Two 5th-grade Washington boys brought gun and knife to school in murder plot

Two fifth-grade boys, ages 10 and 11, brought a loaded gun and a knife to their Colville, Washington elementary school, intending to kill an "ex-girlfriend" and others in their class.  Luckily, a fourth-grader saw one of them with the knife and reported it.  A third boy was also charged with hiding the plot.

From an article:

The 5th graders at Fort Colville Elementary School were taken into custody Thursday morning after a search revealed one of the boys had a knife and a handgun in his backpack. Interviews by police revealed that the boys intended to use the weapons sometime Thursday, Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen said. 

“These young men conspired to kill,” Rasmussen said. “It was interrupted by the bravery of a 4th grader who saw something and said something … and interrupted a murder.” 

Both boys have been expelled in addition to a third, unidentified boy who knew about the two weeks of planning and intended targets but agreed not to say anything after he was promised $80 for his silence. 

The plot was discovered prior to the start of school Thursday, Colville School District Superintendent Michael Cashion said. 

“We’ve been told that the boys had a plan to kill an ex-girlfriend – I don’t know what a girlfriend means in 5th grade – and harm other students,” Cashion said. “There was no list, but names were given to the police. I can’t get my mind around it.” 

Deputy Stevens County Prosecutor Lech Radzimski asked the judge to order that the boys have no contact with eight other children identified only by their initials. Fort Colville Elementary Principal Clayton Allen said all of the alleged victims were part of the same 5th grade class.

One of the boys said the gun was stolen, but it doesn't say from whom.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.