18-year-old SC student accused of plotting to bomb school

[villager]

Source: AP

18-year-old SC student accused of plotting to bomb school

BY JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A high school senior collected enough supplies to carry out a bomb attack on his school and detailed the plot in a hate-filled diary that included maps of the building and admiring notations about the Columbine killers, authorities said Sunday.

Ryan Schallenberger, 18, was arrested Saturday after his parents called police when 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate was delivered to their home in Chesterfield and they discovered the journal, said the town's police chief, Randall Lear.

The teen planned to make several bombs and had all the supplies needed to kill dozens at Chesterfield High School, depending on where the devices were placed and whether they included shrapnel, Lear said. Ammonium nitrate was used in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 that killed 168 people.

"The only thing left was delivering the bombs," the police chief said.

Schallenberger kept a journal for more than a year that detailed his plans for a suicide attack and included maps of the school, police said. The writings did not include a specific time for the attack or the intended targets.

He also left an audio tape to be played after he died explaining why he wanted to bomb his school. Lear wouldn't detail what was on the tape except to say Schallenberger was an angry young man.

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Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/ap_on_re_us/school_attack_plot

[truthisfreedom]

1. Sharp parents, quick action averting disaster.

Whew.

[tomreedtoon]

7. If they were sharp, how come it took SO LONG?

If they were paying attention to their kid, if they were involved in his life, he wouldn't have gotten to the stage where he was ordering the stuff.

I'm glad they averted disaster, but they had better realize how lousy their parenting skills were, and pay more attention to their children.

[Captain Angry]

2. How on earth can you have Ammonium Nitrate delivered?

Especially after Oklahoma City?

I could have sworn that it was controlled and only licensed demolitionists could acquire the materials.

Wow.

[PSPS]

3. They tried to control it

However, that was in the wake of the OK bombing, Gingrich was in charge, so the republicans killed it.

[Xithras]

4. It was deemed too hard to control

Basically, the farmers raised holy hell at the prospect of getting rid of it. It's heavily used as an ingredient in fertilizers, and the country's ag element quickly outlined the doom and gloom that would follow an outright ban. The feds realized that it was impossible to keep it secure on farms (most farms don't even have fences, much less security) and gave up on the idea.

Ammonium Nitrate purchases ARE logged, and anyone buying large quantities can expect some questioning by the police. It sounds like this kid didn't buy enough to build any big bombs and stayed under their radar.

[Captain Angry]

5. Well, if that's the case...

I need to order some. For research. And it has nothing to do with final exams week coming up in about a month.

:-P

[Xithras]

6. You can order it here

http://www.sciencestuff.com/prod/Chem-Rgnts/C1242

Enjoy!

By the way, another reason it hasn't been banned is that it can be extracted from other fertilizers very easily. It's one of those materials that's just too common, and too easy to make, to regulate effectively. The feds settled on simply monitoring sales to catch people buying it in quantity. Remember that the OKC bombing involved about 5000 pounds of the stuff. Ammonium Nitrate can be used to create some impressive explosions, but only if used in very large quantities. It doesn't sound like this kid had those. He might have built a small bomb, but nothing spectacular.

[rinsd]

10. According to wiki, OKC involved 108 50lb bags.

After removing the license plate from the car, the two men returned to Kansas. On April 17 and April 18, the men loaded 108 fifty-pound (22 kg) bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, three fifty-five gallon (208 l) drums of liquid nitromethane, several crates of explosive Tovex sausage, seventeen bags of ANFO, and spools of shock tube and cannon fuse into the truck. The two then drove to Geary County State Lake where they mixed the chemicals together using plastic buckets and a bathroom scale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing#Prelude

[Tesha]

8. Ammonium Nitrate is also used (by the tons) as a fertilizer. (NT)

[OKthatsIT]

9. Do you know how easy it is to set up this kid?

They ALWAYS keep a journal.

Look people...you call in an order, using a credit card number gotten from 'spying' on the family...or simply look up their records. Then you go plant a book when you arrive to search the house.

VOILA! You got a terrorist. You got more reason for funding Homeland Security, more reason to invade privacies, and more reason to send 'Jackboots' out to patrol, tazer, FREE US CITIZENS.

When US Citizens are ready to SEE the truth, for what it is, MAYBE then, we'll be able to straighten this mess out.

[dogfacedboy]

11. So, let's see if I have this right.

You believe that this kid was possibly set up in some kind of "black ops" scenario?
I highly doubt it, even though your suspicions are not beyond possible.
This kid is just another loser who is a product of bad parenting, and the militaristic atmosphere that has run completely amok in the US.

Start combatting the militarism among civilians, and the problem will begin to be solved.

[LanternWaste]

12. You believe this was a setup?

You believe this was a setup?

Based on what evidence?

[YDogg]

13. heh