Oregon Teenager Busted for Columbine-Inspired Plan to Bomb His High School
Apparently a high school student in Oregon was arrested this week for carefully planning an attack on his high school that was modeled after the Columbine attacks. Except he refined things to make it more efficient. 17-year-old West Albany High School student Grant Acord will be charged as an adult for attempted aggravated murder, and the possession and production of a destructive device, Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson told reporters late Saturday night. Police arrested the teenager Thursday evening at his father's house in Albany, Oregon after receiving a tip from an unnamed source about Acord's plan. Over the next two days, search warrants for his mother's house lead to the discovery of six bombs, along with checklists and planning materials and even a specific timeline, hidden under his bedroom floor boards. There were pipe bombs, drain cleaner bombs, Molotov cocktails and napalm bombs hidden from his parents sight.
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Why Acord wanted to go through with this carefully executed plan is the biggest remaining question. Haroldson said Acord has no history of trouble at school. There is no recent incident or suspension that they could look into for clues. But he was influenced by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two students who attacked Columbine High School in 1999. Acord's "goal was to model the Columbine shootings with some adjustments that would make it a greater success," Haroldson said.
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Police wouldn't say when Acord was planning to carry out his plan, but they did reveal his preparation left room for improvisation. "That said there were also some indications that it could happen at any time, too," Haroldson told reporters. "So you have — A -the methodical planning and then — B — I suppose he could get really excited about it and go early." Acord is now being held in a juvenile jail while he awaits his next court date on Tuesday.
