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Courtesy of Charlotte.com
"Police focus on teen's 'corpse list'
Judge closes court for today's hearing
JAIME LEVY
Staff Writer
Student pickup area at Concord High School. | Website
CONCORD - The 15-year-old boy suspected of planning to set off homemade napalm at Concord High School may be charged as an adult, Cabarrus County District Attorney Roxann Vaneekhoven said Thursday.
When the boy appeared in court this morning about 10:30 a.m., his lawyer filed a motion to close the hearing to the public. The judge agreed to close the court to allow only the teen?s family and witnesses to stay inside the courtroom.
Thursday, police began determining the identities of the people targeted on the boy's "corpse list" and notifying them. The list included vague descriptions of more than 20 people the student wanted to hurt, including himself.
Concord High students said the boy's arrest and the thwarted plot were big conversation topics at school Thursday. Several said they felt reassured by the additional police officers patrolling the school. Authorities said they expected to have extra security there for a few more days.
And Cabarrus County Schools Superintendent Harold "Butch" Winkler said he was concerned that a second boy, who apparently knew about the suspect's plot for several months, may have been involved in planning the attack. Both boys are suspended, and Winkler said he would recommend that both be expelled.
While police were investigating an unfounded, unrelated bomb threat at Concord High Tuesday, students approached them to say they had come across something suspicious. Police looked into it and uncovered a plot to explode incendiary devices around the school and on school buses.
After searching the suspect and his home, police found detailed plans of the school, notes on where to place bombs, burn marks where the boy had tested chemicals and the "corpse list."
There's no apparent pattern to the kinds of people described on the list, police said. Descriptions are vague; for example, one person was called "tall dude."
"As we are able to identify those people, we will be speaking with them," Concord Police Chief Merl Hamilton said.
Monday afternoon, the boy apparently tested a small batch of homemade napalm at the school while the teacher stepped out of the Principles of Technology classroom, authorities said.
The boy's father declined comment when he answered the phone at his Concord home Wednesday afternoon. "No one's talking about anything now," he said.
Students, police and school officials have described the boy as an intelligent loner who wore a trench coat and army boots to school.
Concord High Principal Bill Kinsey said some students, in retrospect, thought they should have paid more attention to offhand comments the boy had made. "They said ... `We didn't take him seriously,' " Kinsey said.
The boy was charged as a juvenile Wednesday with a felony count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction, and one felony and one misdemeanor count of possession of a weapon on school property. He is being held in a juvenile detention facility.
Vaneekhoven said she has three weeks from the boy's first court appearance today to ask a judge to try the student as an adult. Her office is working to determine whether that would be appropriate.
Assuming the boy has no criminal record, he could face up to 44 months in prison if he is tried as an adult, Vaneekhoven said. She did not know the maximum penalties for a juvenile, but said they'd be much less severe.
"It's not even in the same ballpark," she said. "We view this as a very serious case. It's obviously very concerning, and it's obviously a very dangerous situation to the public. We will take all those things into consideration."
Police are still looking into whether the second boy, who apparently knew about the plans, would face charges.
At school Thursday, students buzzed about the averted plot and media attention, saying they were relieved that the boy was caught before anything happened. Photographers with the school newspaper took pictures of TV camera operators across the street from the campus.
"It's really weird to see all these police officers here, (but) I pretty much feel safer now," said sophomore Kim Threadgill, 15. "It's just thank goodness nothing happened."
Winkler said he anticipated stepped-up security at the school for a few days, but said he is not considering permanent additions. He pointed out that even metal detectors at the school would not have been able to discover the homemade napalm the suspect apparently brought from home.
"I'm not sure how you can defend against that," Winkler said. "It's a situation where you depend mostly on students within the school ... who will take responsibility enough for the student body to step forward and tell us about it."
Students also praised the kids who alerted police about their suspicions.
"There's so much peer pressure to not do the right thing (that) for people to come forward, that takes a lot of integrity," said senior Emily Brown, 17. -- STAFF WRITER GAIL SMITH-ARRANTS CONTRIBUTED."
Can't they just take him outside and put a bullet in his head?
