2 Florida Middle Schoolers Allegedly Plotted Mass School Shooting; Arrested

Two middle school students in Lee County, Florida, have been arrested on charges of plotting a mass shooting at their school in Lehigh Acres, law enforcement officials said.

In a media briefing, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the plot to carry out the shooting at Harns Marsh Middle School was thwarted after a tip, Fox affiliate WFTX-TV reported. A teacher informed administrative staff and school resource officers about a student in 8th grade potentially carrying a gun in the school on Sept. 8.

Following a search, a firearm was not located but the student in question allegedly had a map of the school. The map was marked where all of the school’s cameras were located.

Upon further investigation, two students, identified as Connor Pruitt, 13, and Phillip Byrd, 14, were found to have allegedly plotted a shooting in their school. The students were reportedly researching the 1999 Columbine shooting that resulted in the deaths of one teacher and 12 students. The teens were also looking into how pipe guns were made and were interested in purchasing firearms at the black market, the sheriff said.

The teens’ homes were searched and investigators found several knives and a gun, NBC affiliate WBBH-TV reported. The outlet noted that deputies were spotted searching a home on Oakfield Avenue South on Thursday morning.

According to detectives, the boys need to be evaluated at a mental health facility.

Marceno said that if the plot was not foiled, it “could have been the next Parkland massacre.” He added that the county was “one second away from another Columbine” as the students involved were extensively studying to learn more about the deadly incident and the shooters, the New York Post reported.

The sheriff said both Pruitt and Byrd were “well known” in the sheriff’s department as the teens’ homes have been responded to a combined 80 times in the past for disturbances.

Principal of HMMS Alex Dworzanski said all students and staff in the school were unhurt and activities went on as usual. “I commend the students who came forward to report the threat and the quick action of the staff,” Dworzanski said.

While the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado was plotted by two 12th-grade students, the Parkland shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland cited by Marceno was plotted by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz. The 2018 shooting resulted in 17 deaths.