Student At Michigan High School Who Says He Was Bullied Threatened Massacre, Sheriff Says

Friday, April 27th 2007, 9:51 pm

By: News On 6

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) _ A high school student who complained of being bullied told authorities he had planned a massacre at his high school like the one at Virginia Tech, the sheriff said Friday. The boy is being evaluated at a hospital.

Detectives found ammunition and 12 guns at the 15-year-old's home, but they were hunting weapons that apparently belonged to his parents, Sheriff Scott Fewins said.

The youth attends Traverse City West Senior High School. He confided his intentions to a faculty member Thursday morning and described himself as suicidal, Fewins said. The teenager repeated his story to a detective at the school.

``He said ... he would come in and shoot some of the students and planned on turning the gun on himself,'' Fewins said.

The boy wasn't known as a troubled student, Fewins said. His parents were shocked and were cooperating with authorities, he said.

A phone message seeking comment was left with schools Superintendent James Feil.

The youth told investigators he had been planning the assault for two months _ well before the Virginia Tech gunman killed 32 students and faculty members and then himself April 16. But the Traverse City boy likened his plot to the Virginia Tech case, Fewins said.

``Is it credible? I guess we're just not in a position to say it isn't,'' he said.

The youth complained about being bullied at school but did not specifically say whom he planned to attack, Fewins said.

He was evaluated at a hospital in this Lake Michigan resort city, then sent to another hospital in southern Michigan, Fewins said. It was uncertain how long he would remain.

A report was submitted to the county prosecutor, but no charges had been filed.

Elsewhere in Michigan, classes were canceled Friday at two high schools and two middle schools in suburban Detroit after the second bomb threat in as many weeks, Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.