2 Florida teens to be charged as adults in alleged Lake Brantley High School student attack plot

Two Lake Brantley High School students involved in an alleged plot to harm another student will face charges as adults. 

What we know:

Two Lake Brantley High School students – in Seminole County – will face charges as adults after police said the girls plotted to harm another student. The girls facing charges are 14 and 15 years old. 

A report said the 15-year-old was fascinated with school shootings and wanted a connection with Adam Lanza – a now deceased school shooter.  

The 15-year-old student is facing premeditated murder charges after police say she brought a knife to school and the 14-year-old girl was charged as an accessory to these crimes. The students had their first appearance in Seminole County courts on Feb. 4, in which a judge ordered the case transferred to the court's adult division. 

The backstory:

At 5:10 a.m., Jan. 23, a school resource officer was made aware of the planned attack, Altamonte Springs Police said. After investigating a tip that allegedly claimed a student was planning to harm another student, police identified a 15-year-old female student who they believed to be involved in the planned attack. The 15-year-old was already being investigated by the FBI in connection to several swatting calls made to Lake Brantley High School on three separate occasions in January. 

Altamonte Springs Police said the attack was planned to occur on Jan. 23. 

Detectives went to the girl's home around 6:50 a.m. to question her. The girl denied contacting anyone, saying law enforcement had previously taken her phone and denied having any knowledge of the tip and denied knowing the person the alleged threat was against. The girl arrived at school later that day. 

Confession to school administrator, police say

When the girl was called into the school's assistant principal's office, the assistant principal told investigators the girl didn't have her backpack with her. The girl's backpack was later brought to the assistant principal's office. 

The assistant principal asked the girl if she thought about hurting herself or anyone else, the arrest report said. In a conversation with the assistant principal, the girl said she planned to hurt another student using the knife, gloves, trash bags and wipes in her backpack, a police report said. The backpack – which had all the items the girl described – was taken to the principal's office, the report said. According to the report, the girl was hearing voices telling her to harm another person and had come up with the idea for the attack three months before. 

The 15-year-old made two attempts to sharpen the knife: once at home and once in the girl's bathroom in school with the 14-year-old present, police said. 

Letter written to parents

Investigators found a letter the 15-year-old wrote a letter to her parents apologizing for what she was going to do. 

Based on its investigation, Altamonte Springs Police charged the 15-year-old girl with attempted homicide and possession of a weapon on school property. The 15-year-old's statements and attitude were not consistent with those of an innocent person explaining the facts in this investigation, the report said. 

Due to her assistance to the 15-year-old, the 14-year-old was charged with accessory to an attempted homicide and possession of a weapon on a school property – due to the items she gathered for her friend, police said. 

The report said the 14-year-old brought the 15-year-old items to carry out her plan. 

The Source: Information in this story was gathered from a Seminole County court transfer order and the Altamonte Springs Police Department. 

Crime and Public Safety