The Student Who Committed Suicide At His School In Ohio Planned A Massacre

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The Ohio police announced that the 13-year-old student who shot himself on February 20 had planned on his cell phone to carry out a massacre at his school, but instead of opening fire on his classmates, Keith Simons, he changed his mind and He headed to the bathroom with a semi-automatic rifle hidden under his clothing, where he repented and committed suicide.

At a press conference, Jackson Township Police Chief Mark Brink told the media they don't know if they will ever be able to figure out what happened.

"Why did he return to the bathroom after he came out with the gun in his hand, and then committed suicide, we do not have an answer," he said at the press conference, which was also broadcast on Facebook live. "I don't know if we will ever have an answer for that."

The chilling details of the plot, Brink said, were found on Simons' phone, where the seventh-grader had apparently jotted down an eight-step plan for the shooting at Jackson Memorial Middle School.

According to police, the day before the planned shooting, the boy wrote, "This will be bigger than anything this country has ever seen before," and would become "a stain on United States history."

Authorities added that the boy arrived on a school bus to school and went into the bathroom. He then briefly left the scene armed, but backed away before committing suicide.

"I think we should thank God every day," said Brink. "Whatever has changed his way of thinking has changed his mind."

The notes that Simons had on his cell phone were written on February 14, the same day of the massacre that Nikolas Cruz, a former Stoneman Douglas High School student, carried out claiming the lives of 14 students and three campus staff members.

"I want to leave an […] impression on the world," said one of the notes that authorities found on the young man's mobile phone.

In other notes, according to police, Simons admired the two young men responsible for the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebolt.

Through his texts, Simons made clear the fascination for media coverage and the fame he would gain by seeing his name alongside that of Harris, Klebolt, and Cruz.

Simons was trying to commit suicide before being caught by authorities, Ohio police said.

"I will be a stain on the history of the United States and the history of the Simons; it will be a lot of fun," he wrote. "When they interview my parents and ask them how they didn't see the signs, they should know it's not them, it's me and it's because of how I see the world."