CHESTERFIELD, S.C., April 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge is considering whether a South Carolina youth who plotted to blow up his high school needs a mental evaluation.
Ryan Schallenberger, 18, is accused of plotting an attack on Chesterfield High School in Chesterfield, S.C., The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., reported.
On Tuesday, Federal Magistrate Thomas Rogers III heard a 911 tape of Schallenberger's mother telling authorities that if police approach her son he might shoot them. She called police after he smashed his head into a wall.
He faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction; attempting to damage, by means of an explosive, property of an institution receiving federal funds; and receiving an explosive in interstate commerce with the intent to kill, injure and intimidate any person and unlawfully damage property.
If convicted, the straight-A senior at Chesterfield could be imprisoned for life, the newspaper said.
Prosecutors say Schallenberger should "be examined to determine whether he is suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent" and unable to understand the charges he faces or to assist in his own defense.
His parents called police April 19 when they intercepted a delivery of ammonium nitrate, which can be used to make a bomb, authorities say.
