Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado have arrested a former student for allegedly planning a mass shooting at a local middle school.
19-year-old William Whitworth, who identifies as “Lilly,” was arrested for suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and other charges, according to The Gazette.
The Elbert County Sheriff’s Office formally charged Whitworth with two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder in the first-degree, criminal mischief, menacing, and interference with staff, faculty, or students of educational institutions.
He is being held on a $75,000 bond.
Whitworth had a floor plan of Timberview Middle School and instructions on how to make a homemade bomb.
Whitworth’s sister reportedly told police that he made references to school shootings and behaved violently toward her.
Police asked him if he had a motive for the heinous act that he was planning, and he reportedly said he had ‘no specific reason’, however police found a manifesto that mentioned political figures and other mass shooters whom he idolized.
President Trump was among the names listed with the words “con-man” written beside his name.
The Gazette reported:
The affidavit lists the defendant as male, but Whitworth’s sister referred to Whitworth as “lily” and described her sibling as “their sister” when she spoke with investigators.
Eric Ross, a spokesperson for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, told The Gazette that Whitworth is in the process of transitioning to female.
Deputies found Whitworth lying in bed, drunk, in a room piled with trash that had several holes in the wall, according to the affidavit.
When authorities asked why Whitworth wanted to shoot up a school, Whitworth said: “No specific reason.” Whitworth also admitted to being “about a third of the way from doing it (committing a mass shooting),” the affidavit states.
Deputies found a “manifesto” with the names of mass shooters, political commentators and more while searching Whitworth’s home, according to the affidavit.
KRDO has additional details:
While waiting for the fire department, Whitworth was asked how much she had been planning the school shooting. She stated she was “about a third of the way from doing it,” verifying again that Timberview Middle School was one of the “main targets” currently and other targets were churches.
Whitworth stated she’d been planning it for a month or two, stated the layout of the school, active firearm planning, and started a manifesto.
According to the affidavit, investigators found the manifesto, a dry-erase board with floor plans, and a list of names in a notebook.
Whitworth said the manifesto was four pages long and had “schizophrenic rants” on them. However, the affidavit states when deputies asked if she was schizophrenic, she replied “I hope not.”
According to the affidavit, Whitworth was asked how much she knew about school shootings, and she stated, “Too much.” When asked what she meant by that, Whitworth stated “There’s a page in my manifesto and there’s a bunch of mass killers.”
On the dry-erase board, investigators noted it looked like a labeled floor plan of a school, with labels identifying the office, bathrooms, classrooms, and the different levels.
In two different notebooks, deputies found more floor plans, a drawing of a clock to use a detonation device stating, “Remove clock intemials and drive a screw into the desired detonation time on the face of the clock, and “Is this what they meant when they said making a mockery of the massacre?”
Whitmore stated she watched a video on YouTube on “how to do it” regarding the picture of a detonator.
