Fifth-graders admit plot to kill classmate at Fort Colville Elementary School, Washington
Parents of Sandy Hook Elementary massacre victims hold hands during a press conference on the one month anniversary of the Newtown elementary school massacre on January 14, 2013 in Newtown, Connecticut. Eleven families of Sandy Hook massacre victims came to the event one month after the shooting to give their support to Sandy Hook Promise, a new non-profit with the goal of preventing such tragedies in the future.
Two fifth-grade boys in Washington have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder after school authorities found a knife and a gun in the backpack of a student.
The Los Angeles Times reported the two boys, aged 10 and 11, planned to use the weapons to kill a classmate at Fort Colville Elementary School “because she was really annoying,” as well as harm an additional six students.
The students were arrested last Thursday after a fourth-grader told a school employee he had seen one of the boys playing with a knife on the school bus, The Spokesman-Review reported.
A subsequent search of the 10-year-old’s backpack revealed a knife, a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a full ammunition clip, the Associated Press reported, citing court documents.
A police detective later heard one of the boys telling the other: "If I find out who told them about our weapons I'm going to kill them. I don't care when I get out of jail I'm going to come back and kill them," the Spokesman-Review reported, citing court records.
The LA Times said the boys admitted their murderous plot to police.
"I was going to kill her with the knife and (the other boy) was supposed to use the gun to keep anyone from trying to stop me or mess up our plan," the older boy was quoted as saying.
A court hearing will be held on February 20 to determine if the boys had the mental capacity to commit a crime.
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