40 guns seized from 13-year-old who allegedly idolized school shooters

Pierce County authorities seized dozens of firearms in connection with a 13-year-old accused of making threats.

“It appeared that there are over, about 40 different firearms, mainly long guns, rifles, many of them appear to be homemade, using a 3D printer type style, and a handful of handguns,” Carly Cappetto, the public information officer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, told KIRO Newsradio. “There are also boxes and boxes of ammunition that they are also sifting through.”

Cappetto said that although the guns weren’t all in his possession, he had access to them.

“From what I’ve learned from the detectives, they went into that home, and there were just the negligence of firearms lying around the home and just hanging on the wall, completely free access to anybody to grab,” she shared.

Cappetto said that while it was initially reported to be threats of a school shooting, it is not specified what type of shooting the 13-year-old was planning.

“It’s unknown if it was going to be a school shooting or just a mass shooting in general,” she said.

Pierce County 13-year-old mimicked past mass shooters

However, Cappetto noted the preliminary investigation revealed the teen was fixated on previous shooters.

“It appeared that he was very infatuated with school shooters, and there were writings, and enough notebooks found that would indicate there was some idolization, when you’re idolizing somebody,” she explained.

Authorities also found loaded magazines in his room with blue masking tape around them, with writings on the tape, similar to past mass shootings.

“It was very clear that he was imitating some of the behaviors of the past incidents we’ve had in our history, which is extremely scary,” Cappetto said.

Charges pending

While the 13-year-old is in custody, Cappetto is unsure how charges would pan out without a victim.

“In order to press forward with charges, you know, you have to have a victim, but are we supposed to wait till somebody gets hurt in order to move forward with prosecution? Or do we do our jobs and stop a major incident from happening?” she said.

Cappetto said the only charge currently possible is unlawful possession of a firearm, but noted it’s not enough to hold someone or get them the mental health care they need.

KIRO hosts weigh the need for stricter gun laws

While charges are uncertain, KIRO host Gee Scott said the fact that the sheriff’s office acted on the threat is something to be proud of.

“This is incredible that they stopped this — to get the tip, to act on it. We don’t know what they have prevented. We know that this could have gotten ugly,” Gee said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

The juvenile was arrested at his home in Parkland on 20th Avenue Court E. around 1 a.m. on Sept. 6 after authorities received “intelligible communication” about a 13-year-old suspect making threats to kill.

Although deputies noticed school shooter ideations, the 13-year-old was not an active student in any school district at the time of his arrest. He was last enrolled in the Franklin Pierce School District in 2021, but has been unenrolled since, therefore appearing to be homeschooled.

“So the question would be, what was going on in the home, with his education?” KIRO host Ursula Reutin asked.

Ursula also questioned the unsecured weapons in the home, noting Washington may need stricter laws regarding gun safety.

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