Teen Charged in Attack Plot at High School

A Sacramento County high school student was charged Wednesday with two counts of conspiracy to attempt murder and one count of attempted burglary in a thwarted plot to kill classmates, officials said.

Two 15-year-old boys, a freshman and a sophomore at Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove, remained in custody Wednesday, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department officials said. Only one has been charged.

“They were very angry and they definitely disliked some students,” said Sgt. Lou Fatur, a sheriff’s spokesman. “They were not doing well in school. It’s almost a recipe for disaster.”

Although the boys apparently did not have access to weapons or explosives, a .22-caliber rifle belonging to a parent was removed from one of their homes, along with a map of the high school, Fatur said.

After a parent overheard a conversation about the alleged plan and tipped off authorities, the boys’ alleged plot unraveled.

They allegedly had intended to rob a sporting goods store, steal weapons and shoot a group of students during lunch Wednesday, officials said, and also wanted to set off explosives.

The alleged plot identified a specific target as a 14-year-old black girl, prompting authorities to label it a hate crime during the boys’ arrests Monday and Tuesday.

The students, who are white, also allegedly mentioned trying to exceed the number of students killed in the 1999 Columbine High School attack in Colorado, officials said. Twelve students and a teacher were killed in that incident before the two assailants, also high school students, killed themselves.

Laguna Creek officials and students were surprised and upset upon hearing about the alleged plan, saying the school in southern Sacramento County is ethnically diverse and the students generally high-achieving.

“I feel disappointed that this is how people are going to see and think about Laguna Creek High School,” said Doug Craig, the school principal. “This is not representative of our school. Ninety-nine percent of our students are great kids that show up and achieve at a very high rate.”

Although the school has several organizations focusing on diversity and acceptance, Craig said he planned to add lessons regarding tolerance to the weekly homeroom curriculum.

“I’ve always been proud to go here because we’ve always been a diverse campus as far as ethnicities and races,” said Jeff Manassero, 18, the student body vice president. “Any school or any campus has problems with people doing irresponsible things and students making bad decisions. In that aspect, I don’t think we’re any different.”

The boys were arrested after a parent, who overheard that an attack was planned at the school, called Elk Grove police at 2 a.m. Sunday, officials said.

The call led to a joint investigation by police and the school district.

The boys’ names were not released because they are minors.

Four other students, who might have known of the plot but did not report it, were questioned by investigators but not arrested. They have been suspended, said Elk Grove Unified School District Supt. David Gordon.

Although school was not in session Monday because of a school holiday, classes resumed Tuesday with extra counselors available for students and heightened security. A letter was also sent to parents informing them of the arrests.

Elk Grove is the 10th-largest school district in California, as well as one of the fastest-growing in the nation. Of the 2,400 students at Laguna Creek, 28% are white, 25% African American, 19% Asian, 15% Hispanic and 11% Filipino.