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Teenager arrested on bombmaking charges

A search of the middle school student's home turns up bomb materials and directions, but no bomb.

By CURTIS KRUEGER
Published February 4, 2005

TAMPA - Tampa police arrested a 14-year-old Stewart Middle School student after discovering what they said were bombmaking materials in his home.

The eighth-grade boy had "bombmaking material and literature on how to make bombs," in his house, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. He also "wrote in his journal that kids in school were giving him a hard time and he was going to get back at them."

Police records say the student complained about how fellow students were treating him "and that he was going to emulate the Columbine High School incident."

The boy was arrested Wednesday on two felony charges: making and possessing a destructive device; and threatening to place a destructive device.

Little information was available about the "bombmaking material" and how dangerous it may have been. McElroy said the student had "hollowed-out tennis balls and materials for making a bomb."

Police declined to be more specific about what explosives may have been involved. She said the boy had not actually put together a bomb.

Hillsborough Schools spokesman Mark Hart said no bombmaking materials were found at Stewart Middle School, a magnet school that draws youths from around Hillsborough County for a curriculum stressing math and science.

Hart described the arrested boy as "above-average student, somewhat shy, small circle of friends." His identity is withheld because of his age.

School system policy for such crimes calls for a 10-day suspension, with the possibility of being sent to an alternative school or expelled, Hart said.

Police and school officials were full of praise for another student who told authorities about the boy's plans.

Those plans came to light during a morning bus stop conversation with another boy who goes to a different school, Orange Grove Middle School. That boy went directly to the school resource officer at Orange Grove, who called a fellow officer at Stewart.

Police arrived at the student's house at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"The mother was very cooperative when they got to the house, and worked with police," McElroy said.

Among items police recovered was The Anarchist's Cookbook, an underground how-to guide on topics ranging from bombmaking to credit card fraud.

The boy who alerted authorities "did absolutely the right thing and he really is the hero in this situation," McElroy said.

"Everyone is very pleased that a student came forward with this," Hart said. "At a minimum someone could have been seriously hurt and depending on how the device was assembled, possibly killed."

Hillsborough County Schools have adopted an especially strict system for dealing with school threats, following the 1999 tragedy when two students killed 12 fellow students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. Hart said this incident was a reminder for everyone that "we have to be very diligent about preventing school violence."

[Last modified February 4, 2005, 00:18:17]