JACKSON TWP., STARK COUNTY — A 13-year-old boy who shot and killed himself in school last month intended to carry out an eight-step school shooting.
The teen shot himself in the head just before 8 a.m. Feb. 20 with a semiautomatic rifle at Jackson Middle School in northern Ohio. The teen’s name is not being released by this news outlet.
Jackson Twp. Police Chief Mark Brink said the student did not use social media often, but they found notes on his phone that showed his “intentions to harm others” through detailed plans in the memo section of his phone.
Authorities said the student had 80 rounds of ammunition on him but do not know why he changed his mind and shot himself.
According to a news release, the investigation revealed the teen admired the Columbine shooters and had an eight-step plan of attack at Jackson Middle School in entries from Feb. 14 through Feb. 20. He fantasized leaving “a lasting impression on the world.”
Feb. 18: “I’m going to die doing it, I hate those people, when they interview my parents and ask how they didn’t see the signs they should know it’s not them it’s me and it’s because of how I see the world...I’d hurt and destroy something bigger but my schools an easy target...”
Feb. 19: “This will be bigger than anything this country’s ever seen, ... I’ve been planning this for a few weeks and thought about it a few months, I will never be forgotten I’ll be a stain in American history ... it’s going to be so much fun. They won’t expect a thing.
According to the release, a student leaving the bathroom noticed the 13-year-old had a weapon and the student alerted faculty.
After the shooting, the boy was taken to Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron, where he died of his injuries the next day, CBS affiliate WOIO-TV in Cleveland reported.
Jackson Twp. police said the boy concealed the gun underneath his clothes, took it on the bus and carried it unnoticed onto campus. The gun came from his mother’s house, but it was not clear who owned the weapon.
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