Schoolboy planned Columbine massacre repeat

A teenager who planned to copy the Columbine massacre and shoot several students and teachers at his school has been arrested in Sweden.

A lawyer for the 16-year-old said the teenager was suspected of conspiracy to commit murder.

He did not comment on reports that the boy planned to blow up his school in Malmo, 382 miles south-west of the capital, Stockholm.

The teenager and two accomplices allegedly planned to emulate the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, in which two student gunmen killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves.

Police said they found a hunting rifle, chemicals that could be used to manufacture explosives and an online diary detailing the plans.

Prosecutor Anders Pettersson said he was still investigating the case. The other two boys were released without charge.

“There remains some supplementary steps,” he said without offering any more details.

School violence in Sweden is extremely rare.