A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Pierce County, Washington, after deputies said they found social media posts expressing intentions to kill and seized 23 guns and ammunition from his home.
The boy was booked on a total of five charges, four of them felonies, and pleaded not guilty in juvenile court on Monday, court records show. Authorities said the arrest followed an investigation into threats against schools and behaviors that suggested the boy was imitating past school shooters.
Pierce County sheriff's Deputy Carly Cappetto said in a news release that investigators recovered 23 firearms from the residence and found ammunition stored in the home. Firearms were mounted on walls and handguns were discovered unsecured throughout the house, Cappetto said. Deputies removed loaded magazines that included writings referencing school shooters.
"Several pieces of evidence from the suspect's bedroom indicated he was obsessed with past school shooters and imitated similar behaviors with photos and inscriptions throughout his room," Cappetto said. "It appeared the suspect had everything ready to go to commit a mass shooting type of incident. It is unknown who or what the intended target was going to be, but it's clear it was a matter of time before a tragic incident occurred."
Juvenile court records generally are confidential and the boy's name has not been released. It was not immediately clear whether he had legal representation.
The arrest took place over the weekend, according to court filings and a sheriff's office news release. The boy was last enrolled in the Franklin Pierce School District in 2021 and was not currently an active student in any school district at the time of the arrest, Cappetto said.
Members of the boy's family told local media they disputed the notion that he intended to carry out violence. His mother, who attended the hearing, told KOMO-TV that she believed the social media posts were an attempt to "be cool" among peers and said her son did not plan to hurt anyone.
Prosecutors charged the boy with multiple counts that include firearms possession and causing a threat, according to court records. He entered not guilty pleas in juvenile court and the case will continue in the juvenile system, where different rules apply than in adult criminal court.
The seizure adds to ongoing concerns about youth access to guns and the role of social media in violent threats. Law enforcement agencies in Washington and elsewhere have increasingly investigated online posts after school shooting threats and have sometimes removed firearms before an incident could occur. In this case, deputies cited the combination of social media posts and physical evidence in the home as the basis for the arrest and the felony charges.
Further proceedings in juvenile court are expected, and additional details about the investigation and charges may be limited by court confidentiality rules.