Local Minnesota Police potentially saved hundreds of lives from a mass school-bombing plot May 2, 2014 when they arrested teen John David LaDue, 17, in Waseca, Minn. Police found LaDue with bomb materials including gunpowder, pyrotechnic chemicals, ball bearings and a pressure cooker when police reached him at a storage unit. After receiving a search warrant to enter LaDue’s house, police found finished bombs and “numerous guns” along with a plan to kill his family and schoolmates outlined in his journal, according to CNN.com Details of the alleged design begin with the teen’s plan to kill his father, mother and sister, according to police. He then planned to set off a fire nearby to divert possible emergency responders, as he would set off bombs during lunch at the Waseca Junior/Senior High School. Next, he intended to kill the school resource officer and open gunfire on students until the police arrived. Finally, he planned to voluntarily allow the police to kill him, said authorities.The Minnesota teenager’s attraction to guns and dark media may be part to blame for his intricate plan to massacre his school and family. His Facebook page showed an interest in assault rifles such as, the AK-101, Heckler & Koch SL8 and Steyr TMP. The majority of his 190 favorite bands were heavy metal and his taste in movies was predominately blood, gore and fighting. “His favorite authors are Stephen King and a more traditional master of literary darkness, Edgar Allen Poe,” reported CNN.com.Courtney Wible, a junior in humanities from Utah, said, “The media proposes a distorted idea about what reality is and causes teens to act out in inconceivably inhuman ways. Its power can affect even the innocent, in this case a 17-year-old boy.” A 2007 study from Columbia University Medical Center found the “brain network responsible for suppressing behaviors like inappropriate or unwarranted aggression became less active after study subjects watched several short clips from popular movies depicting acts of violence. These changes could render people less able to control their own aggressive behavior,” reported sciencedaily.com.Britanny Dyer, a sophomore in EXS from California, said preventing these situations are difficult because, “these types of kids have chemical imbalances in their brains.” She continued, “They seem normal to their friends and peers, but their minds’ desires are twisted. Maybe you could help parents become more aware so that they can recognize some of these red flag attributes in their children and they can then get them help before something drastic like this happens.” Ladue’s mother declined to comment reported CNN.com.The teen was caught after Chelsie Shellhas, a storage space attendant, followed her gut feeling and called 911 after she saw the teen acting suspicious at a storage unit for about 10 minutes. Shellhas was with her cousin, Katy Harty, who has a younger brother attending the targeted school. “It’s scary; we’re both, like, really glad that we did call and didn’t just shrug it off,” said Harty.
Writer: Jeff McLeod ~ Multimedia Journalist
