EVERETT, Wash. - An Everett teen who plotted a high school mass shooting that ultimately was foiled by his grandmother was sentenced Thursday to more than 22 years in prison.
The sentence was handed down by Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Bruce Weiss against Joshua O' Connor, 19, a former student at ACES Alternative High School.
O'Connor pleaded guilty in December to first-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery with a firearm and possession of explosive device in connection with the plot.
The investigation into O'Connor began when his grandmother, Catherine Katsel O'Connor, called 911 in February 2018 to report what she believed were credible threats by her grandson to shoot other students at his high school, documents state.
Officers met with the grandmother at her home at that time and were shown excerpts of O'Connor’s journal, which the grandmother had discovered the previous night.
The excerpts said, in part, "I'm preparing myself for the school shooting. I can't wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate. ... I can't wait to walk into that class and blow all those (expletive) away," police reports say.
The teen continued by writing, "I need to make this shooting/bombing ... infamous. I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count. ... I'm learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don't make the same ones," according to the case file.
The grandmother also told police she had discovered the teen had a semi-automatic rifle stored in a guitar case, court records state. Police believe O’Connor used the rifle to rob a gas station convenience store and steal $100 from the register.
Before the sentence was handed down, O'Connor's grandmother asked the judge to show mercy to her grandson. The judge called her a hero, but he declined defense requests for a sentence below the standard sentencing range, saying the plans were methodically thought out rather than just youthful or impulsive.
In a written statement to the court, O'Connor apologized, saying he'd been suicidal and abusing drugs and alcohol.
Napalmeon on March 4th, 2019 at 23:18 UTC »
You thought.
ilikesteel on March 4th, 2019 at 22:57 UTC »
I feel awful for that grandmother. She did the right thing, but it'll haunt her.
Electronical34 on March 4th, 2019 at 21:24 UTC »
Kid wasted his life before it even really began...shitty.