Mother charged in teen school attack plot

NORRISTOWN, Pa., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- The mother of a 14-year-old Pennsylvania boy who assembled an arsenal allegedly to attack his former high school has been charged with corruption of minors.

Michele Cossey of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., also was charged with endangering the welfare of children, unlawful transfer of firearms and recklessly endangering other persons, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday. Homemade grenades, air-powered guns and a 9mm weapon were among items police recovered from the teen's home.

Her son was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

The 14-year-old allegedly had been bullied to the point where his parents removed him from a suburban Philadelphia school and home-schooled him for the past 18 months.

"He may have believed that the world would be a better place without the bullies in it," Montgomery County (Pa.) District Attorney Bruce Castor said Thursday after the teenager was taken into custody and accused of planning a "Columbine-type" assault on Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.

Castor said authorities were tipped by another high school student the teen reportedly tried to recruit. Castor said there was no evidence that an attack was imminent nor were bullets recovered, the Inquirer said.

Among the items found was a DVD, "Game Over in Littleton," the Colorado town where Columbine High School is located.

Plymouth Township Police Chief Carmen D. Pettine said the Pennsylvania incident was troublesome "after what happened in Ohio." On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy shot four people at a Cleveland high school then killed himself.