3 Teens Arrested In Mandeville School Shooting Plot

Lakeshore High teenagers were arrested after investigators said they planned a school shooting.

The shooting, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said, was planned to be executed on Monday, which was the first day of the school year.

All three teens are 15-year-old boys, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said they became aware of the plan on July 17, when school officials notified the sheriff’s office of the existence of a group called “Day Zero.”

Police said members of the group were all students at the Mandeville school and didn't deny involvement with the plan or its intentions.

Investigators learned the students had a detailed plan for procuring weapons and bringing them to school Monday. They intended to kill any law enforcement officials at the school who tried to stop them and then collect their weapons, according to police. One student was named as a target in materials collected by investigators.

“We should all be very thankful for the incredible partnership the Sheriff’s Office shares with Superintendent Trey Folse and the leadership within the school system. Were it not for this alert administrator, we may have faced a very tragic first day of the school year,” Sheriff Jack Strain said.

Searches of the three boys’ homes yielded computers and other evidence; analysis on the computers is ongoing.

All three have been booked into the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center with one count of conspiracy to commit terrorism. Additional charges may be forthcoming, Strain said. A bond hearing for the teenagers will be held Monday afternoon to determine if they are to remain in custody.

As a precaution, the Sheriff’s Office will station extra personnel at the school on Monday. However, deputies believe all individuals involved with the plan have been identified and are in custody.

“If a parent notices any type of suspicious activity involving their kids, we ask them to call us immediately. We take these kinds of threats very seriously and investigate them all fully,” Strain said.