"Police focus on teen's 'corpse list'
Judge closes court for today's hearing
JAIME LEVY
Staff Writer
Student pickup area at Concord High School. | Website
CONCORD - The 15-year-old boy suspected of planning to set off homemade napalm at Concord High School may be charged as an adult, Cabarrus County District Attorney Roxann Vaneekhoven said Thursday.
When the boy appeared in court this morning about 10:30 a.m., his lawyer filed a motion to close the hearing to the public. The judge agreed to close the court to allow only the teen?s family and witnesses to stay inside the courtroom.
Thursday, police began determining the identities of the people targeted on the boy's "corpse list" and notifying them. The list included vague descriptions of more than 20 people the student wanted to hurt, including himself.
Concord High students said the boy's arrest and the thwarted plot were big conversation topics at school Thursday. Several said they felt reassured by the additional police officers patrolling the school. Authorities said they expected to have extra security there for a few more days.
And Cabarrus County Schools Superintendent Harold "Butch" Winkler said he was concerned that a second boy, who apparently knew about the suspect's plot for several months, may have been involved in planning the attack. Both boys are suspended, and Winkler said he would recommend that both be expelled.
While police were investigating an unfounded, unrelated bomb threat at Concord High Tuesday, students approached them to say they had come across something suspicious. Police looked into it and uncovered a plot to explode incendiary devices around the school and on school buses.
After searching the suspect and his home, police found detailed plans of the school, notes on where to place bombs, burn marks where the boy had tested chemicals and the "corpse list."
There's no apparent pattern to the kinds of people described on the list, police said. Descriptions are vague; for example, one person was called "tall dude."
"As we are able to identify those people, we will be speaking with them," Concord Police Chief Merl Hamilton said.
Monday afternoon, the boy apparently tested a small batch of homemade napalm at the school while the teacher stepped out of the Principles of Technology classroom, authorities said.
The boy's father declined comment when he answered the phone at his Concord home Wednesday afternoon. "No one's talking about anything now," he said.
Students, police and school officials have described the boy as an intelligent loner who wore a trench coat and army boots to school.
Concord High Principal Bill Kinsey said some students, in retrospect, thought they should have paid more attention to offhand comments the boy had made. "They said ... `We didn't take him seriously,' " Kinsey said.
The boy was charged as a juvenile Wednesday with a felony count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction, and one felony and one misdemeanor count of possession of a weapon on school property. He is being held in a juvenile detention facility.
Vaneekhoven said she has three weeks from the boy's first court appearance today to ask a judge to try the student as an adult. Her office is working to determine whether that would be appropriate.
Assuming the boy has no criminal record, he could face up to 44 months in prison if he is tried as an adult, Vaneekhoven said. She did not know the maximum penalties for a juvenile, but said they'd be much less severe.
"It's not even in the same ballpark," she said. "We view this as a very serious case. It's obviously very concerning, and it's obviously a very dangerous situation to the public. We will take all those things into consideration."
Police are still looking into whether the second boy, who apparently knew about the plans, would face charges.
At school Thursday, students buzzed about the averted plot and media attention, saying they were relieved that the boy was caught before anything happened. Photographers with the school newspaper took pictures of TV camera operators across the street from the campus.
"It's really weird to see all these police officers here, (but) I pretty much feel safer now," said sophomore Kim Threadgill, 15. "It's just thank goodness nothing happened."
Winkler said he anticipated stepped-up security at the school for a few days, but said he is not considering permanent additions. He pointed out that even metal detectors at the school would not have been able to discover the homemade napalm the suspect apparently brought from home.
"I'm not sure how you can defend against that," Winkler said. "It's a situation where you depend mostly on students within the school ... who will take responsibility enough for the student body to step forward and tell us about it."
Students also praised the kids who alerted police about their suspicions.
"There's so much peer pressure to not do the right thing (that) for people to come forward, that takes a lot of integrity," said senior Emily Brown, 17. -- STAFF WRITER GAIL SMITH-ARRANTS CONTRIBUTED."
Can't they just take him outside and put a bullet in his head?
