Another planned school shooting thwarted by a grandmother on same day teen opened fire at Florida high school, killing 17: Police

On Tuesday, a Washington teen was arrested for allegedly plotting to bomb and shoot students at an Everett high school on the same day a Florida teen reportedly opened fire at a Parkland high school, killing 17 people.

The Daily Herald reports that Joshua O’Connor, 18, is charged with three felonies after his grandmother found a journal in his room that allegedly contained shocking details on plans to shoot students at at ACES High School, as well as plans to create homemade bombs to be used at the school. The grandmother called 911 on Tuesday morning, while states away, a school shooting was taking place that ended with numerous people injured and 17 dead.

“I’m preparing myself for the school shooting,” the suspect allegedly wrote in the journal. “I can’t wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate … I can’t wait to walk into that class and blow all those (expletives) away.”

“I need to make this count,” O’Connor reportedly continued. “I’ve been reviewing many mass shootings/bombings (and attempted bombings) I’m learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes.”

O’Connor also wrote about a Monday night armed robbery at a convenience store, according to authorities. Police reported that at 10 p.m. on Monday, a store off of the 900 block of W Casino Road was robbed by two armed suspects wearing masks. The suspects made away with around $100 in cash, money reportedly taken to fund the school shooting.

According to authorities, the suspect wrote about how powerful he felt while holding up the convenience store cashier with a gun.

The grandmother also reported finding two grenades inside the teen’s room. Later, after obtaining a search warrant, authorities discovered the grenades, a green and black jacket, the journal, a rifle, and a mask that matched the same type of mask the gunman wore in the convenience store robbery video.

O’Connor is behind bars on $5 million bail.

Meanwhile, Andy Muntz, spokesman for the Mukilteo School District, released a public statement thanking the grandmother for her assistance in stopping the incident from happening.

“Our main thing right now is gratitude, especially to the grandmother. That couldn’t have been easy for her to do. The Everett police also did a wonderful job. That combination may have saved a lot of lives.”

The other suspect in the convenience store robbery has not been apprehended. Anyone with any information should contact the Everett Police Department at 425-257-8450.

[Feature Photo: Pixabay]