Landstown student charged with having weapon at school

VIRGINIA BEACH

A 16-year-old Landstown High School sophomore has been charged with bringing a razor blade to school just two days after a senior was charged with plotting to bomb the school.

The two students knew each other, but officials have found no evidence connecting the younger boy to a plan to attack Landstown, said Battalion Chief Tim Riley, a spokesman for the Fire Department. They have not identified additional suspects, he said.

The 10th-grader faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing a concealed weapon. A spokesman for his family, attorney Neil Bonney, said the boy was suspended from school, pending an expulsion hearing.

The senior, who is 17, is in the Virginia Beach Juvenile Detention Center without bond. He was charged with 10 counts of manufacturing and possessing an explosive device and one count of manufacturing an explosive device for use in a terrorist attack after police found 28 homemade bombs and other devices in his home Monday.

The two suspects are not being publicly identified because they are juveniles.

The senior, who lives in the Parkside Green subdivision off Holland Road, has a "fascination" with the April 20, 1999, shootings at Columbine (Colo.) High School, said Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant.

He is quiet, a member of the school chorus, and has a small group of friends, Landstown students said after school Thursday. He often wore a black trench coat, they said.

"He was over in left field a little, but I would never have thought he was planning anything like this," said Nancy Klabnik, a 15-year-old sophomore.

Students said they'd heard him make anti-Semitic and threatening remarks, but they didn't think he was serious.

"I hear threats like that all the time, and nothing ever happens," said Katie Donner, a 14-year-old freshman.

Teens who plan school attacks often fit a certain profile, said Richard James Gelles, a child welfare expert at the University of Pennsylvania. They're almost always white males who don't fit in or who have been bullied, he said. And they often have disconnected parents.

As a result, they're looking for a type of "public vengeance" for their rejection or embarrassment, Gelles said.

"Kids need a secure base, and when you're 17, the secure base is either from family, from friends or from school," he said. "And if none of those is functioning, the kid's out there all by himself."

Students said the jailed 12-grader was not bullied. His mother is a single, working parent, neighbors said.

Richard Ponti, director of safe schools and risk management for the school division, said students are safe at Landstown. "We wouldn't have them there if we weren't confident," he said.

The school added extra security staff this week as a temporary measure. Next week is spring break.

In December, Landstown did well on a safety audit that included checks of locked doors, night lighting, arrival and dismissal procedures and student perceptions of safety, Ponti said. As at all Beach schools, intrusion alarms and cameras at Landstown are monitored 24 hours a day.

But people are more important than technology in assuring school safety, Ponti said. "We always stress how important it is to have relationships with students in your class."

Teachers can refer specific pupils to their school's Student Support Team, which helps youngsters who are having behavioral problems or personal troubles, he said.

Officials said a student reported the 17-year-old's plan to possibly bomb the school.

"The earlier you know, the earlier you can act," Ponti said. "It's everybody's job to maintain a safe building."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com