plot

18-year-old SC student accused of plotting to bomb school

BY JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 22 minutes ago

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A high school senior collected enough supplies to carry out a bomb attack on his school and detailed the plot in a hate-filled diary that included maps of the building and admiring notations about the Columbine

Ryan Schallenberger, 18, was arrested Saturday after his parents called police when 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate was delivered to their home in Chesterfield and they discovered the journal, said the town's police chief, Randall Lear.

The teen planned to make several bombs and had all the supplies needed to kill dozens at Chesterfield High School, depending on where the devices were placed and whether they included shrapnel, Lear said. Ammonium nitrate was used in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 that killed 168 people.

"The only thing left was delivering the bombs," the police chief said.

Schallenberger kept a journal for more than a year that detailed his plans for a suicide attack and included maps of the school, police said. The writings did not include a specific time for the attack or the intended targets.

He also left an audio tape to be played after he died explaining why he wanted to bomb his school. Lear wouldn't detail what was on the tape except to say Schallenberger was an angry young man.

"He seemed to hate the world. He hated people different from him — the rich boys with good-looking girlfriends," Lear said.

In his writings, Schallenberger said he admired the two teens who killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 before committing suicide, Lear said. The attack happened nine years ago Sunday, but Lear said investigators do not know whether there was any link between the anniversary and Schallenberger's plans.

Schallenberger was one of the top students at the high school of about 580 students and had not caused any serious problems before his arrest, principal Scott Radkin said.

The school's Web site lists Schallenberger as a member of the 2007 academic bowl squad. He won an academic award from Newberry College in the last school year.

The teen was in the Chesterfield County jail Sunday night, charged with possessing materials to make bombs, the police chief said. A bond hearing was scheduled for Monday. Other than the bomb-making material, no other weapons were found at his home, Lear said.

Lear said Schallenberger did not have an attorney. His parents could not immediately be located Sunday by The Associated Press.

Security will be tightened at the school when students return Monday. Students will walk through metal detectors borrowed from a courthouse, and bomb and drug sniffing dogs have been called in. Lear said he does not expect any problems.

Chesterfield is a town of about 1,500 people in northeastern South Carolina near the North Carolina line.

[Philadelphia]

Did anyone hear about this on the TV news? I remember that there was a lot of press given towards kids who were plotting to commit a gun attack, but here we have a kid who was planning a bombing...and I wonder if it received the same vitriol? Let me know.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/...ol_attack_plot

Uh oh. We need to ban children.

They're obviously very, very dangerous.

[Pa. Patriot]

It was on FNC this morning

[headcase]

Just a side note here.... What a great parenting set this kid has. Why not at least try to get the kid some help, instead of just calling the police? They found the diary, they could have just gotten rid of the supplies and tried to get him some counseling or even inpatient help. Now this kid has to go through the system. I could see if it was a friend who found the stuff, but your own parents? Kid is obviously very smart and very troubled, as a parent, how do you just throw your kid to the wolves?

[Kenshin]

So theres a charge now for possessing materials to make bombs??? Any farmer or reloader would be guilty of that charge...

[Damage control]

Just a side note here.... What a great parenting set this kid has. Why not at least try to get the kid some help, instead of just calling the police? They found the diary, they could have just gotten rid of the supplies and tried to get him some counseling or even inpatient help. Now this kid has to go through the system. I could see if it was a friend who found the stuff, but your own parents? Kid is obviously very smart and very troubled, as a parent, how do you just throw your kid to the wolves?

He is no kid he is an adult. I think the parents did the right thing. Most attacks like this seem to have more than one person involved. So if they just did what you suggested and he had an accomplice the attacks still could have taking place.

This of Corse is just my opinion.

DC

[Raskin91]

I heard them talking about it on GMA, this morning as I was walking out the door to go to work. I am glad he was stopped before anything happened. It is truly a shame that this young man felt that this was the only solution to his problems. I feel bad for all parties involved, and again at least no one was hurt or killed.

[headcase]

He is no kid he is an adult. I think the parents did the right thing. Most attacks like this seem to have more than one person involved. So if they just did what you suggested and he had an accomplice the attacks still could have taking place.

This of Corse is just my opinion.

DC

I am not arguing that the kid isn't a nut job, or that he doesn't deserve whatever he gets. My point is as a parent, how do you not at least try to help your child?

[Keith4001r]

I feel sorry for the 18 YO non- juvenile kid, that he has problems that make him feel that this would have been a solution. I feel sorrier for his parents. They had to drop a dime on thier own kid. Yes, probably had to. I don't really think they just woke up and decided to "throw him to the wolves".

Who knows what this kid has put them through in the last 18 years? People seldom go off the deep end as soon as they turn 18. I submit that those poor parents have put up with this kid's bullshit for many years, and the plan to actually kill/maim/cause major destruction was enough.

How could they have lived with themselves if they had been able to convince him to seek counselling, only to watch him not go, not take meds, etc., and then just go and blow something else up? I think they did the right thing.

Wow. That's the most serious I've been since I shot down the UFO.

Fireproof drawers on, hit me.

[headcase]

I feel sorry for the 18 YO non- juvenile kid, that he has problems that make him feel that this would have been a solution. I feel sorrier for his parents. They had to drop a dime on thier own kid. Yes, probably had to. I don't really think they just woke up and decided to "throw him to the wolves".

Who knows what this kid has put them through in the last 18 years? People seldom go off the deep end as soon as they turn 18. I submit that those poor parents have put up with this kid's bullshit for many years, and the plan to actually kill/maim/cause major destruction was enough.

How could they have lived with themselves if they had been able to convince him to seek counselling, only to watch him not go, not take meds, etc., and then just go and blow something else up? I think they did the right thing.

Wow. That's the most serious I've been since I shot down the UFO.

Fireproof drawers on, hit me.

Nah, no need for the asbestos drawers, lol. I would imagine, that since this kid has been recognized for his outstanding academic acheivements, that this was a case of OMG, LOOK WHAT HE'S DONE WTF DO WE DO! I didn't see any mention of a long term problem. In cases like this, there is usually no outward sign of trouble at home. IMO there is no way a trouble maker kid gets this far into a plan like this, without throwing up many red flags. Which brings me back to, as a parent, how do you not at least try to get him help before throwing him to the wolves?