Authorities in the city of Everett, Washington have arrested an 18-year-old after a tip off from his grandmother led them to believe he was planning to shoot his classmates.

Police said that on Tuesday 13 February a grandmother in Everett called 911 because she believed her grandson was planning on shooting students at ACES high school in the city.

Officers attended the grandmother's house, the city's police department said, where they were shown excerpts from the teenager's journal.

The journal so alarmed the officers that the high school was contacted to alert them to the threat that the teenager might pose.

Police said that the journal detailed plans to shoot students and use homemade explosive devices at the facility, they were also said to be alarmed by statements made in the journal.

The grandmother had also reported that her grandson had a rifle which was stored in a guitar case. The grandson was arrested at the school.

Police said that on his person during the arrest officers found marijuana and a knife. Authorities said that he was booked into Snohomish County Jail on probable cause for attempted murder "due to planning and taking substantial steps toward executing a school shooting."

Major Crimes Unit detectives served a search warrant at the grandmother's house to seize the journal, rifle and military style inert grenades, along with other evidence.

America continues to discuss gun culture and control in the country after a shooting at a Florida high school killed at least 17 people. Broward County Sheriff's Office said in a report that 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz had confessed to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Cruz's attorney told reporters that he was remorseful and is aware of what is going on but that he's a "broken human being".</s>EVERETT, Wash. -- Authorities in Washington arrested an 18-year-old man on Tuesday who was said to be planning an attack on a school. The alleged plan was foiled by his grandmother.

Joshua O'Connor may have been the next school gunman. But then his grandmother, Cathi O'Connor, called 911.

"I'm finding journal entries from my grandson," Cathi told 911 dispatchers. "He's planning on having a mass shooting at one of the high schools."

Cathi called police when she discovered a note in her grandson's journal that read in part: "I'm preparing myself for a school shooting. I can't wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate."

"It couldn't have been an easy thing for her to do, but boy, it was sure the right thing for her to do," said Andy Muntz of the Mukilteo School District.

Joshua Alexander O'Connor KIRO

Court documents say the 18-year-old had a semi-automatic rifle hidden in a guitar case, bomb making equipment and "detailed plans to shoot people at Aces High School" where he was a student.

"I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can," O'Connor wrote.

Authorities say the rifle matches one used Monday to rob a convenience store, and that O'Connor wrote in his journal "about how powerful he felt and how scared the female cashier was at him pointing his gun at her."

Prosecutors believe the robbery was meant to raise money for more material for the attack his grandmother prevented.</s>One day before 17-year-old Nikolas Cruz walked into Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and killed 17 people, an 18-year-old student in Everett, Washington was arrested after his grandmother found plans for a school shooting in his journal. According to the Seattle Times, the grandmother called 911 and relayed what authorities later described as “upcoming and credible threats” to ACES High School. The teenager was subsequently “arrested on investigation of attempted murder.”

According to the journal in question, excerpts of which were released to the Times and other press outlets, the suspect’s rationale and planning are as meticulous as they are horrifying:

“I’m preparing myself for the school shooting. I can’t wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate…” the teen allegedly wrote in his journal. “I’ve been thinking a lot… I need to make this shooting/bombing at Kamiak [High School] infamous. I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count. I’ve been reviewing many mass shootings/bombings (and attempted bombings. I’m learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don’t make the same ones.”

The suspect also wrote about how he couldn’t decide whether to target his former high school, Kamiak, or his current one, ACES. He apparently settled on ACES since it “won… a coin toss.” Aside from the journal, investigators also found evidence of weapons stockpiling in the teenager’s home, as well as indications that he had been involved in a recent armed robbery at a local convenience store.

Mukilteo School District spokesperson Andy Muntz told the paper, “We are really grateful to the grandmother. It couldn’t have been easy for her to do.” Adding that neither the grandmother nor the teenager had been (or would be) named, Muntz said, “It speaks to the importance of the saying, ‘if you hear something or see something, call authorities,’ and that’s what she did. It’s quite possible she saved many lives including her grandson’s.”</s>A grandmother in Washington state is being credited with reporting her own grandson for planning a school shooting. The teen was arrested the same day as a former student killed 17 people in a shooting at a Florida school.

ABC News obtained a 911 call from a grandmother alerting police that her grandson, who was arrested Wednesday, was in the advanced stages of plotting a shooting at his high school.

“What I’m reporting is I’m finding journal entries from my grandson,” Catherine O’Connor told the operator. “And he’s planning on having a mass shooting at one of the high schools.”

