Police say they seized 23 guns from the home of a 13-year-old who
appeared to idolize mass shooters
[September 10, 2025]
By GENE JOHNSON and KATHY McCORMACK
SEATTLE (AP) — A 13-year-old boy who police said appeared to be fixated
on school shooters was arrested on charges of unlawful firearms
possession and making a threat after they say they found social media
posts about intentions to kill and seized 23 guns and ammunition from
his home.
The boy pleaded not guilty to a total of five charges, four of them
felonies, in juvenile court on Monday, and he was ordered to remain in
detention.
A SWAT team raided his home and arrested him around 1 a.m. Saturday in
Washington's Pierce County, south of Seattle. His mother told a Seattle
TV station their son had no intention of harming anyone.
Tactical-style rifles were mounted on walls and handguns were found
unsecured throughout the home. In the boy's room — in a heavy backpack
beneath a turtle habitat — were AR-style magazines with writing on them
referencing mass shootings, including the 1999 shooting at Columbine
High School in Colorado, according to a probable cause statement by the
Pierce County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators said they also found “what appeared to be the face of a
known mass shooter placed in a crude drawing,” and that in social media
posts dating back to June he had displayed weapons and dressed in the
attire of past school shooters. According to the probable cause
statement, one post said, “when i turn 21 iam going to kill people,” and
another said, “its over! my time is almost hear!"
An investigation into his parents continues, sheriff’s Deputy Carly
Cappetto said in an email Tuesday.
“We are still conducting interviews, and it will ultimately be up to the
prosecutor to decide if they will charge parents for improper storage
and safekeeping of firearms or other crimes they feel is fitting,” she
wrote in an email Tuesday.
The Associated Press does not generally identify juveniles facing
criminal charges. The boy's charges include making a threat to bomb or
injure property, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful
possession of fireworks.
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This image provided by Pierce County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday,
Sept. 9, 2025 shows containers with weapons seized from the home of
a 13-year-old boy in Pierce County, Wa., who authorities said had
appeared to idolize school shooters. (Pierce County Sheriff's Office
via AP)
Under Washington law, those under 18 are barred from possessing
firearms except in certain circumstances, including hunting,
firearms safety courses and shooting competitions. Unsafe storage of
a firearm is also a crime, which applies when a person barred from
having guns accesses one and uses it in a shooting or during the
commission of a crime, or displays the firearm in a public place in
a way that is intended to intimidate or cause alarm for the safety
of others.
“It appeared the suspect had everything ready to go to commit a mass
shooting type of incident," Cappetto said. "It is unknown who or
what the intended target was going to be, but it’s clear it was a
matter of time before a tragic incident occurred.”
The boy's mother, who attended the court hearing, suggested in an
interview afterward that the social media posts were an attempt to
“be cool” among peers, KOMO-TV reported.
Cappetto said the boy was last enrolled in the Franklin Pierce
School District in 2021. He was being homeschooled at the time of
his arrest, according to the probable cause statement.
The court scheduled a pretrial conference for Sept. 17 and a
detention review for Sept. 22, the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office
said in an email.
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
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