An 18-year-old Indiana student has been accused of plotting a mass shooting at school on Valentine’s Day, a plan he allegedly wrote was inspired by the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.
Jamie Shockley has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, intimidation: threat to commit terrorism, and conspiracy intimidation, according to Morgan County court documents. No legal representation for Shockley was listed in the court record.
A probable cause affidavit says Shockley identifies as a transgender male and that Jamie is his preferred name.
On Tuesday, a caller to the FBI Sandy Hook Tip Line told authorities that a friend was plotting a mass shooting at Mooresville High School, the affidavit says.
“Tipster stated that their friend has access to an AR15 and has just ordered a bulletproof vest,” the affidavit says. “Tipster stated that this offender admires Nicolas Cruz.”
Cruz killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, in one of deadliest school shootings in modern American history. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2022, with no chance of parole.
The affidavit says the tip included messages that Shockley is alleged to have sent through Discord, an online social platform. One of the alleged messages said the student had been planning for a year and intended to kill one of his best friends, according to the affidavit.
“Parkland part two,” the message said, according to the affidavit.
The FBI traced the internet provider address from the Discord messages to Mooresville, Indiana, where a Mooresville police detective took over the case.
The affidavit says Shockley went to a school counselor Tuesday and expressed an “obsession” with Cruz. It alleges he showed the counselor a locket he wore with a picture of Cruz inside.
Shockley’s home was searched under a warrant Wednesday, and law enforcement officers discovered a collage of pictures of three school shooters, the affidavit says.
Police also found magazines for AR-15 rifles, a box of .40 caliber bullets and a soft vest in Shockley’s father’s room, the affidavit says.
Investigators found notebooks in Shockley’s backpack that had swastikas on them, as well as the words “kill,” “band” and “I hate you all DIE DIE DIE” in them, the affidavit says.
In an excerpt included in the affidavit dated Dec. 17, Shockley is alleged to have written about depression and said he was “relentlessly a victim of bullying.”
An entry last month expressed a desire to hurt others and said the thoughts “won’t stop,” according to the affidavit.
Shockley told police in an interview that he was “joking” when he said he wanted to “shoot the school up” and “would never do anything like that,” and he denied having access to his father’s firearm, the affidavit says.
Shockley told police that he did have a plan and “was going to wait for lunch because it was the most people coming out,” it says.
The affidavit alleges that Shockley admitted having anger issues and said he had previously self-harmed.
Authorities spoke to school administrators, and a counselor at the school told police that Shockley signed up for mental health services on Nov. 12, shortly after his 18th birthday, according to the affidavit.
It says that Shockley expressed suicidal ideation in the past but that the counselor did not believe he required intervention.
The counselor had been working with Shockley since he was a freshman and believed that his father “did not believe in mental health treatment” or take his child’s conditions seriously, the affidavit says. Shockley’s father would deny access to the mental health resources each time Shockley sought them out, the counselor is alleged to have said.
Shockley’s father could not be reached for comment by phone Thursday.
Court records show prosecutors entered a motion to hold Shockley with no bond.
The Mooresville school district said in a statement that it was made aware of the potential threat and that it was grateful for the coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement.
“The student has been placed in custody and will not return to the school,” the district said.
The district also encouraged parents and students to contact their school offices with any questions about mental health resources available to all students.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
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