Teenagers charged over ‘high school bomb plot’

THREE Wisconsin teenagers have been charged with plotting to kill fellow pupils in a Columbine-style attack with a huge arsenal of guns and bombs.

Green Bay East High School pupils William Cornell and Shawn Sturtz, both 17, and recent graduate Bradley Netwal, 18, were each charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide, punishable by up to 60 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit damage of property by use of explosives, a charge that carries up to 40 years in prison and $100,000 (€78,000) in fines.

Cornell also was charged with possessing explosives and a short-barrelled shotgun, a charge that carries up to 18 years in prison and $35,000 (€27,000) in fines.

The teenagers’ alleged plan — two years in the making, according to prosecutors — came to light last week after a student told an associate principal.

The 17-year-olds were arrested at school within hours and Netwal was arrested the next day.

The criminal complaint paints Cornell and Sturtz as despondent and suicidal over their lack of relationships with girls and bullying. Netwal told police he went along with the plan because he did not want them to think he was ‘chicken’.

Two pages of the complaint describe an arsenal of weapons Cornell had stashed in his bedroom, including the sawn-off shotgun, rifles, pistols, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a black leather trench coat. Homemade explosives were also found.

Among the cache was a book entitled Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge. Two bandoliers of ammunition and several knives were also confiscated from Sturtz’s house.