Oregon teen wrote plans for alleged high school plot
Documents say notebooks outlined bombs, suicide
CORVALLIS, Ore. – An Oregon teen accused of planning an assault on his high school wrote detailed plans to “shoot and throw bombs throughout the school,” then kill himself before engaging with responding police officers, according to court documents released Tuesday.
Police say the plans were written in notebooks that were found hidden beneath the floorboards in the teen’s bedroom, along with two pipe bombs, two Molotov cocktails and at least two Drano bombs.
Grant Acord, 17, made his first court appearance by video transmission Tuesday but did not enter a plea on charges that include attempted aggravated murder and six counts each of unlawful possession and manufacture of a destructive device.
Acord said little but replied “yes, your honor” to questions from Judge Matthew Donohue, who set bail at $2 million.
Acord’s writings included “multiple versions of the plans and diagrams to commit an attack” on West Albany High School, according to a probable-cause affidavit signed by Albany police Detective Mike Wood.
The detective wrote that the notebooks indicate that Acord “compares himself to both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold,” the teenagers who killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 before turning their guns on themselves.
Police said they found printouts of a website listing the weapons used by the shooters at Columbine High School and a list of items to use in an attack, including a black trench coat, a belt with skull and crossbones buckle, wool socks, various explosive devices and a propane tank.
The prosecutor declined to say whether police found firearms in the home.
On Monday, Acord’s mother, Marianne Fox, issued a statement through a Corvallis lawyer, Alan Lanker, saying the teenager struggles with a rare form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“I grieve for my son, but understand and support the efforts of law enforcement to keep our beloved community safe,” the statement said. “This is a challenging and confusing time for everyone who knows Grant.”
No bombs were found during searches of the school, and classes resumed as scheduled Tuesday.