O’Connor’s 18-year-old grandson, who has not been identified by police, was a student at Aces Alternative High School in Everett, Washington.

“I need to make this shooting/bombing ... infamous," the student wrote, according to the court documents. "I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count. ... I'm learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don't make the same ones."

The grandmother called police when she discovered her grandson’s journal as well as a semi-automatic rifle stored in a guitar case in her home, according to court records.

Another journal entry stated, "I'm preparing myself for the school shooting. I can't wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate. ... I can't wait to walk into that class and blow all those (expletive) away."

His journal also had excerpts about making pressure cooker bombs.

The teen had considered targeting more than one high school, according to one of his journal entries. Everett police arrested the grandson at ACES High School on Wednesday. KOMO reported he was in possession of marijuana and a knife at the time of his arrest, and was booked for third-degree assault on an officer for kicking him during his arrest.

He is being held on $5 million bail at Snohomish County Jail. Police are still investigating the teen for attempted murder based on his journals.

“There's a lot of kids who could have lost their lives,” O’Connor’s neighbor Julie Primachik told KOMO. “I think it’s a hero-like thing to do.”</s>THE STUDENT CHARGED with the murder of 17 people at his former high school in Florida yesterday was carrying a weapon that’s become known as “America’s gun” – the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

Nikolas Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder after 17 people were killed during at the school. The incident was the 17th school shooting in the US in 2018.

When found in a nearby residential area, Cruz was armed with an AR-15 and carrying multiple magazines of ammunition.

The right to bear arms is enshrined in America’s constitution. To some citizens, guns are for protection. To others, they simply stand for killing: there are 33,000 gun-related deaths annually in the United States.

But why does the AR-15 in particular keep appearing in the hands of mass-murderers?

The National Rifle Association (NRA) says that the AR in the AR-15′s name stands for Armalite Rifle, but “could easily be used for America’s Rifle”. And due to the fact this rifle has featured in multiple mass shootings, it is becoming America’s rifle – in a very tragic way.

According to the Gun Owners of America website, the AR-15 was developed in the 1950s, but is today’s “modern sporting rifle”.

It says that while the AR-15-style rifles look like military rifles, they function like other semi-automatic civilian sporting firearms – meaning they fire one round each time the trigger is pulled.

The group says that versions of modern sporting rifles are legal to own in all 50 states, “provided the purchase passes the mandatory FBI background check”.

The rifle is used for hunting, and for target shooting. But it can also be turned into an automatic rifle.

If you want to convert an AR-15 or AK-47 rifle into an automatic weapon, AFP says:

A shooting instructor shows the grip on an AR-15 rifle fitted with a bump stock. Source: Allen G. Breed

Trigger cranks and bump stocks are completely legal, and even come with certifications that they do not constitute an illegal conversion of the guns.

The NRA calls the AR-15 America’s most popular rifle, saying it “has soared in popularity amongst gun owners”.

It says that the makers of the AR-15, ArmaLite Rifle, sold the rights to Colt in 1959. It changed the rifle a little bit, and this version was then adopted by the United States military as a fully automatic M16 rifle.

Colt then developed the semi-automatic AR-15, aimed at civilians. The difference between automatic and semi-automatic firearms is that you have to release the trigger after every shot when you use a semi-automatic. With an automatic, you can keep your finger on the trigger.

The gun is modular too, meaning that owners can buy accessories for the gun to change how it shoots, or how it looks.

This style of gun has been used in multiple mass shootings:

In Las Vegas, the shooter Stephen Paddock was able to modify his AR-style rifle into an automatic shooter. Nearly 60 people at an outdoor concert were killed, and 500 injured, as a result.

The families of Sandy Hook victims have been to court over the use of the AR-15 Bushmaster, as they want to hold its makers liable for wrongful death and negligence. But so far they have not been successful in their attempt.

The families say 20-year-old killer Adam Lanza would never have been able to carry out his 264-second attack if he had not had access to a high-capacity weapon which had been “specifically engineered” for military use in combat, AFP reports.

In 2014, Hillary Clinton called for a ban on assault rifles like the AR-15. But President Donald Trump hasn’t made any moves towards tackling America’s notorious gun laws – instead of talking about the ubiquitous weapon in yesterday’s attack, he focused on the behaviour of the shooter’s neighbours and classmates:

Teenagers who were in the school during yesterday’s shooting have been joining the calls for gun control in the USA:

To pro-gun supporters and groups like the NRA, the AR-15 is an essential part of homeowners protecting themselves and their families. When they look at such a gun, they see a lightweight and effective piece of equipment that will protect them against terror or other attacks.

