(USNewsMag.com) – An 18-year-old individual in Maryland who identifies as transgender has been arrested after law enforcement found out about the teen’s alleged plot to shoot up two schools.
Andrea Ye (who now identifies as Alex) was arrested at home in Rockville after composing a 129-page story describing two mass shooting plots that would make Ye “famous.” Ye told her former school counselor she fantasized about becoming “famous from this event,” according to an ABC News report.
The document, which Ye described as a “memoir,” details committing a mass shooting at Wootton High School in Rockville, which the suspect attended online. The document also describes another mass shooting at Lakewood Elementary School, which is also located in Rockville.
Ye claims that the story was written as fiction and included a disclaimer stating it does not represent the beliefs of the author. Despite this claim, someone with whom Ye shared the written story contacted law enforcement after realizing the tale’s main character had “striking similarities” to the author. The witness also believed Ye planned to make the story a reality soon.
Ye allegedly wrote in the document that she wants “to shoot up a school” and has “been preparing for months.” The text says Ye was planning to use an AR-15 “to change lives.” The text also describes fantasizing about cherry-picking which classrooms would be “the easiest targets” as she walks through the hallways, about figuring out “how to sneak the gun in,” about contemplating “making bombs,” the instructions to which she notes were “surprisingly available online.”
The text describes fantasizing about “shooting up” Lakewood Elementary “because little kids make easier targets,” but also notes that the high school would be “the best target” because of her familiarity with the building’s layout. In the story, the character based on Ye paces around her room “like an evil mastermind” and says a lot of effort has been put into the plans with the “ultimate goal” of setting a “world record” in kills. She also fantasizes about decapitating survivors with a knife if time permits.
Investigators also noted suspicious internet searches for gun ranges as well as social media posts to justify Ye’s arrest. She is currently being held pending a bond hearing.
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