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Utah teen girl arrested for planning Columbine-like mass shooting

The 15-year-old was charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction

columbine high school

In this April 17, 2019, file photo, a patrol car is parked in front of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., where two student killed 12 classmates and a teacher in 1999.

AP Photo/Joe Mahoney, File

By Kate Feldman
New York Daily News

WEBER COUNTY, Utah — A 15-year-old Utah girl was plotting a mass shooting and bombing at her high school, posting “terroristic threats” on Instagram, according to police.

The teenager, who has not been publicly identified, has been charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction, KSL reported Tuesday.

Weber County sheriff’s deputies were warned in late September about the girl’s social media posts, which “referenced acquiring firearms, and described the act that she was about to perform ‘Like Columbine,’” according to the arrest warrant.

Columbine High School seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 students and one teacher in April 1999 before dying by suicide in the school library.

Another post talked about planning to “shoot up” Weber High School, where she was enrolled, as her way to “make my mark on society.”

“I need guns. And I need bullets. And I need alcohol. And I need bombs,” she allegedly wrote in a digital diary. “And I need to kill all of these (people).”

A video on her phone showed her making napalm in her driveway, according to the arrest affidavit, but investigators didn’t find any when they searched her house.

Officials believe the girl was planning the attack for April 2024.

Weber High School officials alerted parents to the threat, but said “never an imminent danger to the school or other students.”

“Fortunately, early intervention and action by law enforcement foiled any potential acts of violence,” said a letter sent home Tuesday.

[NEXT: Detention of man with AR-15 walking toward school was lawful]

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