12-year-old faces felony charges over alleged school shooting plot

On Thursday, police charged a 12-year-old with a third-degree felony over alleged plans to shoot up a school in Dallas, Texas, WFAA reports. It’s not clear if the child has access to a weapon.

According to the Dallas Morning News, a classmate of the seventh grader alerted school administrators that the suspect had been talking about shooting up the charter school, Trinity Basin Preparatory, for weeks. Administrators had treated it as a joke, but called the police once they saw a detailed plan the student shared with his friend on Thursday. From the Morning News:

The other student thought the suspect was joking until Thursday, when he showed him what [Assistant Police Chief Randy] Blankenbaker described as “a written diagram detailing how the plan would be carried out.” The other student notified an administrator. The suspect was taken to the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center, where he has been charged with violating the education code-exhibition of firearms, a third-degree felony.

The Morning News added that the student did not have a weapon on him when he was detained.

School Superintendent Randy Shaffer said, “the threat was very serious. We take that very seriously.” He added, “but of all the things that could have happened, certainly this is less tragic than some other things. And we are very thankful for that.”

A hearing is set for Friday, during which the judge will decide if there is reason to move the case forward.