South Carolina 18 Year old wanted to one-up Columbine

An 18-year-old South Carolina student was in jail Sunday after he collected bomb-making supplies, including ammonium nitrate, in a plan to attack his high school, authorities said.

Ryan Schallenberger was arrested Saturday after his parents called police when 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate, an oxidizing agent in explosives, was delivered to their home in Chesterfield, near the North Carolina border, reported Chief Randall Lear of the Chesterfield Police Department.

The teen planned to make several bombs to detonate at Chesterfield in what Schallenberger called a "Columbine followup" in his journal, Lear said.

The police chief said Schallenberger's journal revealed his sympathies for the two teen-age gunmen who carried out the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. Those shootings left 15 people dead, including the shooters.

But, Lear said, the South Carolina teen made it clear that he didn't want to "copycat" Columbine. He planned out in detail -- down to the costs of the bomb supplies -- his plans for multiple explosions at the school, Lear said.

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He even recorded an audio tape meant to be heard after he attacked the school and killed himself, though he had not set a date for his plans, Lear said.

Police continue to search the area around Schallenberger's home for additional supplies and weapons. No guns were found in the home, Lear said.

"I don't have any doubt that he was going to carry it out," Lear said. "On the surface, he was one thing, and in his writing, he was something else."

Police interviews with family and friends painted Schallenberger as a handsome, social student with ambitions for college. "He was not what you would call a loner," Lear said, adding that investigators aren't aware of any accomplices.

Chesterfield County Emergency Services Director Richard Carnes said a reverse 911 call was sent to residents Sunday night, alerting them that the school district is taking precautions "due to a potential bomb threat."

Carnes said a search of the school revealed nothing of concern, but there will be additional security Monday.