WA - 13-year old boy obsessed with school shooters arrested with stockpile of guns and manifesto - Tacoma, Aug 2025

[Clearsky]

Teen boy ‘obsessed’ with school shooters arrested with chilling manifesto, stockpile of guns : ‘Only a matter of time’

“It is unknown who or what the intended target was going to be but it is clear it was only a matter of time before a tragic incident occurred.”

nypost.com

A 13-year-old Washington boy allegedly “obsessed” with past school shooters was arrested after police found a stockpile of guns, boxes of ammunition, and chilling writings suggesting he was plotting his own killing spree.

 

[Serononin]

How in the everloving [redacted] does a thirteen-year-old get hold of weapons like that?! Did they belong to his parents??

I think the media as a whole needs to have a serious conversation about how much information should be reported about perpetrators of mass shootings. Does the public's (understandable) desire to know the shooter's name, motive, etc. outweigh the apparently strong possibility that their consequent notoriety will inspire future killings?

 

[OneLove]

How in the everloving [redacted] does a thirteen-year-old get hold of weapons like that?! Did they belong to his parents??

I think the media as a whole needs to have a serious conversation about how much information should be reported about perpetrators of mass shootings. Does the public's (understandable) desire to know the shooter's name, motive, etc. outweigh the apparently strong possibility that their consequent notoriety will inspire future killings?

How.... can this even happen? The article says guns were mounted on walls throughout his house. Clearly there was some serious pathology in a presumed adult who was parent or guardian.

 

[tlcya]

what on earth???

How does a 13 year old get or have access to 23 guns, some of which are apparently created by a 3D printer, and his parents be unaware? How does a13 year old child scrawl disturbed writings on those weapons about a previous mass shooting, hangin on the walls of the home and his parents not know this?

The answer is they knew. This kid hasn't been in school since 2021. Meaning he hasn't been in school or subject to the mandated reporters there since he was what 9? 10?

So I must believe any ideals he has formed have come from inside of that home or from completely unfettered access to very troubling internet content. I imagine his parents were home schooling him, or at least claiming that they were to whoever is tracking such things.

I am waiting to see if charges against his parents follow. His sickness didn't form in a vacuum. JMO

 

[tlcya]

Some firearms were mounted on the walls, fully accessible, while others were spread around the home, unsecured, the sheriff’s office said.
[snip]
Outside the courtroom, his parents told KOMO the situation is a misunderstanding. His mother suggested his social media posts were an attempt to “be cool” among peers, and his father said he had no intention to harm anyone, KOMO reported.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/09/us/school-shooter-ideations-washington-state

Um, 'scuse me?? I'll be watching this one closely because what in the actual minimizing F?

As of Monday, his parents are not facing any charges, but Cappetto said that could change as the investigation continues.

“This is going to be a very interesting case to follow because, for the first time, we don’t have a victim, right? We don’t have an act of violence that was actually carried out, because we stopped it,” she said.

A judge has ordered the teen held in secured detention. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Sept. 17, and a detention review is set for Sept. 22.
Pierce County Sheriff's Office believes it stopped a 13-year-old from attacking a school

 

[Kaley Smith]

Parents should be charged.

 

[Betty P]

How.... can this even happen? The article says guns were mounted on walls throughout his house. Clearly there was some serious pathology in a presumed adult who was parent or guardian.

Correct. The parents who helped him build up this deadly collection have acted irresponsibly. Totally dangerous and inappropriate for a teen or young adult. I hope they face charges. Where do some parents get these crazy ideas? Who in their right mind thinks its good for a child's social life to have him collecting guns, including automatic weapons? What kind of dangers, dysfunctional teen social group is that?