Police: Everett student ‘couldn’t wait’ for alleged school shooting

Everett police say an 18-year-old student was preparing and “couldn’t wait” to carry out a school shooting he was allegedly planning.

Everett PD spokesperson Aaron Snell says Joshua Alexander O’Connor wrote in a journal that his aim “had gotten better,” and he was “looking forward to shooting students.”

Statements of his intentions were very detailed, according to Snell.

KIRO 7 obtained excerpts from the journal that include statements such as: “I’m preparing myself for the school shooting. I can’t wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate … I can’t wait to walk into that class and blow all those (expletive)s away,” and “I’m preparing myself for the school shooting. I can’t wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate … I can’t wait to walk into that class and blow all those (expletive)s away.”

According to probable cause documents, officers searched the O’Connor’s room and found two masks and an AK-47 connected to a robbery on Monday at an Everett convenient store.

The O’Connor was arrested Tuesday after the 18-year-old’s grandmother alerted police to what she believed were credible threats to shoot students at his high school.

Officers met with the grandmother, read excerpts from his journal, and discovered O’Connor was storing a rifle in his guitar case.

“As officers reviewed copies of the journal, they were alarmed at the statements and detailed plans to shoot students and use homemade explosive devices …” a statement from Everett police says.

Officers arrested O’Connor at ACES High School. According to probable cause documents, O’Connor flipped a coin to decide whether his target would be Kamiak High School or ACES. ACES won the flip.

O’Connor had marijuana and a knife on him at the time of the arrest, according to police. He was booked into Snohomish County Jail on probable cause for “attempted murder due to planning and taking substantial steps toward executing a school shooting.”

After serving a search warrant, detectives seized the student’s journal, rifle, “military-styled inert grenades,” and other items.

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