But to others, the AR-15 represents danger – it’s a deadly weapon that’s been used in multiple mass murders, which a teenager was able to use to mow down his classmates, and which shows no sign of being curtailed by today’s government.

Read: Former student (19) charged with premeditated murder after 17 killed in Florida school shooting></s>Nikolas Cruz's mug shot might be a testament to the banality of evil.

Cruz, 19, is accused of killing 17 and wounding at least 16 on Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. In his booking photo he appears slightly agitated, slightly defiant, slightly tired; but mostly, his expression is blank.

Does he look like a mass shooter? Well, what does a mass shooter look like?

Cruz, alleged to have committed the nation's worst school shooting since Sandy Hook, was a troubled young man. He'd been expelled from Douglas High School. On Wednesday, he appeared to seek his revenge.

And he apparently knew just what tool to use.

MORE: USA Today: Why the AR-15 keeps appearing at America's deadliest mass shootings

Cruz's weapon of choice was an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, according to investigators. And despite his history of behavioral issues, despite his apparent obsession with guns, he was nonetheless able to legally acquire the weapon, and use it for the same purpose so many other troubled young men have.

Indeed, these guns, commonly called "assault rifles," have been used in some of the nation's worst mass shootings, including Las Vegas, Sandy Hook and Columbine. And each time these weapons make the headlines, a rising chorus calls for a ban.

In the past, we've resisted joining that parade. We've called, instead, for a ban on the high-capacity magazines, reasoning that smaller magazines would force shooters to stop and reload more often, potentially saving lives.

But while Cruz reportedly had "countless" magazines, none of them appear to have been high-capacity models.

For this reason and others, after this tragedy close to home, we've begun to think restricting the size of magazines isn't enough.

Maybe it is time to consider a ban on new purchases of semi-automatic rifles.

To be sure, they are rarely the weapon of choice for mass shooters. Mother Jones Magazine maintains an online database of U.S. mass shootings since 1982; of the 98 incidents listed, only 24 — one in four — involved a semi-automatic rifle. The most commonly used weapon, by far, is the semi-automatic handgun.

Yet "assault" rifles were used in four of six of the most recent mass shootings, including the horrific murder of 58 people in Las Vegas last October. And as one expert told USA TODAY, some mass shooters make a point of choosing the AR-15 "because of the reputation is has gotten from being used in other mass shootings."

It's got cachet, in other words, specifically because it's good at killing a lot of people in a relatively short period of time — the very task for which it was designed.

As we've said in the past, it's difficult to understand why any American needs to own one of these modified weapons of war. Yet at least 8 million AR-15s have been sold; the National Rifle Association calls the weapon the "most popular rifle in America." The Sig Sauer MCX and other semi-automatic rifles also are in the homes of millions.

We're not suggesting legally acquired weapons can or should be taken away. Logistically, it's impossible; and there's no justification for seizing guns from law-abiding citizens. It's simply not going to happen.

But restrictions on new purchases might help stem continued proliferation. And after this latest mass shooting, can't we at least agree that however many of these weapons are out there, we don't need more?

There are other, creative possibilities. But all are destined to be controversial, with some saying they go too far while others insist they don't go far enough.

Extremism drives our national debate on guns. And this, more than anything else, is the reason the needle never moves.

The pro-gun right believes every proposal, no matter how innocuous, represents the leading edge of the wedge, the first steps toward a total ban on guns. The anti-gun left, in its rhetoric, all too often validates that fear.

But in the face of continued bloodshed, a reasonable people must be able to forge a reasonable compromise.

Guns, by and of themselves, are not responsible for what happened in Broward County. Yet it's impossible to escape the conclusion that if Cruz sought to become a killing machine, we as a society made the tools for his task readily available.

We do not delude ourselves into thinking that new restrictions are "the" answer.

But this is not an excuse for inaction. We must, instead, search for small solutions, measures that can make it tougher for the next mass shooter to rack up such a high body count, while doing more to discern why they want to kill in the first place.

We owe that, at least, to the victims at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to the dead — and the living.

Editorials of Treasure Coast Newspapers/TCPalm are decided collectively by its Editorial Board. To respond to this editorial in a letter to the editor, email up to 300 words to TCNLetters@TCPalm.com.
A teenager is arrested for allegedly planning a school shooting in Everett, Washington. Police found a semi-automatic rifle hidden in a guitar case along with bomb making equipment.