Authorities arrested a teenage girl from Indiana after she reportedly plotted a Valentine's Day mass shooting at Mooresville High School, which was thwarted after the FBI received a tip.
The suspect was identified as 18-year-old Trinity Shockley, who was taken into custody days after police uncovered her supposed plot to shoot up the Mooresville High School. The teenage girl was previously the subject of a Mooresville community fundraiser after she got hit by a drunk driver while going to school in 2022.
FBI Thwarts Mass Shooting Plot
Shockley's arrest came after the FBI received a tipoff on Tuesday evening regarding an alleged attack on the school. Mooresville police later raided the teenage girl's home and arrested her on the spot for her planned mass shooting.
The suspect is currently being held without bail and has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, threat to commit terrorism, and conspiracy to commit intimidation.
Authorities said that if the teenage girl's plot were successful, it would have been done on the 7th anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, according to the New York Post.
Shockley is the daughter of a 19-year U.S. military veteran and had previously suffered head injuries and several broken bones after the accident in 2022. At the time, her family set up a GoFundMe to help her pay for her recovery.
The teenage girl was left unable to walk for several days following the accident, which happened when she was only 15 years old. Shockley's aunt, Angela Altmeyer, described the teenager as outgoing, loving, fun, and always on the move.
Admiring a Convicted Mass Shooter
The tip to the FBI that resulted in Shockley's arrest noted that the teenager was in possession of an AR15 rifle and had just ordered a bulletproof vest for herself. The person who talked about the plot said that the suspect apparently admired Nicolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the Parkland mass shooting, NBC News reported.
Cruz killed 14 students and three staff members when he opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. It became known as one of the deadliest school shootings in modern American history. The suspect was then sentenced to life in prison in 2022 with no chance of parole.
Court documents showed that Shockley's plan for a Valentine's Day mass shooting similar to Cruz's incident was in the works for a year. She apparently referred to it as "Parkland part two" and posted on social media four days before her apparent shooting, as per WTHR.
