RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — Prosecutors say a Vermont teen had made enough preparations for a planned massacre at his former high school to warrant charges of attempted murder.
A lawyer for 18-year-old Jack Sawyer has asked for the charges to be dismissed, saying that the state’s high court has ruled that a plot to commit a crime does not constitute an attempt.
The Rutland Herald <a target=”—blank” href=”http://www.rutlandherald.com/articles/state-enough-planning-equals-attempt-in-shooting-plot/”>reports</a> that prosecutor Rose Kennedy responded with a filing Monday that argued Sawyer progressed from planning a crime to committing one when he took steps such as moving back to Vermont and purchasing a shotgun.
Investigators say Sawyer described detailed plans for a mass shooting at Fair Haven Union High School and wrote about his plot in a diary he titled “Journal of an Active Shooter.”
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Information from: Rutland Herald, <a target=”—blank” href=”http://www.rutlandherald.com/”>http://www.rutlandherald.com/</a>