ABSTRACT
In 2001, a high school student in New Bedford, Massachusetts, informed a teacher that she had overheard some of her classmates talking about bombing the school and shooting people as they evacuated; the scene sounded eerily similar to that which had occurred just 2 years earlier in Columbine, Colorado. Upon learning of the possible threat, police launched an investigation, which turned up bomb-making materials, instructions for constructing an explosive device, and weapons. Three teenagers were arrested in connection with the plot and subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit assault and battery, and possession of ammunition. As a result, a potential massacre was averted.
