Two Boys, 14, Arrested in Plot to Shoot a Teacher

Two “clean-cut” 14-year-old boys were arrested Friday for plotting to gun down a woman teacher who had flunked one of them, sheriff’s deputies said. The plot allegedly was within minutes of being carried out.

The teens, whose names were not released, were arrested at Palm Middle School in suburban Lemon Grove, and a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol they had hidden in a whiskey sack was discovered in bushes on campus, said Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Ferons.

The two had hidden the gun in a nearby park several days earlier and then taken it to campus on Friday, Ferons said.

The plan was for one boy to don a ski mask and shoot the teacher in her classroom after school adjourned, Ferons said. The teacher is known for staying after school to help students. A ski mask was found in one boy’s backpack when the arrests were made at 3:30 p.m., officers said.

“It was within a half-hour of happening,” Ferons said.

Ferons said the two had been boasting on campus about their plans to kill the teacher. One student who heard of the plot relayed information to his parents, who called the school.

The two teens offered no resistance when arrested. Both were booked on suspicion of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon on school grounds, officials said. The pistol belongs to the father of one teen.

“They look just like typical kids,” said Ferons.