Less than two weeks after a woman who identified as a transgender man killed six people at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, authorities arrested a transgender woman who was planning a school shooting in Colorado.
The former Colorado Springs student, a 19-year-old male who identifies as a woman, has been arrested and charged after an investigation into “threats involving schools in Colorado Springs Academy District 20,” ABC local affiliate KRDO reported.
The individual was arrested by the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office and, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, was charged with:
- Criminal attempt to commit murder in the first degree (two counts)
- Criminal mischief
- Menacing
- Interference with staff, faculty, or students of educational institutions
The suspect was apprehended when his sister called the police after he was behaving violently and making references to school shootings. His sister also told a police dispatcher the man has “severe anger issues,” according to the arrest affidavit.
When authorities entered the suspect’s bedroom, they found a notebook with instructions on how to build homemade bombs and a whiteboard with the floor plan of Timberview Middle School, where he went to fifth, sixth, and seventh grade. Since attending that Timberview, he was homeschooled, the affidavit stated.
The notebook included the drawing of a clock to use as a detonation mechanism for the explosive device, which the suspect said he learned how to create on YouTube.
Also discovered among the teen’s belongings was Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto.
Police found the suspect lying in bed drunk in a room with several holes in the wall, and trash piled so high it was level with the bed. Police noted the filthy condition of the room, adding that his bedsheets were stained brown.
According to police, the suspect has a history of suicidal thoughts, stating they come “often” and adding that he had never received treatment.
Sheriff’s deputies found a manifesto with the names of mass shooters, political commentators, and a list of people “to be killed” written in a notebook, which also contained the victims’ intended casualty versus injury rate.
Firearms for the attack were to be made by a 3-D printer. No guns were found inside the home, though police discovered “firearm cleaning liquids.”
Authorities say deputies spoke to the suspect, who nodded “yes” when asked if he was planning to commit a school shooting. Police say the suspect appeared intoxicated and told officers, “I’m a little drunk by the way.”
The primary target was the middle school, while other potential targets included Prairie Hill Elementary and Pine Creek High School, the affidavit stated. The suspect said he’d been planning the attack for a month or two.
The suspect’s hearing is scheduled for May 5, 2023.
His bond has been set at $75,000.
