Security stepped up for Baldwin schools

One of the two Gulf Shores High students accused of planning a Columbine-style attack at their school has told authorities that the pair had intended to shoot fellow students today, Baldwin District Attorney Judy Newcomb said Wednesday.

Newcomb told members of the Baldwin County Police Chiefs Association meeting in Robertsdale that tensions are running high in the county, but that officials feel confident that schools are safe.

Police arrested a 15-year-old teen, who has not been identified because of his age, and Joseph Scott Meredith, 17, in March and charged them with conspiracy to commit murder, a Class A felony that for an adult can carry a sentence of life in prison.

The teens are accused of planning a school shooting spree that would have taken place today, the anniversary of the April 20, 1999, killings by two teens at Columbine High in Littleton, Colo.

Lawyers for the Gulf Shores teens said in earlier interviews that some of the allegations were based on an amateur movie created by Meredith in which he portrayed a serial killer.

But Newcomb said the attack was a true threat, not a screen fantasy. She said the 15-year-old suspect has told investigators that he and Meredith intended to shoot classmates.

"The juvenile has acknowledged to us that this was a real plot," Newcomb said. "As anybody will say, until they commit the crime, they don't know they're going to commit the crime, but it was not just a movie. They actually had a plan to carry out a Columbine-type shooting."

Meredith is under house arrest and required to wear an electronic monitoring device. The 15-year-old is being held in the Baldwin County Juvenile Detention Center, according to reports.

Ken Raines, a Bay Minette attorney representing Meredith, contends his client has been misunderstood and never intended to hurt anyone.

"I think the juvenile has misinterpreted some of the things my client has done. And some of the things my client wrote were misinterpreted as well," Raines said. "My client's never had a conversation with this juvenile plotting to do anything like this, period."

Raines added, "He's not remotely a threat. However, the other side has a different opinion, and that's how the system works."

Pascal Bruijn, the lawyer for the younger juvenile, said his client's trial -- originally scheduled for Wednesday -- had been continued indefinitely while he negotiated with prosecutors.

"My client has provided certain information concerning the involvement of Joe Meredith in this so-called plot," Bruijn said. "And we'll continue to cooperate as this case progresses."

He declined to say what information the youth had given authorities or to comment further on the case.

Ronald Stephens, director of the National School Safety Center, said that bomb threats rose substantially across the country after the Columbine attack. He recommended that schools take all threats seriously.

"It's a question of what kind of news conference does the school want to have," Stephens said. "If you're going to err, make the mistakes on the side of prevention and precaution."

Newcomb said that talk about an attack at the Gulf Shores school had been ongoing for months, but she declined to elaborate on how it started.

"There may have been one or two other students that had some inklings of some discussions," Newcomb said. But, she added, those teens had not participated in the plans.

A turning point for the younger teen might have been a school talent show, Newcomb said. She said the 15-year-old won an award and began to open up to some fellow students.

"He got some positive input from other students when he won the talent show," she said. "Well, now, all of the sudden, it wasn't such as great idea to kill them all because he has a positive experience from the school."

Newcomb said Wednesday, "We have not seen anything that would indicate -- other than the two people that we have essentially in custody, I know one is on bond -- that there was anybody else in any other school involved in that."

She said, "Fairhope had an incident that was just a rumor, but because of how feelings are running, they of course looked into it."

Fairhope High administrators suspended a freshman April 13 after rumors spread in that school of a planned shooting on the Columbine anniversary, according to reports. Fairhope Police Chief Chris Browning said at the time of the suspension that the student was sent home for having a cell phone and there was no indication of any planned attack.

Newcomb said Wednesday that authorities found "no intent to cause any harm to anyone" in the Fairhope incident.

Schools across Baldwin County are on a heightened alert status following the arrests in Gulf Shores, said Faron Hollinger, superintendent of education. "We are taking precautions because of what happened in Gulf Shores and the potential for any kind of problem," Hollinger said.

He said he sent instructions to all high and middle schools to check safety plans and emergency procedures. Hollinger said schools should also have additional teachers and coaches on duty patrolling halls and parking lots.

Hollinger also asked principals to request the presence of local police officers today.

Gulf Shores Mayor G.W. "Billy" Duke III said Wednesday that he had not heard from any residents worried about violence this week. "I know the police department has plans to take every precaution that they can to be sure that everyone is safe," Duke said.

Baldwin County High Principal Eddie Mitchell said there had been rumors, but no "credible evidence," of possible threats there. Still, he said, the school would be extra vigilant today, including having police officers on patrol and staff members monitoring entrances and parking areas.

"We're just taking preventative type measures to deter anyone from trying to cause a problem here. We just felt that it would just be prudent to take these steps. We want to send the message to our students and parents that we're going to do everything we possibly can to keep them safe," Mitchell said.

But absences will not be excused, he added, if students miss school today because of rumors that they have heard.

Newcomb stressed to police that technology has brought increased risks. "These kids are communicating with each other through the Internet and that adds another dimension, in my mind, at how we look at school violence and quite frankly the potential -- and hopefully that won't come to Baldwin County -- for a coordinated effort with multiple schools, that's just not out of the realm of possibility," Newcomb said.

In Mobile County, public schools are closed this week for spring break and school officials have not made any special plans for campus security, said spokeswoman Nancy Pierce.